What defines Apple?

1984 – Macintosh 

2003 – Ipod

2008 – Iphone

2010 – Ipad

What are its products known for? – Simple to operate, great to look at

Why did the Mac have a translucent cover? – Perfectionism

Why did Apple not get into dot com? – Focus

What made Steve Jobs his first billion? – Pixar

What was the first business at Pixar? – Building animation engines (hardware)

Why did Pixar move out of hardware? – Not making money. The oohs were coming in from the demo films.

Why the JV with Disney? – No money, no distribution infrastructure.

How did Steve get to be the biggest shareholder of Disney? – The IPO gamble after the release of the first movie – Toy Story.

What have we learnt from Steve’s story?

Design Matters, Simplicity matters, Perfection Matters, Focus Matters and Cash Flows Matter..

Charu Review of the Book

Steve jobs believed in giving the customers what he thought was the best for them rather than looking at their wants –  the products he created were products which had never been imagined before like the iphone, ipad or the istores.

If you do not accept a NO from people about doing things  they tend to find ways and means of doing things better.

Choose the best people and then accept the best from them.

Keep a sharp lookout on the things that the competitors are doing or on any new technology that will help better the product.  Xerox corporation

Get colours into the product – sleek lines but simple handling.

Products need to be simple to handle – joystick of phone or touch screen. One part does n number of jobs.

The goal was never to beat the competition, or to make a lot of money. It was to do the greatest thing possible, or even a little greater.

You do the impossible when you do not realize that it is not impossible.

You should never start a company with the goal of getting rich. Your goal should be making something you believe in and a company that lasts.

Entrepreneurs versus business builders – he disliked people who built a company and then at the first sign of problems sells out to another.

Empathy- intimate with the customer feelings.

Focus – all unimportant and trivial opportunities should be ignored.

Impute – people make an opinion about a product depending on the signal it communicates. The best technology presented in a slip slod manner will not sell.

Three principles of Apple

A grade people do not like to work with B grade people.

Continuously challenge to do better. The side that one cannot see should be as good as the side that you can see.