I have been reading Walter Isaacson’s biography about Steve Jobs, aptly called … “Steve Jobs.”
Jobs is not exactly the type of person I want to emulate in many ways. He wasn’t a great family man, and he was often impatient and downright rude with his employees and colleagues.
However, he had several qualities that helped make him successful and that we can learn from.
Jobs liked the quote: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” and that was often a central focus of Apple’s when it was on the right course.
Jobs was influenced by designer Jonathan Ive, who was influenced by German designer Dieter Rams.
I loved this excerpt from the book:
“‘It takes a lot of hard work,’ he (Jobs) said, “to make something simple, to understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.”
“Simplicity isn’t just a visual style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep.”
I find this quote to be … really simple, and yet really deep.
It reminds me of the quote by Michelangelo: “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there; I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
It also reminds me of the quote attributed (probably incorrectly) to Mark Twain: “If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter.”
Spreadsheets and Overalls 