14 DAY TRIAL // Of the many people paying their respects to the late Steve Jobs on the morning of October 19th, 2011, Jonathan Ive, Apple’s design guru, prepared what was arguably the most sincere and touching farewell dedicated to his former boss, colleague, and friend.
Ive is known to be one of the most independent Apple executives, and the reason he doesn’t answer much to anyone is Jobs himself.
Reports say Apple's late co-founder wanted Ive’s creative mind not to feel any constraint. In return, Ive respected Jobs for sharing his vision. The two were like two peas in a pot, according to his heart-warming speech, embedded below.
“Now while hopefully the work appeared inevitable, appeared simple, and easy, it really cost. It cost us all, didn’t it?”, he said. “But you know what? It cost him most. He cared the most. He worried the most deeply.”
“He constantly questioned, ‘Is this good enough? Is this right?’”
“And despite all his successes, all his achievements, he never presumed, he never assumed, that we would get there in the end. And when the ideas didn’t come, and when the prototypes failed, it was with great intent, with faith, he decided to believe we would eventually make something great,” said Ive.
“He was my closest and my most loyal friend. We worked together for nearly 15 years — and he still laughed at the way I said ‘aluminium.’ For the past 2 weeks, I think we’ve all been struggling to find ways to say goodbye. This morning, I simply want to end by saying ‘thank you Steve.’”
“Thank you for your remarkable vision which has united and inspired this remarkable group of people. For all that we have learned from you and for all that we will continue to learn from each other, ‘thank you Steve.’”
Editor’s note I have personally opined on several occasions that Ive is quite possibly the best next thing to Steve Jobs in terms of showmanship and charisma (at least within the confines of 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California).
If Apple wants to keep their cult going, I sincerely believe Jony should be getting more on-stage time at the company's iconic events.