BOOK REVIEW — Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s success
Simplicity isn’t the sole factor behind Apple’s success. Leadership, vision, talent, imagination, and incredibly hard work may have just a bit to do with it. But there’s one common thread that runs through it all. That’s Simplicity.
The simpler way isn’t always the easiest. Often it requires more time, money, and energy. It might require you to step on a few toes but it will lead to measurably better results.
Simplicity is not merely a layer that can be grafted onto a business. It isn’t available in a prepackaged version. It doesn’t work with an on/off switch.
It needs a champion, someone who’s willing to stand up for its principles and strong enough to resist the overtures of Simplicity’s evil twin, Complexity. It needs someone who’s willing to guide a process with both head and heart.
THE UNDENIABLE TRUTH
People prefer Simplicity. Given the option, any sane person will choose the simple path over one that’s more complicated. It looks, acts, and sounds perfectly natural. When it comes to ordinary, everyday decisions, most life-forms agree: The simpler path is the far more attractive one.
As Simplicity becomes more rare, it also becomes more valuable. So your ability to keep things simple, and protect things from becoming more complicated, becomes more valuable as well.
Business people who understand, embrace, and leverage this fact are destined to achieve greater success than those who do not.
PREPARE FOR BATTLE
If you’re prepared to do battle with Complexity, you’ll have no trouble finding a fight. Chances are, you’re surrounded by it. Unless you work in the rarest of environments.
Simplicity is more than a goal — it’s a skill. Becoming skilled in Simplicity isn’t that simple. You can’t just learn it; you need to make it second nature.
You must understand that Simplicity is not a smorgasbord from which you can pick and choose at whim. You buy the whole thing or you buy none of it. Because if your understanding or skills are incomplete, you’ll be no match for Complexity, which knows every trick in the book.
THINK BRUTAL — STANDARDS AREN’T FOR BENDING
Blunt is Simplicity. Meandering is Complexity.
There’s no “almost” when it comes to making things simpler.
“Good enough is not enough.”
To settle for second best is a violation of the rules of Simplicity, and it plants the seeds for disappointment, extra work, and more meetings. Most disturbing, it puts you in the worst possible business position: having to defend an idea you never believed in.
THINK SMALL
SIMPLICITY’S BEST FRIEND: SMALL GROUPS OF SMART PEOPLE
One of Simplicity’s most important rules: Start with small groups of smart people — and keep them small. Every time the body count goes higher, you’re simply inviting Complexity to take a seat at the table.
The small-group principle is deeply woven into the religion of Simplicity. The idea is pretty basic: Everyone in a room should be there for a reason. Either they’re critical to the meeting or they’re not. It’s nothing personal, just business.
For a principle that would seem to be Common Sense, it’s surprising how many organizations fail to observe it.
How many overpopulated meetings do you sit through during the course of a year? How many of those meetings get sidetracked or lose focus in a way that would never occur if the group were half the size?
The small-group rule requires enforcement, but it’s worth the cost.
Most people know from experience that the fastest way to lose focus, squander valuable time, and water down great ideas is to entrust them to a larger group. Just as we know that there is equal danger in putting ideas at the mercy of a large group of approvers.
Simply making groups smaller will obviously not solve all problems, and “small” is a relative term. Only you know your business and the nature of your projects, so only you can draw the line between too few people and too many. You need to be the enforcer and be prepared to hit the process with the Simple Stick when the group is threatened with unnecessary expansion.
Meetings are a necessary and important way to make collaborative progress. But we all know that too many unnecessary or overpopulated meetings can rob even the most brilliant people of their creative energy.
Many businesses follow an instinctive but misguided principle: The more critical the project, the more people must be thrown at it. The operative theory is that more brains equal more ideas. That’s hard to argue with — except that only occasionally do more brains mean better ideas.
To say that putting more people on a project will improve the results is basically saying that you don’t have a ton of confidence in the group you started with. So fix that. When populated by the smartest people, small groups will give management more confidence, not less.
