This is a post that I wrote in French for Atlantico.fr earlier this week and that my daughter, Sophie Delphis translated.

The buzz generated by Steve Jobs’ announcement of his departure was unprecedented in the history of the industry. This is hardly surprising: even Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and one of the most respected executives in the country, acknowledged Jobs’ uniqueness. Apple’s singular presence is undeniable, and, as one of the most prestigious companies in the world, it is a rare example of prosperity amidst a global economic crisis.

Visionaries create evidence: In 1984, Apple rocked the world with its now iconic commercial to introduce the Mac. These days consumers have at their disposal a wealth of Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads to express themselves away from the watchful gaze of Big Blue. Steve Jobs changed the world with a sledgehammer. His revolutionary success – one irreverent to the status quo – was unthinkable twenty-five years ago, but visionaries are, after all, those who are able to make us take for granted previously impossible ideas.

Democratizing magic: Of course Steve Jobs himself is a fascinating figure, but what is even more fascinating is the revolution he put into motion when he began to humanize technology in several domains: personal computers, music, animated film, telephones, and information exchange. Perhaps only Edison has had such a deep social impact through his inventions. Innovation in both cases is not simply the application of new technologies, but the art of adapting them so that they cause an evolution in consumers’ behaviors. In other words, while inventions can make geeks rejoice, they go down in history when they impact the lives of lay. Most users don’t buy iPhones because of its technical characteristics, but because of the magic it offers to users.

Memorability, or history anchored in the real world: Early adopters of Apple (of which I was as the founder/CEO of a company that put out the first graphic relational database for Mac, 4^th Dimension) are now a very small minority of the millions of fans the company has accrued. And these fans are not ghostly usernames on anonymous chat rooms but living humans crowding into stores: the most prestigious tech company in the world is also the least active in social networks, opting instead to open dozens of popular physical stores at a time when everyone is cutting back or completely eliminating his real world fingerprint. But the success of Apple stores everywhere is due to the opportunity they afford people to touch and try out goods in a lively and aesthetic environment – people go to Apple stores to hang out. This real-world anchoring is gratifying for would-be buyers and guarantees the company’s perennial success. This year IBM celebrated 100 years  – when Thomas Watson created the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation. Apple still has sixty-five years to go before it can celebrate this touchstone, but, even if it true that technology evolves at an exponential rate, there is little doubt that it has created a lasting legacy by giving people the ability to use technology without having to be techies and by demonstrating that consumers love beautiful objects. In other words, mass consumption is not at odds with the feeling of luxury.

Note on the illustration. The “Steve Icon”: In 1983, Andy Hertzfeld started to work on the icon editor that Susan Kare was to use to create icons for the Finder. I strongly recommend his book on the history of Macintosh, Revolution in the Valley (2004).

Andy Hertzfeld has recounted the story of the black flag at the center of which Susan Kare had painted a big skull and crossbones in white that was floating over Bandley 3 in 1983 until early 1984. Yes, for the Macintosh team “it was better to be a pirate than join the navy.” In the early nineties, black pirate flags were still hanging here and there around the Borland campus, the company created by Philippe Kahn (a phenomenal sailor himself). These are two of the companies where James Bach, the author of Secrets of a Buccaner-Scholar (subtitled “How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success”) started a career that made him one of the most established “gurus” in software testing.

This book is the personal and intellectual autobiography of a high-school dropout. Thirty years later, James relives his allergy as a kid to “schoolism,” i.e. “the belief that schooling is the necessary and exclusive way to get a good education.” He educated himself differently, at his pace, of his own volition, rejecting indoctrination and institutional frameworks, but at the same pursuing his passion for discovery to the fullest – and often ending up working much harder than any person with a “normal” education. He was (and still is) an explorer, venturing into the world of knowledge as boldly and free-spiritedly as the privateers and corsairs of the seventeenth century. He is a buccaneer-scholar, i.e. a person whose “mental windsurfing” capabilities make him/her want to live a purpose-driven existence, build up a talent, and create a reputation – a reputation based on facts and achievements, not on degrees or any form of social entitlement.

This book is remarkable for two main reasons:

A clear analysis of what dropouts are about: Regardless of the reasons why kids happen to drop out, look at dropouts as people who first and foremost need to feel self-reliant as well as leverage their uniqueness and their independence in their own way. Don’t judge them. The best thing to do is to accompany them on their own road, mentor them smoothly and non-dogmatically as they identify opportunities that work for them. As James Bach recounts very well through his own history, dropouts are not anti-social. They simply hate precepts and authority: “the independence of buccaneering is independence from authority, not from humanity.” As a result, buccaneers welcome ideas and are thrilled to feel needed. Look, James loved the Apple II that his father gave him and made the best out of it – again at his own pace and in his own way. It’s true that “life is less convenient for those who chart their own course,” but trying to speed up or thwart that course can only make their lives harder. So help kindly! That’s what mentoring is about.

Guidelines for all people who want to reconstruct their own creativity: As autobiographical as this book is, James Bach doesn’t come across as self-absorbed. What’s clear is that James Bach does not despise people with degrees who were well-adjusted students, and instead contemplates the possibility that they might become buccaneers at some point in their lives, and want to rekindle a long-time buried “unstoppable curiosity.” Then all the schemas that implicitly or explicitly governed James’ life - ranging from the principle of peripheral wisdom, creative procrastination where ideas mature as a background task, to obsessive scouting, or heuristic questioning - are potential rudders for anyone. You may want to see this book as a set of tools for the reconstructive introspection that will make you get into the “next big thing.” Yes, “new industries are perfect for a buccaneering mind,” and in turn, you may want to become a buccaneering mind to estrange yourself from what you know all too well and experience the naive jubilation of newness.

This book is one of the best books I have read recently around the themes of self-motivation and creativity. Definitely the most heartfelt. Thanks to David  Arscott to handing it to me the other day as we had breakfast at Coupa Cafe!