Guy Kawasaki, the former chief evangelist of Apple who worked with Steve Jobs for many years, shared 12 lessons he learned from Jobs. It's very 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 lie, 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 major mistakes: it didn't support daisy wheel printer drivers and Lotus 1-2-3; some experts even 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 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 changes. They can only describe their desires according to the tools they are using. When Macintosh was launched, everyone said they wanted better, faster, and cheaper Microsoft DOS machines. The biggest advantage of tech startups is to develop the products you want, and that's exactly what the two founders of Apple did.
3. Grasp the next trend.
If you don't follow the crowd, you can achieve great success. When the best daisy wheel printer company kept introducing new font models, Apple took a different path and introduced laser printing. Consider the examples of flake ice machines, ice factories, and refrigerator manufacturers. You can think of 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. This was a huge challenge. Competing with IBM and Microsoft was a huge challenge. Changing the world was a huge challenge. My colleagues and I at Apple all went all out because only this way could we meet the huge challenges.
5. Design is important.
Jobs' design requirements drove people crazy, for example, some black shadows weren't black enough. Only ordinary people thought black was black, and a trash can was just a trash can. Jobs was a perfectionist, an almost crazy perfectionist, but he was right: some people care about design, and at least many people can feel the presence of design. Perhaps not everyone can feel it, but the important people can feel the importance of design.
6. Large pictures and large fonts are never wrong.
Look at Jobs' slides. The fonts were size 60. There was always a large screenshot or chart. Now look at other tech presenters' slides, even those who have met Jobs. Their slides were size 8 fonts, and no charts. So many people say Jobs was the greatest product introducer in the world, but few people imitate him. Don't you find that strange?
7. Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence.
When Apple launched the iPhone, there was no such thing as an app. At first, Jobs felt this thing wasn't reliable because you didn't know what they could do on a phone. He believed that Safari web applications were the right way, until six months later, Jobs, or someone convinced Jobs, that apps on phones were the right way. From Safari web applications to iPhone apps, Apple made a big leap in a short time.
8. "Value" and "price" are two different things.
If all your decisions are based on price, you'll be at a disadvantage. If you rely solely on price, you're even worse off. Price isn't that important, what matters is value. Value includes training, support, and the genuine pleasure gained from using the most reliable tools. It's safe to say that 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 equally excellent in different ways. I adjusted it a bit, I feel 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, your company will encounter the situation Jobs called "idiot plague".
10. True CEOs are good at demonstrating products.
Jobs had two or three opportunities each year to demonstrate tablets, phones, Macs, and other products in front of millions of viewers. Why do many CEOs let the vice president of engineering demonstrate products? Maybe to highlight team work. Maybe. But more likely these CEOs don't understand the company's products deeply enough to explain them. How pitiful.
11. True CEOs can produce products.
Jobs was a perfectionist, but he could produce products. Or products may not be perfect every time, but they were always decent. Jobs' brilliance lies in that he didn't mess around just for the sake of it. He had a clear plan: aim at and occupy the existing global market, or create a new market. Apple is an engineering-centered company, not a research-oriented one. Which one do you prefer: Apple or Xerox PARC?
12. Ultimately, marketing is about providing unique value.
Imagine a two-dimensional matrix, the vertical axis represents the differences between your product and competitors'. The horizontal axis represents the product value. Lower right: valuable but not unique, you need to compete on price. Upper right: unique but no value, you will enter a non-existent market. Lower left: neither unique nor valuable, you're a fool. Upper right: unique and valuable, you will gain revenue, profit, and make history. For example, iPod is an upper-right product because if you want to legally and conveniently download cheap songs from the six largest record companies, iPod is the only channel.
Extra Bonus: Some things can only be seen if you believe.
When you take a different path, ignore the "brick" experts, dare to face the gushing blood like a true warrior, immerse yourself in design, and focus on unique value, you can convince people to believe in you, and then make your efforts blossom into results. 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, and this is the most important lesson I learned from Jobs.