I came across a list of Steve Jobs’ 12 Rules of Success yesterday. When I interviewed for my job at my current employer, I was asked to name a famous leader I admired and talk about why I admired that individual. I chose Steve Jobs, and the big reason I had was his passion for innovation. Which, as it turns out, makes his rules of success list at #10.

Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.