What I learned from Steve Wozniak

I once had the privilege to host a group of guests for a lunch where the guest speaker was Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. This was an exciting event, reportedly selling out within twenty minutes. There was certainly a buzz around Brisbane on that morning, the same day as the new iphone was released.

Steve Wozniak is undoubtedly passionate, and a brilliant inventor. This was readily conveyed by the enthusiasm with which he told his story, challenging even the experienced veteran MC. For me, the take home message from Steve Wozniak’s story, is that every genius needs a sponsor.

Steve Wozniak was the inventor of revolutionary products that have changed the way we live in the twenty-first century. However, by his own admission, he was not a businessman and had no desire to be so. Steve Jobs was the one who took Wozniak’s inventions and turned them into marketable products. If Steve Wozniak had spent his life tinkering away in his garage and had never met Steve Jobs, Apple would most likely not have been born.

There is a myth about the hero engineer, a lone genius who comes up with Eureka moments, single-handedly. Reality is rarely this way. Most ideas require collaboration and a team effort to move from just an idea to something of tangible value. For every Steve Wozniak, there are a million people who spend a lifetime creating fantastic ideas that go forever undiscovered.

We are often shy about sharing our gifts, even with ourselves. This can mean that our greatest potential goes unrealised. Every genius needs a sponsor. ​A sponsor is someone who recognises your gifts, helps you to uncover them, helps you to nurture them and helps you to make the best contribution you can with these gifts. Who are your sponsors? How can they help you create the greatest value from your ideas? 

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