Small groups = better relationships. It creates a feeling of true partnership, with each party having a stake in the other’s success. Small groups of smart people create a tighter relationship that can withstand the test of time, promoting a feeling of common cause and common values.
THINK BIG, ACT SMALL
“You know how many committees we have at Apple? Zero. We’re organized like a start-up. We’re the biggest start-up on the planet.” — Steve Jobs
Most big organizations are simply awful at acting small. They’re unable to streamline complicated processes. Even when they successfully identify their challenges, develop strategies, and create great work that brings them to life, their processes choke the life out of that work. They inflict endless meetings and multiple approvals upon what should be a simpler way of working.
This is the problem that most big companies face. Their processes have become so institutionalized, they’re incapable of altering their own behavior — even if the benefits of change are staring at them right in the face.
It boils down to this: When process is king, ideas will never be. It takes only Common Sense to recognize that the more layers you add to a process, the more watered down the final work will become.
Operating like a smaller, less hierarchical company makes everyone more productive — and makes it more likely that you’ll become a bigger business.
Choreographed meetings and formalized presentations may transfer information from person to person, but they neither inspire nor bring a team closer together. Embrace the fact that you’ll get more accomplished when you converse with people rather than present to them.
If you want to reap the benefits of Simplicity, think big — but don’t act that way. As Steve Jobs proved, one of the most effective ways to become a big business is to maintain the culture of a small business.
THINK MINIMAL
Steve Jobs often spoke publicly about the purity of Apple’s thinking. It focuses on one thing and doesn’t get distracted by anything else.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.” — Steve Jobs
Every product on Apple’s grid has a distinct reason for being that is easily understood by its customers. And every product Apple sells is first quality. No fillers. By focusing on making fewer, higher-profile products, and by refusing to compromise on quality, Apple was able to achieve greater efficiency while it charged a premium price.
Apple is very good at saying no. It actively resists the temptation to make new products simply because it can.
THE PERILS OF PROLIFERATION
Up until 2015, if you visited Apple’s site you could choose between two models of laptop: MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. (the 12-inch Macbook was added in March 2015 bringing the number of models to 3)
Now take a look at the sites for HP and Dell. Their lineups change frequently, but in November 2012, HP was showing more than forty-nine (49) different models of laptops, while Dell was offering forty-two (42).
“I’ve yet to meet a human being who can explain why so many different models are necessary.
This is called product proliferation.” — Ken Segall
Many companies can’t stop themselves from responding to every opportunity, trying to please every customer and close every sale — when in fact they would be better served by making their product lineup logical and easier to navigate. They seem to forget that trying to please everyone is a good way to please no one.
Complexity loves nothing more than a sea of choices. It’s enough to stretch your decision time from a few minutes to a few hours.
Rather than seeing less choice, Apple customers see less confusion. They become attached to a company that gives them a simple shopping experience.
Certainly customers demand and appreciate choice — it’s the overdose that becomes damaging. When choice becomes overwhelming, it ceases to be a benefit and starts to become a liability.
THE LESS THE MERRIER
When iPad was unveiled, for example, critics complained that it was lacking in features. When competitors’ tablets began to arrive, they’d added everything iPad was “missing” to make their devices more attractive to buyers: more ports, memory card slots, etc. Their additions didn’t sell. It was the subtractions made by Apple during the design stage that customers found more appealing.
If you ever felt the urge to buy an iPod because it was so beautifully crafted, or if you felt compelled to own an iPad because of the way it responded to your touch, or if your friend’s new iPhone suddenly made your own phone seem less interesting, you already appreciate the power of Simplicity.
At those moments, you might not have imagined that your feelings were relevant to your business. But the truth is, they’re relevant to every business on earth.
It should now be considered a basic law of commerce: Simplicity attracts.
SIMPLIFYING THE TARGET
The PC companies are churning out different models of computers for small business, big business, education, government, and consumers of every stripe. They offer more choices now than ever before — and make very little profit on each.
Rather than splinter its computer-marketing efforts among different types of customers, Apple generally focuses on one. It simply sees its customers as people. It markets its products based on the belief that its customers aren’t looking for a great home computer or a great business computer — they’re looking for a great computer, period.
