The father of Apple and leader in technology was a highly revered figure in the tech and business industry. Bringing innovations that changed the world including the iPhone and iPod, Steve Jobs was no stranger to leadership, and had many qualities that solidified him as a leader. It is known that Jobs has a ‘no excuses’ theory on leadership. In instances when people were promoted to vice president, he would tell them that everything under their order was their responsibility, and any mishaps was their fault. No excuses.

The ‘no excuses’ theory is to do with taking responsibility till the end.

Many people believe that if something doesn’t succeed, then it is someone else’s fault, caused by external factors. If they failed, then someone let them down, or didn’t support them or help them. Jobs’ theory was that in the event of failure, contingencies should have been put into place to prevent it. He believed that successful people expected the worst but aimed for the best, and set clear expectations. They help those around them and support them through mentoring and training, but ultimately they will accept the final responsibility.

The thinking behind this is that if they accept full responsibility, then all they know is control. If you they succeed, then they did that. If they failed, then they caused that. Having this type of thinking will motivate them to ensure that the risk of failure is at a minimum, and all angles are observed in a situation before proceeding. This will ensure that all energy is put into making something happen rather than worrying about what might happen.

It is this ‘no excuses’ leadership theory that got Jobs to the top, and it’s one that he instilled into new vice presidents, and those that made decisions for Apple.

Google is one of the most widely used technologies in the world. By being a tool to search through the internet’s vast number of links and pages, Google filled a need in the technology age. The growth of Google was phenomenal, with many dubbing it as ‘the fastest growing company in the world’. But with such fast growth, its employees needed leaders in order to show them the direction the company should be going. Google has been largely successful at creating top leaders that could pursue Google’s vision and allow it to largely dominate the market. After Google, these leaders would go on to successfully lead other firms, as well as launch companies successfully.

Here are some things that Google leaders are taught.

Think really big

Those who were leaders at Google were taught that overdelivering wasn’t enough. Leaders have to be very ambitious, and aim for long term goals, called moonshots in Google lingo. They are taught to look at the long term vision, and aim for that, even if it seemed impossible at the time.

They used their words

Google is well-known for having its own acronyms and lingo. These include phrases such as “10Xer” and “moonshot”. The power of language is encouraged to create motivation catchphrases that would inspire, and turn big ideas and goals into simple sentences. Words can be motivational, and inspire those around you.

Google veterans have gone on from the company to lead and launch others into success. The fundamental things taught to these Google leaders is aiming for the impossible and using their words to inspire and motivate. The leaders that come out of Google have undeniable leadership traits and skills, and succeed wherever they go, thanks to Google’s unconventional but effective methods.

Jeff Bezos turned his book selling company Amazon into an ‘everything store’. Amazon dominates the world’s market, and Jeff Bezos is currently the richest man in the world. Bezos’ success story is one of determination and a unique leadership style which took Amazon to the next level.

These are some of the things that sets apart Bezos’ leadership style from others.

He expects more from his employees

Jeff Bezos is known to have high expectations for his employees. In 1999, Amazon had around 500 employees for answering emails, and each employee was expected to answer 12 emails per minute. Having very high expectations for his employees means that Amazon runs very efficiently and effectively in its operation. This is obvious to most, with Amazon famously being able to make same day deliveries in over 12 different US cities.

Treat the customer as king

This might seem obvious to a service that caters towards customers, but Bezos’ takes it to another level. Bezos focuses on customer satisfaction metrics, putting a great deal of focus on keeping the customer happy. Amazon is so focused on this, they specifically have employees working solely on customer satisfaction research, finding out that a 0.1 second delay on a loading page lowers customer activity. By focusing so much on customer satisfaction, Amazon has been able to develop a company that ranks high on the University of Michigan’s retail customer satisfaction survey every year. This focus on customer satisfaction ultimately shaped their success.

Jeff Bezos’ leadership style is unique, and helped to create what Amazon is today. It focuses on customer satisfaction, as well as high expectations from his employees. This combination of traits is what shaped Amazon to what it is today, and turned Jeff Bezos into the richest man in the world.