“Management means getting people to do things they don’t want to do, while leadership means getting people to do things they never thought they would.” This is a popular quote from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the man behind the iPhone. Over the years, many people have spoken about what it was like to work with Jobs and now, former iPhone designer Jony Ive has opened up about his years with the Apple boss. And he says those were the most extraordinary and joyous years of his professional life.

For those who don’t know, Ive once held the position of Chief Design Officer at Apple and played a key role in creating products like MacBook, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods. Ive, who joined Apple at the young age of 25, worked with Steve Jobs to turn the struggling company into a powerhouse of innovation and design. After a stellar career at Apple, Ive founded his own design firm, LoveFrom, based in San Francisco, in 2019.

In a recent podcast interview on Life in Seven Songs, Ive reflected on his decades-long career at the tech giant, saying that his most satisfying years were spent working with the late co-founder. Ive, who joined Apple in 1992, shared insights about how his upbringing nurtured his creative abilities, which he later honed while shaping the design of iconic products such as the iPhone, iPad, AirPods and MacBook. Despite beginning his tenure during Jobs’ absence from the company, they had a fortuitous meeting five years later that ignited a creative synergy between the two.

Ive said, “I think it was a spirit that was between the two of us, that it was a wonderful combination.” He recalled his years working with Jobs at Apple from 1997 to 2011 as “the most joyous and extraordinary 15 years of my life”. In contrast to his earlier years at Apple without Jobs, Ive noted that the learning process under Jobs’ leadership became more focused and transparent, with a clear emphasis on his creative efforts.

The former iPhone designer praised Jobs’ ability to convey complex ideas and concepts effortlessly, a talent that greatly influenced Apple’s design ethos. “Steve had an amazing ability to convey complex emotions and ideas effortlessly,” he said during the interview.

Jobs’ departure as CEO and his subsequent death in 2011 was a major loss to Ive both professionally and personally.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t know about him or his loss. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful for the time we had together and what I learned and what we discovered,” he said.