Steve Jobs wasn’t a brilliant programmer, engineer, or designer. He didn’t actually invent anything- so what makes him a genius? Read below:
Simplicity.
Steve Jobs realized 1 key thing before anyone else- computers need to be more simple. At Apple he was famous for demanding that everyone simplify their complex build decks into 2 words. He cultivated a culture of simplicity and it paid off big time.
When Steve became a legend computers were complex things. There were no friendly icons to click or folders to navigate. You had to enter raw commands into a blank black screen. It was difficult and made computers inaccessible to most people.
Steve wanted to make the computer usable to everyone. Apple computers were easy to understand, easy to use, and comprehensible to the masses. This was the appeal even though Apple struggled early on due to it’s price and the public perception of computers.
When Steve returned to apple in the late 90s he continued with his theme of simplicity above all.
Think about smartphones before Apple. They were blocky, had dozens of buttons, and were hard to use. Then comes the iPhone.
It’s Super easy to use and understand and features only 1 button.
Touch screen controls combined with the phones operating system ,using apps for all functions, made iPhones the most user friendly and attractive phones on earth.
Nobody knew they wanted an iPod or an iPad. There was no focus group saying “this is what I want” nor were there media outlets saying “humanity needs
Steve saw what these products could become and he knew that people would want them- and they did.
Steve Jobs knew what it would take to make computers and smartphones ubiquitous. He understood how simplicity of use and design were the key factors into putting a computer in every house
Steve was a brilliant businessman. His products weren’t the fastest, most powerful, or most functional and yet they sold at a very high price point and flew off the shelves. Steve knew that when people realized what an iPhone or Mac could do- they’d shell out thousands for one.
Steve knew how to get the most out of people. He was borderline abusive, cruel, and demanding yet he cultivated a team of A+ players at Apple. Steve attracted the best minds in computing and he got a lot out of them.
