The amount of meetings I’ve attended where a client or colleague has referenced wanting to have an idea like Nike or design like Apple is almost too numerous to count. This is like saying I want a slapshot like Messier. Is it possible, maybe but probably not. The work, dedication, focus, god-given talent, and attention to detail are so elevated that it is usually painful and unpleasant at times. The stories of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban, and other top-tier leaders are notorious for being polarizing and at-times fascist in their unrelenting demands for breaking the status quo and setting almost impossibly high standards for their products, brands, and way of working. There are some folks that will thrive in a culture of elevated standards and it won’t be for others - this is OK and expected. Typically why you will hear some people say working at Apple is the best thing that ever happened to them and others say it was tyrannical.
This level of dedication and focus is mandatory to achieve the campaign Nike just launched or the impossibly simple design of the Apple ecosystem is next-level. It is more than OK to strive to be like these brands and leaders, but know that the level of courage required to face adversity, tune out the doubters and lead a team to heights they never thought possible is the price to pay for that level of standard. As a leader, having that true north combined with some empathy and understanding is key to balancing hyper-growth with a great place to work.
Imagine the level of standards that went into designing and building the Empire State Building. Imagine the company at Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, the people that designed it; I thought of this when I was flying open-door helicopter over it a few years ago. The audacity of the people to think they could design a building so high and so beautiful inside and out must have been met with calls for insanity at the time. The detail on the outside and the beauty of design on the inside is still a sight to behold all these years late.