Unfortunately, the desire to minimize does not necessarily come hand-in-hand with intelligence. Some of the most brilliant people on this planet can’t stop themselves from over-complicating the way they do business.
Minimizing is about being both smart and clear. It sometimes takes strength to make the necessary changes, but in the end it creates more effective companies — and more effective leaders.
THE INEXPLICABLE URGE TO OBFUSCATE
The more things you ask people to focus on, the fewer they’ll remember. If you want to give people a good reason to check out a product, pick the most compelling feature and present it in the most compelling way.
People will always respond better to a single idea expressed clearly. They tune out when Complexity begins to speak instead.
Be mindful of the fact that every time you attempt to communicate more than one thing, you’re splintering the attention of those you’re talking to.
If you highlight everything, you highlight nothing.
If it’s necessary to deliver multiple messages, find a common theme that unites them all and push hard on that idea.
Minimizing is one good way to turn a complicated thing into a simple thing. When in doubt, minimize.
THE SMART TIMELINE
Though it may defy logic, the easiest way to screw up a project is to give it too much time — enough time for people to rethink, revise, have second thoughts, invite others into the project, get more opinions, conduct tests, etc.
Concentrating on building the best possible version 1.0 product gives Apple a number of advantages. It allows the company to create a product that’s not only revolutionary, but illuminates an even more exciting path ahead. Apple’s first modern revolution was iPod, the 1.0 version of which was (in hindsight) extremely limited. But it clearly pointed the way toward different types of media and a new world of accessibility.
Another good example is iPhone. The 1.0 version didn’t even support apps, which quickly came to be the most revolutionary part of the platform. The original idea was that Apple would support only web apps developed in Safari.
Creating products this way gives Apple the ability to “recycle” its leadership. Apple creates the revolution, then — while its competitors work to catch up to the 1.0 version — it’s already at work on the 2.0 version. Whatever features might have been cut from the original idea become part of the starting point for the next iteration. Year after year, as long as Apple continued to innovate, it had the opportunity to renew its leadership.
Apple gets an interesting marketing advantage from these cycles as well. Since it falls upon Apple’s competitors to prove they’ve created a better device, they normally gravitate toward specification-heavy advertising. They feel obligated to point out that they have more megapixels, more USB ports, more whatever.
The longer people lived with their iPad, the more locked in they became with the iPad ecosystem of apps and accessories. Simplicity is hard to leave behind.
THINK PHRASAL
Of all the things in this world that cry out for Simplicity, product naming probably contains the most glaring examples of right and wrong.
Product naming is the ultimate exercise in Simplicity. Nowhere is Simplicity found in such a concentrated form as the name of a new product.
While Simplicity enjoys a challenge like this, unfortunately so does Complexity. In fact, if you look around at product names, you’ll realize that Complexity is doing a fine job of winning this particular war.
The naming structure across Apple’s major product lines is easy for current and potential customers to understand. And every time you say the name of an Apple product, you know it’s an Apple product. That’s an incredibly powerful concept, as simple as simple gets — but few companies manage to achieve that kind of branding power in their product names.
Human beings are naturally programmed to identify products by single words. Ask anything more of them and you’re bound to be disappointed.
Simple and natural names stick with people, while jargon and model numbers do not. If you wish people to form a relationship with your product, it needs a name people can naturally associate with. Product naming is one area in which Simplicity pays immediate returns.
Apple doesn’t just keep naming simple for the sake of brand-building. It keeps naming simple so it doesn’t confuse the hell out of people. At the end of the day, that’s what Simplicity does best. With perfect clarity, it tells customers who you are and what you sell.
THINK HUMAN
TECHNOLOGY WITH FEELING
Back when PCs required us to think like machines, Macintosh changed everything by letting us think like people. It was simpler.
But in the last decade in particular, Apple’s brand of Simplicity has become increasingly attuned to our humanity. By appealing to our emotions, our love of art and design, Apple’s inventions have gone far beyond mere functionality to become objects of lust. So much so that grown adults will actually stand in line for half a day to get them.
