REFLECTIONS ON THE MAN WHO INNOVATED INNOVATION

by Neil Kozarsky

It doesn't matter what business you are in; when one of the world's most successful innovators passes away, it's worth a few moments to step back and contemplate the life of Steve Jobs. What he accomplished in 56 short years can serve as inspiration, without question. But is there not something in his philosophy, thinking or approach that can be applied to what each of us does every day?

Beyond the companies he built, devices he invented, business systems he created, there is more to the ultimate legacy of Jobs than even these successes. While everyone who markets anything professes to focus on the customer's experience with the product, it's difficult to identify anyone who consistently delivered beyond consumer expectations like Jobs.

That's of particular interest to people like me, who have been involved in the packaging industry for so many years. While some may say that computers are just more elegant and glamorous than food and beverage packages, one might respond that the computer field hasn't always been on an elevated plane. It would be truly great for packaging to be respected and appreciated like the computer industry. What might be required to accomplish that?

CREATING PRODUCTS THAT EXCITE AND DELIGHT

Going back in time, especially before the MAC was introduced, computers were pretty much for number crunchers, scientists and mathematicians. For the remaining 99.5% of us, these gadgets were not particularly useful or sexy. While he didn’t do it by himself, Jobs is credited above all others as the individual who transformed and elevated the entire experience of computing. What would it take to elevate the packaging industry?

For one, we have to stop the “race to the bottom,” and look for clever ways to delight consumers. Job’s mission for perfection encompassed every aspect of the products he marketed, including the packaging. As an industry, we have to recognize that consumers don’t separate the product from the package. If the product is good, but it’s difficult to access, hard or impossible to reseal, or is prone to make a mess, the entire experience will be dragged down.

We can’t use the excuse that packaging is inherently more cost-sensitive than computers; that’s in large part a self-fulfilling prophecy that needs to be scrutinized. Apple’s successful product portfolio is not exactly manufactured like Swiss watches; they are mass-produced in China and other low-cost regions.

VISIONARY LEADERSHIP. DEMANDING STANDARDS. RELENTLESS COMMITMENT.

Jobs taught us that each and every detail matters. This is reflected in the DNA of Apple-branded products. It is a big factor in how and why Apple was able to grow in leaps and bounds over the past several years during the worst economic times since the Great Depression. Your 401K could be dropping like a rock, but you can still afford to track the downward spiral on an elegant Apple device.

When you apply this approach to mainstream products and packaging, many ‘accepted’ practices of today would not survive a higher level of scrutiny. Packages that don’t open easily because the lidding stock is 5mm smaller than it needs to be to grip easily, doesn’t pass muster in this model. A sure sign of a package that needs to be reconsidered is one that requires consumers to transfer the contents into a generic bag or container for convenience or to preserve freshness immediately after opening.

WHERE “GREAT” WAS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH.

It would simply be irreverent at this time, so soon after his passing, to conceive of how Steve Jobs would react to business as usual from a packaging standpoint at many consumer goods organizations. Suffice to say, we can all take a page out of the Job’s Mission to consistently strive for the best possible products and packages that delight consumers. He proved that adopting that approach was capable of driving a non-mainstream industry like computing to the forefront of consumer consciousness. If we can apply that to Packaging more consistently, the world will be a better place.