What I learned from reading Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall
What I learned from reading Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall
I got to work with Steve Jobs for over a decade. [0:01]
Steve hit it with The Simple Stick: The person leading the project had directed the team to create packaging for two versions of the same product. Steve had decided this was brain-dead. “Just combine them”, he said. “One product, one box.” [2:17]
Humans respond to clarity: As simplicity become more rare your ability to keep things simple becomes more valuable as well. [4:43]
Apple vs other technology companies: I saw companies that showed an interest in simplicity—but only one made it an obsession. [6:20]
On communication: Blunt is simplicity. Meandering is complexity. [8:02]
Steve only had respect for the people who did the actual work: Oh, so you’re overhead. [10:45]
Small groups of smart people is all you need. [11:52]
Steve Jobs’s organizational principles / The quality of work resulting from a project is inversely proportional to the number of people involved in the project. [13:07]
In a sea of sameness Steve was different / The creative process works in the absence of process / Steve’s unique experiences gave him a unique perspectives [15:49]
The perils of product proliferation: While Steve was busy minimizing, the rest of the industry was heading in the opposite direction. [18:50]
Jiro Dreams of Sushi notes link [25:50]
The difference between a good ad and a bad ad [31:30]
Steve had one speed: GO! / Steve would not tolerate big companies processes. [33:54]
The difference between a company devoted to simplicity and a company burdened by complexity [38:15]
How Steve Jobs thought about marketing [40:13]
A single focus for every quarter [46:29]
Simplicity is as close to one as possible [47:19]
We all veer off the path: Steve wanted to name the iMac the MacMan [48:38]
Steve most important concern was making things easier for his customers [52:30]
When communicating, choose authenticity over perfection / How Steve presented ideas / the silliness of large companies / Simplicity likes to make a point quickly. [55:54]
How Steve Job’s approach to developing an MP3 player was different from other companies [1:02:49]
There is no reason not to follow your heart / Technology not spoken here [1:04:30]
Steve believed that slavish devotion to numbers was big company behavior [1:06:50]
Words are powerful, but more words are not more powerful—they’re often just confusing [1:12:07]
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