Guy Kawasaki, the former chief evangelist of Apple who worked with Jobs for many years, shared 12 lessons he learned from Jobs. It's quite reliable.
1. Experts are actually "brick" experts.
All kinds of experts (journalists, analysts, consultants, bankers, etc.) don't "do" things, so they "give advice". They can tell you where the product problems are, but they can't make better products. They can tell you how to sell products, but they themselves can't sell them. They can tell you how to build a great team, but they only manage their own secretaries. For example, experts in the 80s told us that Mac had two big mistakes: it didn't support daisy wheel printer drivers and Lotus 1-2-3; some experts also suggested that Apple acquire Compaq. We should listen to what experts say, but not blindly imitate them.
2. Customers don't know what they want.
Apple's market research is a paradox. Apple's focus group was Jobs' left brain and right brain. If you ask customers what they want, they will tell you, "better, faster, cheaper", which means improving on the original basis rather than revolutionary change. They can only describe their desires based on the tools they are currently using. When Macintosh was launched, everyone said they wanted better, faster, cheaper Microsoft DOS machines. The biggest advantage of tech startups is to develop the products you want, and that's exactly what Apple's two founders did.
3. Grasp the next trend.
If you don't follow the routine, you can achieve great success. When the best daisy wheel printer company kept introducing new fonts of various models, Apple took another path and introduced laser printing. Just think of the examples of flake ice machines, ice factories, and refrigerator manufacturers. You can see them as Ice 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. Would you still collect ice blocks from a frozen pond in winter?
4. The greatest challenges bring the best work.
I once worried that Jobs would call me or my work garbage. Especially in public places. This is a huge challenge. Competing with IBM and Microsoft is a huge challenge. Changing the world is a huge challenge. My colleagues and I at Apple all went all out because only in this way can we meet huge challenges.
5. Design is very important.
Jobs' design needs drove people crazy, for example, some black shadows were not black enough. Only ordinary people think black is black, and a trash can is just a trash can. Jobs was a perfectionist, an almost crazy perfectionist, but he was right: some people care about design, at least many people can feel the presence of design. Perhaps not everyone can feel it, but only the important people can feel the importance of design.
6. Large pictures and large fonts will never go wrong.
Look at Jobs' slides. The fonts are all size 60. There is usually a large screenshot or chart. Now look at other tech presenters' slides. Even those who have met Jobs. Their slides are all size 8 fonts, and there are no charts. So many people say Jobs is the greatest product introducer in the world, but few people imitate him. Don't you find it strange?
7. Changing your mind is a sign of wisdom.
When Apple launched the iPhone, there was no such thing as an application. At first, Jobs felt this thing was unreliable because you didn't know what they could do on a phone. He thought Safari web applications were the way to go, until six months later, Jobs, or someone convinced Jobs, believed that applications on phones were the way to go. From Safari web applications to iPhone apps, Apple made a great leap in a short time.
8. "Value" and "price" are two different things.
If all your decisions are based on price, you will be at a disadvantage. If you rely solely on price, you will be more disadvantaged. Price is not that important, what matters is value. Value includes training, support, and the inner joy obtained by using the most reliable tool. Few people buy Apple products because they are cheap.
9. Great people should hire even greater people.
In fact, Jobs believed that great people should hire great people, meaning people who are evenly matched with oneself. I slightly adjusted it, I believe that top-notch people should hire super-top-notch people. Of course, second-rate people hire third-rate people, third-rate people hire fourth-rate people, making the former feel superior. But if you start accepting second-rate employees, then your company will encounter the situation described by Jobs as "idiot infestation".
10. Real CEOs are good at demonstrating products.
Jobs had two or three opportunities each year to demonstrate tablets, phones, Macs, etc., in front of millions of viewers. Why do many CEOs let the vice president of engineering demonstrate the products? Maybe to highlight teamwork. Maybe. But more likely, these CEOs don't understand the company's products deeply enough to explain them. How pitiful.
11. Real CEOs can make products.
Jobs was a perfectionist, but he could produce products. Or the products may not be perfect every time, but they were always decent. Jobs' greatness lies in the fact that he didn't complicate things unnecessarily, he had a plan: aim at and occupy the existing global market, or create a new market. Apple is an engineering-focused company, not a research-oriented company. Which one do you prefer: Apple or Xerox PARC?
12. Marketing ultimately comes down to providing unique value.
Assume there is a two-dimensional matrix, the vertical axis represents the uniqueness of your product compared to competitors. The horizontal axis represents product value. Lower right: valuable but not unique, you need to compete on price. Upper right: unique but not valuable, you will have a market that doesn't exist. Lower left: not unique, not valuable, you're a big fool. Upper right: unique and valuable, you will gain revenue, profit, and create history. For example, iPod is an upper-right product because if you want to legally, conveniently download cheap songs from the six largest record companies, iPod is the only channel.
Extra Bonus: Some things you can only see if you believe.
When you take another path, ignore the brick experts, dare to face the bloody reality like real heroes, immerse yourself in design, and focus on unique value, you can persuade people to believe in you, thereby allowing your efforts to bear fruit. People only believe in Macintosh to see it become a reality. iPod, iPhone, iPad are all the same. Not everyone believes, but it's okay. However, changing the world always starts by changing a few people, which is the most important lesson I learned from Jobs.