---
title: "Stop trying to be Steve Jobs and start learning from the losers"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/stop-trying-to-be-steve-jobs-and-start-learning-from-the-losers-ck59n36qr
source_url: https://uxplanet.org/stop-trying-to-be-steve-jobs-and-start-learning-from-the-losers-f513b0dde55d
type: article
source: "UX Planet"
published: 2025-06-09T09:49:29.765Z
updated: 2025-06-09T09:49:55.206Z
tags: ["startup", "leadership", "agile", "product-management"]
reading_time: 5
upvotes: 156
comments: 11
language: en
---

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# Stop trying to be Steve Jobs and start learning from the losers

**[UX Planet](https://daily.dev/sources/uxplanet)** · 5 min read · 156 upvotes · 11 comments

## Summary

Many companies blindly copy organizational models and practices from successful tech giants like Spotify, Google, and Netflix, but this approach often fails because these practices are context-dependent. The Spotify model, for example, has been abandoned even by Spotify itself. Instead of learning from winners who represent survivorship bias, teams should study failures to understand what actually breaks. Success stories are incomplete and don't prove causation - just because successful companies do something doesn't mean it made them successful. Organizations should think from first principles and adapt practices to their specific context rather than treating tech giant approaches as gospel.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://uxplanet.org/stop-trying-to-be-steve-jobs-and-start-learning-from-the-losers-f513b0dde55d>

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@bobyficher** · 3 upvotes

> So true, Instead of figuring out why they succeed, we should know why they failed. At least we don't end up doing the same mistake they did. As success is a collective effort of all, while a mistake from any single person can completely ruin the organization.
>
> The ladder of success differs for different organizations, so is the path. But the pit of failure is common for all.

**@georgevendras** · 2 upvotes

> An article that trully worths some of your time! Since a lot of mediocre or crappy products wander around their candidate consumer/buyer, especially managers should read such articles. Please, also read this one: https://uxplanet.org/looking-for-leadership-role-models-in-the-wrong-places-642d040e9b2c  (Personally, I disagree with the idea that Mr Nadella “…but also drove innovation, leading to products like Microsoft Teams and Azure Cloud”. In MS, there are people that are extremely talented into leading the company to repetative monumental autosabotages. Like the one in Edge now, where I...

**@ibthomas** · 1 upvotes

> Excellent read

**@lynnfredricks** · 0 upvotes

> Good advice. I have worked with many founders over the years that worshiped at the altar of SJ. A few survived the layoffs and downsizings that followed.

**@akkitto** · 0 upvotes

> People need to **stop** being afraid of "losing" or "failing".
> The most successful people on earth are those, who have "failed" the most (if they did not just inherit all their wealth in the first place :)).
>
> Fail more, learn more.
> No fail, no gain.

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Tags: [#startup](https://daily.dev/tags/startup), [#leadership](https://daily.dev/tags/leadership), [#agile](https://daily.dev/tags/agile), [#product-management](https://daily.dev/tags/product-management)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/stop-trying-to-be-steve-jobs-and-start-learning-from-the-losers-ck59n36qr)