Ken Segall - Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apples Success

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published in 2012 by Portfolio / Penguin,

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Copyright Polymorph-on-Hudson, Inc., 2012

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Segall, Ken.

Insanely simple : the obsession that drives Apples success / Ken Segall.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-101-57204-7

1. Creative ability in business.2. Marketing.3. Apple Computer, Inc.4. Jobs, Steve, 19552011. I. Title.

HD53.S44 2012

658.4'094dc23

2011049212

Designed by Daniel Lagin

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For Jeremy, Simply the best kid a dad could have

Contents

Simplify, simplify.

Henry David Thoreau

Simplify.

Apple

Preface

Life is a combination of skill and luck. I wont claim to be the most skilled person in my profession, but Im definitely one of the luckiest. Between NeXT and Apple, I got to work with Steve Jobs for over a decade.

It wasnt always easy. It might not even have been healthy. But it was always exciting, and Ill forever be in Steves debt for the lessons I learned.

Steve passed away before I finished this book. Though his death was expected, part of me refused to expect it. I secretly clung to the hope that maybe, possibly, his health was better than it appeared. I didnt want to think of the world without him.

So in addition to its original business purpose, this book has taken on a personal meaning. I wish to pay tribute to Stevefor all hes contributed to the world and for the opportunities he gave me personally.

I didnt invent the concepts in this book. I merely observed them. Thank you, Steve, for making things so simple.

Introduction

The Simple Stick

Apples package-design team had just returned from their presentation to Steve Jobs, and their faces told the story. There were no visible signs of carnage. They just had that things didnt go exactly as we planned look.

I felt bad for them, because I knew theyd been pouring their hearts into a project for several weeks, trying to solve a thorny packaging issue. I was working on an unrelated project in the building and had been invited into their high-security, hermetically sealed chamber at several points to join the brainstorming.

While the team was decompressing after their Steve meeting, I crossed paths with the project leader in the creative groups kitchen.

The suspense is killing me, I said. Howd it go this morning?

Well, he said, Steve hit us with the Simple Stick.

Translation: Steve had rejected their worknot because it was bad but because in some way it failed to distill the idea to its essence. It took a turn when it should have traveled a straight line.

In this case it hadnt even been the creative effort that bothered Steveit was the project itself. 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. There was no need to explore the idea of a second package.

He was right. It was simpler, quicker, better. The conversation was over in minutes, and it left one very smart and talented group of people wondering why they hadnt thought of that before.

The Simple Stick symbolizes a core value within Apple. Sometimes its held up as inspiration; other times its wielded like a cavemans club. In all cases, its a reminder of what sets Apple apart from other technology companies and what makes Apple stand out in a complicated world: a deep, almost religious belief in the power of Simplicity.

As those who have worked with Apple will attest, the simpler way isnt always the easiest. Often it requires more time, more money, and more energy. It might require you to step on a few toes. But more times than not, it will lead to measurably better results.

Simplicity has been a driving force at Apple since the earliest days of the two Steves, Jobs and Wozniak. It inspired them to create a computer that could actually help a human being accomplish something wonderfulas opposed to just processing data in the dark basement of some faceless corporation.

And of course Simplicity was the guiding light for Macintosh, which introduced the biggest leap in the history of computers: a graphical interface controlled by a mouse. (Now, dont get all technical with me about who really invented this. Macintosh was the first computer to popularize it.)

When Steve Jobs took the stage to announce Macintosh in 1984, he used words that would resonate for decades to come. He called it insanely great.

It was the kind of insanity that caused people to line up around the block to get a closer look at this technology milestone. When Steve returned to Apple after eleven years in exile, so did the insanityand the lines started forming once again. First he reignited computers (iMac), then he revolutionized music (iPod and iTunes), then smartphones (iPhone), and most recently computers all over again (iPad).

Every one of Apples revolutions was born of the companys devotion to Simplicity. Each new device either created a new category or turned an existing category on its headall because, as an old iMac ad put it, the technology was simply amazing, and amazingly simple.

Having played a lead role in the marketing of Intel, Dell, and IBM, as well as Apple, I can assure you that Apples focus on Simplicity is unique. It goes beyond enthusiasm, beyond passion, all the way to obsession.

While Apples love of Simplicity started in the mind of Steve Jobs, its now burned deep into the companys DNA, serving as a guide for legions of employees around the world. It pays off in the satisfaction that comes with sparking revolution after revolution. It also pays off in a more traditional waywith massive piles of cash.

To appreciate that, you need only look at the size of Apples profits versus those of any one competitor. Better yet, look at the size of Apples profits versus those of all of its competitors combined. In the third quarter of 2011, Apples 4 percent of the smartphone market accounted for over half of the entire industrys profits. In PCs, Apples small market share (about 5 percent worldwide) also rakes in a greatly disproportionate percentage of the total industrys profits.