“One of the biggest insights we [had] was that we decided not to try to manage your music library on the iPod, but to manage it in iTunes. Other companies tried to do everything on the device itself and made it so complicated that it was useless.” — Steve Jobs
By removing Complexity, Apple created a device that brought people closer to their music. It was a device that appealed on human terms, removing the barrier of technology.
One can’t have a deep feeling for Simplicity without being able to appreciate human values and understand what drives human behavior.
TECHNOLOGY NOT SPOKEN HERE
Human-speak is a hallmark of Simplicity. It’s the recognition that the best way to connect with people is to put things in human terms and use the words that people use in everyday conversation. This is the way human beings communicate, so this is the way Apple communicates.
This way of speaking is front and center in all Apple communications and it has been since the company was founded. Apple makes it look effortless, and a great many marketers set out to behave similarly — but few of them succeed.
Why? Because what looks so effortless requires a lot of hard work. Once again, it’s the curse of Simplicity — it looks deceptively simple. Most will never achieve it because their goal is a quick fix and not a meaningful change. And as we know, Simplicity is more about commitment than indulgence.
There is also the unfortunate reality that many companies are Simplicity resistant. Their corporate cultures and institutionalized processes prevent them from achieving Simplicity, or they are staffed by people who can never muster more than a surface commitment to it. Even when they aim toward Simplicity, these companies tend to fall back on what’s comfortable.
Either that or they reserve a place at the table for Complexity’s old friend, — Compromise. Before you know it, that “new” approach starts feeling an awful lot like the old approach — and all the ones that came before.
It’s only natural for companies to be influenced by past behaviors. In Apple’s case, that’s a very good thing. It’s called consistency. The challenge to any company seeking to embrace Simplicity is being consistent with its new values long enough so they become part of the culture. Otherwise, Simplicity ends up being a suit that’s only worn at special events — not exactly a DNA changer.
DON’T BURY YOUR FACTS INSIDE OF FACTS
THE BATTLE BETWEEN NUMBERS AND HUMANS
Steve recognized the difference between a fact and an emotion. He understood that the intangible and the unprovable can be the most important parts of building a brand. The idea of running his business through analytics alone sat no better with Steve than the idea of asking people on the street what kind of product they’d like Apple to build.
“If I asked people what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” — Henry Ford
For Steve, it was Apple’s job to dream up the things that people can’t imagine. He knew that once they lived with a great product, they wouldn’t be able to imagine living without it.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” — Steve Jobs
Business is no place to be sterile. Have the boldness to look beyond numbers and spreadsheets and allow your heart to have a say in the matter. Bear in mind that the intangibles are every bit as real as the metrics — oftentimes even more important.
THINK SKEPTIC
If there are rules, chances are they can be broken.
“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” — Steve Jobs
When Steve invented the Apple store, plenty of naysayers gave reasons why it was the worse thing ever. What they didn’t realize was that Apple was building a physical representation of its brand. The Apple brand stood for quality, design, and Simplicity, and the Apple Stores brought all three of these things to life. The stores were uncluttered and inviting, with every detail fussed over.
If there is one focus at Apple that transcends all others, it’s the customer experience. The goal is to give the customer a consistently great experience throughout their entire relationship with Apple.
This is why Steve hated the idea of licensing other PC makers to sell Mac-compatible desktops. He wanted Apple to control the hardware and software, period. He talked about the need to control the complete experience and never put Apple’s customers in a position where they might enjoy the benefits of the Mac OS but suffer the shortcomings of non-Apple hardware.
Expect the first reaction of others to be negative. The forces of Complexity will inevitably tell you that something can’t be done, even if the truth is that your request simply requires extra effort. You’ll probably achieve better results if you believe more in the talent of people to work miracles than in those who are quick to provide negative answers.
Be data informed, not data driven. See facts and opinions in context. Definitely consider the expertise of those who provide counsel, but evaluate those opinions against things that may be beyond the expert’s vision — like your long-term goals. Steve Jobs knew that the short-term cost, even if it’s large, is often outweighed by the future benefit.
