One of the greatest contributions a person can make on societyis to be a visionary. Perhaps nobody in modern times was moreof one than Steve Jobs, who sadly passed away thisweek.

The very basic elements of blocking and tackling were theessence of Jobs, whose innovative approach to business coupled withintuition and persistence became a presence in the lives ofmillions. Truth be known, if more industry leaders were like SteveJobs, the dynamics of American business and the economy would bemuch different, in a positive way.

Consider that Jobs co-founded Apply in 1976, when many of uswere kids with no inkling that a Mac or iPod was even apossibility. In the mid 1980's, Jobs was pushed out of thevery company he founded and moved on to start NeXT, a manufacturerof computer workstations for the education market.

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He then moved on to Pixar, which redefined the movie businesswith sensations like Toy Story. When Disney camealong and bought his business, it was time to return to Apple andreinvent the music business with the iPod and iTunes. Thencame the iPhone that put mobile computing at America'sfingertips. As if the world or technology hadn't beenfundamentally transformed, he came along with the iPad.

His ideas became a reality and his consistent execution of basicblocking and tackling turned his organizations into industryleaders. There was no ordinary with Jobs, but ratherextraordinary.

Even during tough economic times, he recognized the ability toremain relevant saying, “A lot of companies have chosen todownsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose adifferent path. Our belief was that if we kept putting greatproducts in front of customers, they would continue to open theirwallets.”

And open their wallets they did, making Apple one of the mostwildly successful enterprises ever.

Perhaps he summed up execution best when he demanded that Applebe the yardstick of quality in a world where people aren't used toenvironments where excellence is expected.

What made him so successful was his ability to not only adaptand change, but be the catalyst of the very change he was adaptingto. He foresaw the direction of the technology industry andhad a vision upon which he created success. What he had isexactly what many lack in organizations and industries that arereluctant to change. After all, isn't it innovation thatdistinguishes between a leader and a follower?

While he will be missed as both a leader in innovation and aninspiration as to what we can accomplish with nothing more than avision, he leaves a legacy that has touch just abouteveryone. He also taught us a lot of lessons about what ittakes to create great products and successful organizations.Lessons we should all take to heart as we try to move from ordinaryto extraordinary!

“You can't just ask customers what they want and then try togive that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll wantsomething new.”- Steve Jobs