Pitch with passion. People can be influenced by strong displays of emotion.

Being brutally honest will help you build a strong following.

Work hard, and others will respect you. Respect is a crucial first step to getting what you want.

Disarm people with seduction and flattery.

Claim all the good ideas are yours — and if you’re reversing your position, get behind the new idea with full force. Memories of the past can be easily manipulated.

Make decisions quickly and definitively. You can (usually) always change things later.

Don’t wait to fix problems. Fix them now.

There are two ways to deal with problematic people: Either address them head on…

“A person was either a hero or a bozo, a product was either amazing or shit.” He wanted Apple to be a company of “A players,” which meant regularly cutting B and C players, or pushing them with great fervor — bullying them, to some extent — to become A players.

…Or “follow the line of least involvement” and ignore them entirely.

Strike when the iron’s hot, and strike hard.

When you have leverage, USE IT.

Demand perfection, and don’t settle for anything less.

When you manage a company, the buck ultimately stops with you. Early on, I understood the ultimate cost of hiring the wrong candidate, not only in dollars but also in time and value to my company. No one wants to needlessly throw away money, and certainly no one has an abundance of time they can afford to waste.

There’s a tremendous number of puzzle pieces that need to fit together, and no matter how much you try, no amount of sheer will can make something work if a key piece is missing. Yet finding the right mix of talent and personality can be a Herculean task.

The late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, at the opening of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York on May 19, 2006
Michael Nagle | Getty Images

The late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, at the opening of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York on May 19, 2006

The late Steve Jobs once made an excellent comment on hiring, and it is one that I continue to follow. He said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

That is why I am involved in every step of the hiring process. I put myself front and center and am there at the beginning, middle and end, searching for the candidate that best meets these three criteria.

1. Fitting in with the corporate culture

After the pool of candidates has been narrowed, the finalists usually have very similar skill sets. Any of them could do the job, and probably do it well. Having the necessary background and talent to do the job is one piece of the puzzle. I also want to make sure the candidate understands and will flourish in our corporate culture.

Every company has its own personality, and ours in no different. If I hire someone who becomes oil to our vinegar, it will be a disaster and could create a toxic environment that causes other valuable team members to leave. The resulting drain of talent could stunt our growth and, quite possibly, sink the company. A culture fit is every bit as important as experience, talent and education.

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” -Steve Jobs
2. The willingness to take on any task

When a company is young and growing, it doesn’t have the abundance of resources you would find at an older, established company. This means our team has to learn to do more with less, wear multiple hats and be prepared to take on any task. Some people prefer to work in a structured environment, yet an early-stage company may require a person to be out of their comfort zone. This can be a challenge, and it points back to having a culture fit.

Here’s a quick example. I have a friend who was hired as a marketing and sales executive at a start-up. His primary job was customer acquisition. He was, however, also quite handy with tools. As the company grew and added new employees, he would help new hires assemble their desks. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said the company was a start-up! It was an incredible opportunity for both people to establish communication, and the new hire could feel comfortable from the first minute.

Many people view hiring as another in a long list of activities that need to be accomplished in a given week. That view could not possibly be any more wrong. The goal in hiring is to find the right person to fill the right position. When this happens, incredible results follow — for both the person and the company.

Mr. Collison and his brother John started Stripe five years ago while attending colleges in Massachusetts. Dealing with the brothers’ visa issues was one of the biggest challenges Stripe had to overcome in its early days, Mr. Collison said. The company now has more than 500 employees

1. Prayer

We are limited in so many ways, but within those limitations are found endless possibilities. You could be on the other side of the planet while your friend is suffering from a sickness thousands and thousands of miles away.
You may not be able to be right beside them at this very moment, but there is something more than a touch or a word that can bring comfort – prayer.

Not everyone may believe in a supreme being, but there certainly is a connection among all of us that transcends beyond anything that is physical.

We are connected in mind and heart – we are connected in spirit.

It is through prayer that we evoke that spiritual connection. It is through prayer that we send good things their way with the power of our very souls.

love one another

2. Time

This world is billions of years old, and human life cannot even dream of coming close to that. We are mere mortals with an average life span of 70 years, and we spend 26 years of that sleeping!

Can you imagine how short our lives are? Our time spent on Earth is so short that every minute spent is so precious – not even all the money in the world can buy us a minute more to live.

Therefore, it goes without saying that making time for our friends is the most precious gift we can ever give to them. Giving a portion of our lives to them is a demonstration of how much we love and care for our dearest friends.

3. Smile

A genuine smile can light up a soul more than anyone can realize. It is a body language that clearly portrays delight and pleasure. If you smile at someone, you express your joy at seeing them. You show your happiness at being with them.

Oh, and did I mention how heartening a smile can be? It is like the gentle crackling flames of the hearth on a cold, winter night – it makes you feel all warm and toasty inside.

So be generous with your smile, and let the joy you feel of being with your friends shine through you like sunlight through a rainy day.

4. Inspiration

Everyone feels the blues now and again: some feel down, others feel self-doubt. Regardless, there is one thing that can make them come back to feeling alive again: inspiration!

Inspiration is something very dear we can give to our friends, especially when they are feeling down. It is like offering a helping hand to a drowning man. Little do we know how much our friends are drowning in the hurricanes of their own emotions – a place only they and only the people who know them by heart can reach.
So offer kind words and push them up, even carry them if need be!

5. Support

In a world full of strangers, nothing is more reassuring than knowing that there are people cheering for us. Often, we face difficulties in life that makes us feel like giving up and giving in.

In times like these, a shoulder to lean on and a chest to cry over are the best gifts we can receive. Be a gift to your friends!

6. Trust

To trust someone is to believe in them with all that they are – their weaknesses and their strengths. To trust is to have faith that they can surpass whatever difficulty they are going through, that they can reach their dreams, that they can do anything they set their minds to!

No wonder the saying goes “Good relationships are built on trust”, because it is with trust that men are able to do great, impossible things for the ones they love!

7. Respect

We respect someone because we hold them in high regard. In other words, we respect because we admire; to give respect to our friends is a clear message of admiration. We admire them because we see the good in them.
Even when the whole world judges them because of their imperfections, we respect them because of the perfection we see in them. Yes, they do have their flaws and failures, but we see beyond and look instead at the masterpiece in the making that is our friends.

8. Honesty

In a world full of lies and deceit, honesty is a rare and precious gift. Honesty is what makes friendship sincere and true. To be honest with our friends is to assure them that we will not betray them by lying words and actions when their backs are turned.
Therefore, being honest proves that we are worthy of their trust, and to be trustworthy means that we are sturdy building blocks for a good friendship.

9. Forgiveness

Friendship can never reach its final stage unless it has seen forgiveness. Why? Because to forgive someone is no small feat; it requires the strength of a loving heart. This is exactly the reason why wise men say that “Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Therefore, to forgive our friends in their moments of fault is a gift that will strengthen friendship like iron turns to steel when drenched in fire.

10. Love

Love is the greatest gift of all, because it is what makes us go beyond everything that is superficial and temporary. Love is what enables us to build lasting friendships that survive the test of time and distance.
Truth be told, love is what made two friends stay together despite everything that life throws at them in the first place!

These are the gifts that are more precious than a 24-karat gold watch encased in a million-dollar, diamond-studded jewelry box. In simpler words, they are more precious than all the superficial things that the world presents in all the fab and glam that make people go nuts.

Therefore, the best things in the world are priceless and free.