College graduates are stepping out of the classroom and into corporate offices, unsure of how to excel in an AI-enabled world of work. However, in the pursuit of success, incoming Apple CEO John Turnus advises young professionals that giving 100% effort is paramount.
“The care you put into your work really matters,” Turnus told the University of Pennsylvania’s 2024 engineering graduates.
The longtime company insider, who is set to take Apple’s top role on September 1, first learned this lesson when he started working at the tech giant in 2001. After joining the product design team, his first project was to create a large plastic desktop monitor called Cinema Display. After months of hard work in manufacturing, the supplier facility produced a production version, but on the back of the display, instead of 25, 35 grooves were installed. Turnus knew that this mistake would go unnoticed by most observers, but he could not bear the thought of letting his design go to market with problems.
“I kind of stepped back for a minute and thought to myself, ‘What am I doing? Is this normal?'” Turnus recalled. “I realize it might not be normal, but it’s right, because I’ve spent months working on that product. And if you’re going to spend a lot of time on something, you have to give it your best shot.”
Turnus said whether a customer notices the extra grooves or not, he’ll always know. And he and his team carefully planned every detail — from the display screen to the concentric steel grooves that shine like a CD — they wanted their best work to be reflected in the final product. That dedication can come at a premium, but it’s always worth it to go the extra mile instead of doing the satisfying minimum.
“Make no mistake—it’s hard to put too much of yourself into something,” Turnus advised. “It’s stressful, it requires sacrifice, but it’s worth it because our time is limited.”
The incoming CEO says to work with ‘humility’ and ‘make a dent in the universe’
Turnus was 26 when he joined Apple. It was his second job out of college, and at the turn of the 21st century, technology was innovating at an alarming pace. The incoming CEO told the graduates that many times in their careers they have to take on something new, and uncertainty is bound to creep in. But there is one trick he has mastered to push through doubt.
“Always think you’re as smart as anyone else in the room, but never think you know as much as they do,” Turnus told the Gen Z engineering graduates. “With this mindset, you’ll have the confidence you need to move forward, but more importantly, the humility to ask questions and learn.”
