This is an excellent article on how star business performers do things. But I cannot help but comment that it’s often the “entire package” of attributes that makes Steve Jobs or Bill Gates the stars that they are. It’s not just “don’t quit” or “fill a need”. Leadership also means that the followers must believe their leaders. Now that’s much harder to achieve.

Te Wu’s comment regarding the article by Curt Finch titled “5 Project Management Lessons From Great Business Leaders” (see below).

Curt Finch for SmallBizTrends.com writes:   The tech industry is a constantly evolving reminder that truth is often stranger than fiction. Amazing success, heartbreaking failures and everything in between—the tech industry has it all.

Far more important than drama, intrigue or just another interesting story are the lessons that project managers can learn from industry giants. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and countless others provide valuable lessons and insights into what it takes to not only succeed, but thrive, as a project manager.

Let’s take a look at five of the most important lessons you can learn from these titans of industry.

Steve Jobs

Few would argue Jobs’ place in the pages of business history. His ouster from Apple, triumphant return and stewardship of the company that turned it into the worlds’ most valuable venture is the stuff of legends.

Brilliant, mercurial, unrelenting in the pursuit of his goals and an uncanny knack for knowing what customers need before they do were some of the defining characteristics of Jobs’ management style.

Even for those of us not blessed with his intuition, there’s still plenty we can learn from him.

• Don’t quit. Perhaps one of the biggest lessons from Jobs’ career is his tenacity in pursuing his goals. Despite being ousted from Apple (and despite his second company, NeXT, never truly finding its footing), Jobs never stopped believing in what he had to offer. Even after his return to Apple, there were still failures–chief among them the infamous Mac Cube. Rather than give up, Jobs learned from his failures, made adjustments and kept moving forward.
• Challenge your team to be their best. Jobs was notorious for challenging people to prove why their idea was good, had merit or should be pursued. While his mercurial approach may have been extreme, the underlying concept had positive results. When someone brought an idea before Jobs, they knew they would have to defend it, answer challenges and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt why it deserved consideration. When your team members believe that strongly in an idea, they’re far more likely to work hard to make it a success.

SNIP, the article continues at SmallBizTrends.com  click here to continue reading…