“After Steve showed the Safari icon, he clicked to the next slide. It had a single word: Why? Steve felt the need to say why Apple had made its own browser, and his explanation led with speed…”

“Edison searched specifically for the best kind of bamboo, and he was undaunted by the need to check a vast number of varieties.”

“Ideas are nothing without the hard work to make them real.”

“In any complex effort, communicating a well-articulated vision for what you’re trying to do is the starting point for figuring out how to do it.”

“In the early phases of software development, it’s possible to shake free of [bureaucracy] , especially when teams are small and the hunt for ideas is still on.”

“He began by quizzing us on the browser analysis we had done before his arrival, and after hearing it, he quickly discarded our effort with Mozilla as unlikely to bear fruit. By doing so, he demonstrated the self-confidence to skip any ingratiating display of deference to his new manager, a person who had years of experience in the technical field he was newly entering.”

“Like the movie, demos should be specifically choreographed so it’s clear what must be included and what can be left out.”

“Look for ways to make quick progress. Watch for project stalls. Cut corners to skip unnecessary effort. Remove distractions to focus attention where it needs to be. Start approximating your end goal as soon as possible. Maximize the impact of your most difficult effort.”

“Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it [a product] looks like. People think it’s this veneer—that the designers are handed this box and told, “Make it look good!” That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

“Over time, Don and I began to understand and absorb the model Richard showed us. Look for ways to make quick progress. Watch for project stalls that might indicate a lack of potential. Cut corners to skip unnecessary effort. Remove distractions to focus attention where it needs to be. Start approximating your end goal as soon as possible. Maximize the impact of your most difficult effort. Combine inspiration, decisiveness, and craft to make demos.”

“Software demos need to be convincing enough to explore an idea, to communicate a step toward making a product, even though the demo is not the product itself. Like the movie, demos should be specifically choreographed, so it’s clear what must be included and what can be left out.”

“Steve figured that the best way to answer difficult questions like these was to avoid the need to ask them… Once Steve gave his verdict, everyone else knew it would have been foolhardy to argue with him, not because Steve wasn’t open to contrary opinions but because doing so would mean speaking up in favor of adding back complexity.”

“Steve looked carefully at the software and asked me succinct questions to see if the work could be made simpler. This push for simplicity had a purpose. Even though he was a high-tech CEO, Steve could put himself in the shoes of customers, people who cared nothing for the ins and outs of the software industry. He never wanted Apple software to overload people, especially when they might already be stretched by the bustle of their everyday lives.”

“This push for simplicity had a purpose. Even though he was a high-tech CEO, Steve could put himself in the shoes of customers, people who cared nothing for the ins and outs of the software industry. He never wanted Apple software to overload people, especially when they might already be stretched by the bustle of their everyday lives.”

“This was part of Steve’s mission for Apple, the most significant strand of Apple’s product development DNA: to meld technology and the liberal arts, to take the latest software and hardware advances, mix them with elements of design and culture, and produce features and products that people found useful and meaningful in their everyday lives.”