Steve Jobs passed away last week and there have been all kinds of tributes to his vision and contribution to the world. He was clearly one man who made a difference.

In some of the tech blogs there has bee talk about the fact that while Steve Jobs was a genius who changed the world, he could also be difficult, demanding, pushy and at times, a jerk. People haven’t said it to be mean, just honest and it got me thinking.

What’s wrong with being demanding? Steve Jobs seemed to expect perfection and exceptional work and results from his employees. Perhaps he wasn’t always a genius about bringing the best out of people, but by all accounts there was no guessing what he wanted and how he wanted it. 

Mediocrity seems to have become a disease in our culture, people always making excuses and apologizing, saying “I’ll do better next time”. For Steve Jobs it didn’t seem that he was content to wait until the next time, and I don’t see a single thing wrong with that. 

I’ve always found that we work up to the level expected of us or down to the level others will accept. Those expectations are often set by others – the CEO or manager or perhaps ourselves if we are self employed, but too often we seem content to aim low. What’s wrong with aiming high? What’s wrong with a few extra hours or an extra call or going the extra mile to make a customer or client happy?

There are lots of people who work hard every day and go the extra mile, but for those that don’t, think about expectations – are they too high or too low? What can you do different or better?