Table of Contents
This one is for Britton Edwards.
Apple has a core set of talents, and those talents are: We do, I think, very good hardware design; we do very good industrial design; and we write very good system and application software. And were really good at packaging that all together into a product. Were the only people left in the computer industry that do that.
STEVE JOBS,
INTERVIEWED BY JEFF GOODELL, STEVE
JOBS: THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW,
ROLLING STONE #684 , JUNE 16, 1994
INTRODUCTION
Steve Jobs and the Vision Thing
Im always keeping my eyes open for the next big opportunity, but the way the world is now, it will take enormous resources, both in money and in engineering talent, to make it happen. I dont know what that next big thing might be, but I have a few ideas.
STEVE JOBS
ON THE NEXT BIG THING, CNNMONEY ,
JANUARY 24, 2000
S ince 1976 Steve Jobs spoke his mind, to the delight of his advocates and the dismay of his detractors, in every possible venue: press releases, statements on Apples Websites, public appearances to introduce new Apple products, and interviews to the print and electronic media.
But no matter what one thinks of Jobs, who twice cites the vision thing on his rsum, one indisputable fact stands out: He gave us some of the most memorable quotes about the nature of business in our time.
Steve Jobs occupied a unique and enviable position in the business community. He was selected as CEO of the Decade by Fortune magazine, the worlds best-performing CEO by the Harvard Business Review , and Person of the Decade by the Wall Street Journal , among numerous other honors.
On August 18, 2011, news broke that the only authorized biography of Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson, curiously had been moved up from March 2012 to November 21, 2011, prompting questions as to why. Big publishers simply dont move up pub dates four months on a whim. Clearly, a shoe had been dropped.
Six days later, on August 24, the other shoe dropped: Steve Jobs announced he was stepping down as CEO, and asked the Apple board to execute our succession plan, which put Timothy Cook at the helm.
On October 5, one day after Apples new CEO held his first media event to announce the iPhone 4Gs, Apples board stated that Steve Jobs, at age 56, had died. The board released a statement: Steves brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
QUOTATIONS
Anxiety before iPad Debut
Even though weve been using these internally for some time and working on it for a few years, you still have butterflies in your stomach the week beforethe night before introductionthe launch. You never know until you get it into your customers hands and they tell you what they think. The feedback weve got has been off the charts. We think this is a profound game-changer. We think when people look back some number of years from now, theyll see this as a major event in personal computation devices. Whats been really great for me is how quickly people have got it. You know, Ive gotten a few thousand emails from people Ive never talked to before just telling me how much they think this product is going to change their life and what they do. People are getting it very quickly.
Apple event for iPhone 4.0 software, April 8, 2010
Apples Core: Employees
All we are is our ideas, or people. Thats what keeps us going to work in the morning, to hang around these great bright people. Ive always thought that recruiting is the heart and soul of what we do.
D5 Conference: All Things Digital, May 30, 2007
Apples DNA
Most of us cant wait to get to work in the morning. But its not like Apple has somehow morphed into a mass-market consumer electronics company. Our DNA hasnt changed. Its that mass-market consumer electronics is turning into Apple.
CNNMoney/ Fortune , February 21, 2005
Apples Existence
What if Apple didnt exist? Think about it. Time wouldnt get published next week. Some 70% of the newspapers in the U.S. wouldnt publish tomorrow morning. Some 60% of the kids wouldnt have computers; 64% of the teachers wouldnt have computers. More than half the Websites created on Macs wouldnt exist. So theres something worth saving here. See?
Time, August 18, 1997
Attention Getting
And one more thing
Characteristically used toward
the end of Apple events
Being the Best
Were not going to be the first to this party, but were going to be the best.
Apple event for iPhone OS 4.0, April 8, 2010
Beyond Recruiting
Its not just recruiting. After recruiting, its building an environment that makes people feel they are surrounded by equally talented people and their work is bigger than they are. The feeling that the work will have tremendous influence and is part of a strong, clear visionall those things. Recruiting usually requires more than you alone can do, so Ive found that collaborative recruiting and having a culture that recruits the A players is the best way. Any interviewee will speak with at least a dozen people in several areas of this company, not just those in the area that he would work in. That way a lot of your A employees get broad exposure to the company, andby having a company culture that supports them if they feel strongly enoughthe current employees can veto a candidate.
In the Company of Giants , 1997
Branding
We dont stand a chance of advertising with features and benefits and with RAMs and with charts and comparisons. The only chance we have of communicating is with a feeling.
The Apple Way , 2006
What are the great brands? Levis, Coke, Disney, Nike. Most people would put Apple in that category. You could spend billions of dollars building a brand not as good as Apple. Yet Apple hasnt been doing anything with this incredible asset. What is Apple, after all? Apple is about people who think outside the box, people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get a job done.
Time, August 18, 1997
