Edible Apple

Network World directs us to this great and never before aired clip of Steve Jobs narrating Apple’s iconic Think Different ad featuring the famous “Crazy Ones” dialogue – you know, the one that heaped praise upon “the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently.”

Though the final advertisement featured narration from Richard Dreyfus, the video below is a never-aired copy featuring narration from Steve Jobs himself. If there was ever an example demonstrating the extent to which Steve Jobs was a hands-on CEO who deeply card about Apple, its products, its message, and its brand, Jobs’ participation in this video is it.

Steve Jobs’ personal level of involvement with this ad speaks volumes as to the type of leader and CEO he was. His focus was Apple, and he firmly believed that if he centered his energy on creating great and innovative products, the money would inevitably come rolling in. Most other CEOs, in contrast, start from the opposite end of the spectrum, asking what they can do to make money.

But Apple? Apple led with innovation, by setting the yardstick by which all other products are measured. Is it any wonder that most new and competitive smartphones are all contextualized on the “iPhone killer” scale? And it was the same way with the iPod and it’s starting to look the same with the iPad as well.

While some CEOs might ask, “How can we increase our third quarter revenue given the economic turmoil in Asia?”, Steve Jobs, as cliche as it sounds only had one question at the center of his universe – “How can Apple help change the world?”

And as the commercial says, The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.