Simplicity isn’t afraid to act on Common Sense, even when it runs counter to an expert’s opinion.
THINK WAR
USE OVERWHELMING FORCE
When you’re dealing with the forces of Complexity, the last thing you want is an even fight. Decisive victories are far more compelling than narrow ones. They also put a stake in the ground to influence future struggles.
Bottom line: Never use a peashooter when you have access to a howitzer.
Most important, you need to do everything in your power to represent your own work all the way to the top.
When someone else represents your work to a higher level of client, or to a higher level within your own organization, only rarely will they have your level of passion. If the person representing your work runs into opposition, they’ll normally be far more willing to throw in the towel than you would be, or to make compromises that you would never agree to. It’s human nature.
So it must become your nature never to relent. You never want to come out even, because in this game a tie goes to Complexity. And you never want to get into an exchange of small-arms fire. There’s no nicking the arm of Complexity — you need to blow it away.
What’s at stake is both the idea you represent and your standing in the company.
If you fail to go with overwhelming force, you are risking two things, neither of which is pleasant. First there’s the greater possibility of failure. Then there are the sleepless nights you’ll spend wondering what might have happened had you called in the heavy artillery.
Breaking through levels of resistance is easier when you use overwhelming force. And never be embarrassed to acknowledge that you can’t do it by yourself.
SIMPLICITY: THE ULTIMATE WEAPON OF WAR
When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the “onion” off, you can oftentimes arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.
Once Apple comes up with a solution, it’s more of a beginning than an end. It’s by peeling back those layers of Complexity that Apple is able to create its “magic.”
You don’t need to be creating products to apply this principle. You can use the same approach when you’re creating presentations. I’ve yet to meet a paragraph that couldn’t lose a few more words — even if it’s been trimmed multiple times before. If you work harder and look more closely, there’s always something you can whittle away. It’s when you get to the essence of your idea that you’ll have something to be proud of.
When you believe in the power of Simplicity, you are by definition “thinking different.” You’re in the minority. Simplicity may be one of the most powerful forces on earth, but it is the weapon of the few.
A simple idea is not necessarily a better idea. Quality counts. If you start with something truly fresh and compelling, then applying the principles of Simplicity can take you to fantastic heights. However, a bad idea remains bad no matter how you try to simplify it. And unfortunately, being a believer in Simplicity does not exempt you from having bad ideas.
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” — Steve Jobs
Simplicity doesn’t like to get tangled up in old problems. It vastly prefers to look ahead. Though it may be painful to admit mistakes, customers appreciate this kind of honesty.
Simplicity can take many forms. It can be an idea or a finished product. It can be the inspiration or the end result, or the process that leads from one to the other..
That’s because Simplicity is a concept more than any one thing. It’s a way of looking at every part of your job, the jobs of those around you, and the way your entire company operates. Once you start seeing the world through the lens of Simplicity, you’ll be astounded at how many opportunities exist to improve the way your business works.
Forcing people to follow new rules is always an uphill battle, but getting them to buy into a concept to the point where they start contributing their own ideas can literally create a movement within an organization.
Simplicity can be contagious. Once you get people turned on to its advantages, it really can become an obsession — just as it did with history-making results for Apple.
The real power of Simplicity is felt when, as happened with Apple, it becomes a company-wide obsession. It’s the combined effect of multiple parts of the company being guided by Simplicity that has powered Apple in its miraculous rise from the ashes. Steve instilled the religion of Simplicity deep into the soul of the company, so that Apple could continue to thrive for many years to come.
Steve’s greatest achievement wasn’t a Mac, iPod, iPhone, or iPad. He accomplished something that no one had even contemplated before. Steve Jobs built a monument to Simplicity.
That monument is Apple itself.
It will be a challenge, because you live and work in a complicated world. But it will be fruitful for the very same reason. In a world where Complexity abounds, those who stand up for Simplicity will always stand apart.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end, because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — Steve Jobs
