We have all done those strategy workshops when the facilitator says that our core values should not be more than 4 or five. But here are fourteen. And it is interesting that some of the favourites “Passion”, “People” “Service” are not even mentioned but taken for granted.

When asked to describe his most important creation, Jobs replied that it was Apple the company. Making an enduring company was far harder and more important than any of the products created. Time will show how the company will endure and how much Steve Jobs could accomplish in this respect in the decade and some that he had before his untimely death. Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs best-selling biography has listed 14 keys to his success that provide compelling material for reflection.

Here is a highly abbreviated version of those keys:

Focus – Relentlessly filter out distractions

On his return to Apple in 1997, he sketched a four-cell matrix with “Consumer” and “Pro” along the top and “Desktop” and “Portable” on the rows. He made it clear that he wanted four products, one per quadrant. All else was cancelled. And so he saved the company.

On the last day of his annual retreat with the 100 top people, he would build and prioritise a list of 10 top products. At the end of the day he would wipe off seven. Three products for the next year.

Simplify – Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Deep, rather than superficial simplicity, requires intimate understanding of the structure of what is created and the process through which it is manufactured. The proposed solution must be irrationally uncluttered and presented with immutable confidence.

On the design of the iDVD option, Jobs watched the presentation of navigation screens, then drew a rectangle on a whiteboard. “it has one window. You drag the video into the window. Then you click the button that says ‘Burn’. That’s it. That’s what we are going to make.”

End to End responsibility – absolute perfection needs exhaustive control

An open approach, allowing other manufacturers to use your operating system to create products may be a better business model and higher short-term profit but it is a recipe for “crappier products”. In a world filled with junky devices, inscrutable error messages and annoying interfaces, Apple offers astonishing products and a sublime user experience.

When behind, Leapfrog – if you are not first, create an offer that makes the first irrelevant

The first iMac could not burn CDs when users were swopping photos and music and burning CDs. Apple responded with an integrated system including iTunes, iTunes Store, and iPod, by far the most advanced tool for buying, sharing, managing and playing music.

Products before Profits – “Don’t Compromise”

The Macintosh was designed to be “insanely great”. The high cost led to Steve Jobs ejection from Apple in 1983. But the Macintosh led the home-computer revolution.
John Scully came in from Pepsi and turned the focus to ‘profits’. He wrote a self-aggrandising biography at the top of the slide and the product guys “turned off” and Apple lost its way. On his return Steve Jobs returned the company to a track where the intention was to make great products, all else being secondary.

Don’t be a slave to focus groups – Customers don’t know what they want till we show them

Caring deeply about what customers want is different from continually asking them what they want. Knowing what they want requires intuition and instinct about yet unformed desires.
Jobs felt the music players around in 2000 were lame. As a music fanatic he wanted a device that would allow him to carry 1000 songs in his pocket. “When you are doing something for yourself, your best-friends or family, you are not going to cheese out”.

Bend reality – impossible deadlines lead to extraordinary feats

When Jobs demanded that Corning supply “Gorilla glass” screens for iPhone, within six months, Wendell Weeks explained they weren’t making glass and did not have the capacity. Jobs stunned him by saying “Don’t be afraid”. Weeks explained that false confidence would not overcome engineering challenges to which Jobs replied “Yes, you can do it. Get your mind around it.” Corning delivered the shipment for the first iPhones in under 6 months.

As a result of this, in an age when most components are made in Asia, every piece of glass in iPhone and iPad is made in America by Corning.

Impute – presentation drives opinion

People do judge a book by its cover. Impute signals from packaging and design.

iMac was a desktop machine. There were few people that would carry it around. However, the recessed handle on the top of the iMac conveyed a sense of friendly utility to those who may be intimidated by computers, a ‘permission to be touched’.

Push for perfection – ‘implement’ means ‘enough expertise to redesign

Jobs stopped the creation process for each major product and went back to the drawing board because he felt it was not perfect. Toy Story was rewritten at production to be more friendly, Apple stores were redesigned around activity rather than product line, iPhone was redesigned to minimise the case and elevate display, iPad design was rounded to make it more likely to ‘snatched up’ rather than handled with care. Even the unseen parts were managed. The engineers were made to line up the chips on the boards neatly in the Macintosh, even though no-one would see them. Then they had their names engraved inside the case “as would real artists”.

Tolerate only “A” players – trust allows conflict and commitment

Jobs was blunt and honest beyond rude. But he had an ability to inspire. In his passion for perfection he prevented the kind of polite culture in which mediocre people felt they could stick around, what he called the ‘bozo explosion’. He had learnt that you don’t have to baby really good people.

Engage face-to-face – converse, think, scribble – ban slide shows

You cannot create ideas by email and online chat. Creativity happens through personal interaction.
Jobs designed the Pixar building so that all everyone had to pass through the central atrium, promoting unplanned encounters. Serendipity sparks magic.

Know both the big picture and the details – strategy and detailed design

Jobs had the ability to envision the overarching strategy as well as the tiniest detail of design. He first saw the personal computer as the digital hub for managing music, video, photos and content and got Apple into the personal device business with iPod and iPad. Then he saw this ‘hub’ moving into the cloud and began building a massive server farm for content. At the same time he agonised over the shape and colour the screws inside the iMac.

Combine Humanities with the Sciences – the essence of applied imagination

Jobs had the intuition to integrate science and engineering towards imaginative business strategy. He was inspired by Edwin Land, creator of Polaroid, who pointed out the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of the Humanities and Sciences.

Stay Hungry and foolish – engage in the adventure

Jobs surfed two great waves emanating from San Francisco. The hippie counterculture and the high-tech hacker culture of Silicon Valley. The business and engineering side of his life he tempered with the hippie, non-conformist. This was the common thread throughout his life.