Ken Segall is an ad agency creative director who had the privilege of working with Steve Jobs at both Apple and NeXT. Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success (Portfolio, ISBN 978-1591844839) shares his marketing adventures with the Apple co-founder and provides a ten-step outline of how to apply the concepts of simplicity to any organization or project.
The concept of simplicity was not invented by Mr. Segall, or even Steve Jobs.
I didn’t invent the concepts in this book. I merely observed them.
Simplicity is something that we pursue for the benefit of those who use our products and services. The pursuit begins by taking an honest look at those products and services and removing the mortal enemy of simplicity, which is complexity.
As those who have worked with Apple will attest, the simpler way isn’t 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.
Apple goes to great lengths to create products that are simple for users; however, this quest for simplicity doesn’t make life simple for the people that create the products. Instead, Apple employees expend a great deal of time and energy on the smallest details of the iOS user interface, the machining of iPhone frames from aluminium, or fusing iMac LCD screens to glass. But the reward for this pursuit is passionate customers who appreciate not only Apple products but the values behind them.
In addition to how to pursue simplicity as a corporate philosophy, Insanely Simple provides additional glimpses into the life of Steve Jobs and the inner workings of Apple. The book will be equally at home on your bookshelf next to business classics like Jim Collins’ Good to Great or Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs autobiography.
Resources
- Purchase Insanely Simple paperback from Amazon.com
- Purchase Insanely Simple (Kindle edition) from Amazon.com
- Purchase Insanely Simple (Audible edition) from Amazon.com
- Ken Segall‘s web site
- Follow Ken Segall on Twitter
Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book and did not receive it free from its publisher. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
