Cambridge , Massachusetts ( CNN ) -- Steve Jobs died Wednesday at the age of 56 . Within minutes of the announcement , Twitter and other digital channels were flooded with outpourings of grief for a very private man who leaves a very big mark on the world . It is the footprint , not of a manager or philanthropist , but of an entrepreneur . His legacy is that of an individual who used his drive , vision , curiosity and keen intelligence to follow new possibilities relentlessly without being deterred by the obstacles on his path . From the introduction of the first Apple computer in the late 1970s to his `` wilderness years '' at NeXT and Pixar in the late 1980s and early 1990s to his leadership in developing the iPod , iPhone and iPad during the last 10 years at Apple , Jobs turned his energy to creating new offerings that change people 's lives . From the get-go , he understood he was living in a moment of far-reaching transformation that we now call the Digital Revolution and that in such a moment , a lot is at stake . Invested with a sense of his importance on a stage where everything from telephony to publishing to music distribution was up for grabs , he knew there was no time to lose in developing powerful , beautiful , engaging products and services . This understanding fueled the relentless pace of innovation at Apple during the last 13 years . ( It may also have fed his often severe , controlling and still-inspiring managerial style . ) Undoubtedly , the breadth of Jobs ' vision steered Apple toward market leadership and a long series of financial home runs . But throughout Jobs ' journey , we never thought it was solely -- or even primarily -- about the money . More than 15 years ago , Jobs realized that ( what we then called ) the Information Revolution was bigger and bolder than groovy products and the convergence of technologies . It was about democratizing all kinds of activity by breaking down barriers in how information is distributed . As he explained to Rolling Stone , this development meant `` individuals can now do things that only large groups of people with lots of money could do before . ... ( W ) e have much more opportunity for people to get to the marketplace -- not just the marketplace of commerce but the marketplace of ideas . The marketplace of publications , the marketplace of public policy . You name it . '' If we think about the role of smartphones in the Arab Spring or the Occupy Wall Street protests , we see just how right Jobs was . This is impact , measured in a deep , lasting way . And this is how ultimately Jobs will be remembered . As an entrepreneur -- like Henry Ford or perhaps Alexander Graham Bell -- whose vision expanded both our sense of individual freedom and connection with each one another . In an uncharacteristically candid speech at Stanford University in 2005 , Jobs advised young people to follow their passion and stay foolish and hungry . He did this all his life , and the world will never be the same . Small wonder we grieve today . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nancy F. Koehn .
Nancy Koehn : Steve Jobs is rightly celebrated for products he introduced . But what about the ones that came after? Jobs knew technology enabled everyone to do what only a few could do before , she says .