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Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

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Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#151
post #70
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Taste" refers to aesthetics. The plastic screen example isn't related to taste, it's related to functionality.

I would say it is a good taste to consider this a problem important enough to address it, while all you competitors are aware of it and just don't think of it as something in need of a solution.

I think we aren't using the same definition of "taste" here. I think that considering that problem important enough to address was good business, but not related to "taste".

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#152
post #136

I still remember exactly where I was when Steve Jobs died. I think it was because at that moment, I had a realization about him: that there was no other person in recent memory who made such an impact on the everyday lives of people. He wasn’t some grand political figure that uplifted millions with inspiring rhetoric or an athlete that had achieved some amazing physical goal. But every single day, pretty much everywh…

Dennis Ritchie had a way larger impact than Jobs; yet he is not celebrated because he did not put an expensive toy in your hands, he had no visibility for the larger public. Jobs has been a salesman more than an engineer. He did not need to understand tech, he just wanted to sell it.

Dennis Ritchie created great things and if he hadn’t, someone else would have created these things. Differently but just as well.

Without Steve Jobs there would have been no iPhone and we would have settled for a Windows CE like phone. Just look at what Android was before the release of the iPhone. That would have been the major leap.

That’s the difference.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#153
post #135
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even my dog gets tired of eating the same feed all the time or playing with the same toy. It gets excited when I bring new toy and is much more eager to eat when I switch feed to a different type from time to time. I don’t have a TV so my dog is not watching ads so I expect marketing does not affect it. Might still be that other dogs it plays with tell stuff “I got a new toy, get your owner to buy you new one too”. I…

I've been thinking about boredom and the need for change for a long time. My hypothesis is that boredom is the baseline of life. From this basis, I feel like whatever we may do we will inevitably come back to boredom: again, the dog chasing his own tail. Wouldn't be better to live with boredom instead of having the illusion of escaping it from it now and then?

So we have opposite baselines. Because for me movement and looking for food or resources is the baseline.

If you are bored and stay in one place you die.

Boredom and being well fed is privilege.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First you need the ability to recognize top talent. That's already super hard. Yeah that's exactly why Jobs never did that. Nobody has to "recognize top talent" to assemble it. He knew that talent likes a good challenge without being micromanaged. The talent becomes top talent when they overcome the challenges and accomplish something new and exciting. You retain them by maximizing their autonomy. That's all.

Steve Jobs did that. He hired A+ players. See here: https://talentrust.com/blog/how-steve-jobs-got-the-a-players... You need to have a vision that top talent believes in, in order to retain them.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fj0hpsJvrko

You can either listen to what he's literally saying, or just be impressed by his rhetoric.

He says pretty bluntly they: "... were not necessarily those seasoned professionals, but who had at the tips of their fingers and in their passion the latest understanding of where the technology was and what we could do with that technology"

So, basically find young people with tons of enthusiasm for their career, put them all together on a team, and let them sort themselves out. It's naturally much easier to find motivation than "top talent". There's nothing special about that strategy and he's not the first to think of it. Like he says, "the vision" is all the managing he does, but let's be honest there are plenty of great engineers who don't really have an opinion on their work beyond how free they are to do it and experiment. They don't have to give a rat's ass about what their boss wants to deliver it anyway.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#155
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dennis Ritchie had a way larger impact than Jobs; yet he is not celebrated because he did not put an expensive toy in your hands, he had no visibility for the larger public. Jobs has been a salesman more than an engineer. He did not need to understand tech, he just wanted to sell it.

Dennis Ritchie created great things and if he hadn’t, someone else would have created these things. Differently but just as well. Without Steve Jobs there would have been no iPhone and we would have settled for a Windows CE like phone. Just look at what Android was before the release of the iPhone. That would have been the major leap. That’s the difference.

What! You can't say that if Ritchie hadn't creating things, someone else who have... and then proceed to make Jobs as an exception to that rule. There's 100x Jobs out there for every Ritchie. One could say something even better than the iPhone may have happened if Jobs was never born, and that he held us all back with his visions. Who really knows in this simulation.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#156

I have a thing for not taking advice from someone that doesn't listen to their doctor.

I dated a doctor for all of medical school and through that became friends with their social circle and keep in touch with many now doctors. Imo, most of them are barely capable at doing their own speciality correctly day in and day out due to burnout, and are almost completely worthless at anything just slightly outside their exact preferred area of expertise inside their own speciality.

And yet, still 1000x more useful that whatever craziness Steve Jobs was doing.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always get second+ opinions, in my experience doctors rarely come to the same conclusion and it can be bad for your health. Anyone who trusts strangers based solely on titles or past performance is going to have a bad time.

Something I always keep in mind: the medical field is one where the provider gets paid no matter the outcome. You notice nobody in the field advertise their success rates or makes any firm commitments...

Have you never signed a consent form? There's numbers on there. Also side effects are literally written on the box. You can read the papers if you like.

Also lots of industries you get paid no matter the outcome.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dennis Ritchie created great things and if he hadn’t, someone else would have created these things. Differently but just as well. Without Steve Jobs there would have been no iPhone and we would have settled for a Windows CE like phone. Just look at what Android was before the release of the iPhone. That would have been the major leap. That’s the difference.

What! You can't say that if Ritchie hadn't creating things, someone else who have... and then proceed to make Jobs as an exception to that rule. There's 100x Jobs out there for every Ritchie. One could say something even better than the iPhone may have happened if Jobs was never born, and that he held us all back with his visions. Who really knows in this simulation.

Just like some people are hypnotized by the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, you are blinded by your dislike for Steve Jobs and it is impossible to calmly talk about the things he created. All that is left is a screaming match ‘my guy is better’ ‘no my guy’. That is useless.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What! You can't say that if Ritchie hadn't creating things, someone else who have... and then proceed to make Jobs as an exception to that rule. There's 100x Jobs out there for every Ritchie. One could say something even better than the iPhone may have happened if Jobs was never born, and that he held us all back with his visions. Who really knows in this simulation.

Just like some people are hypnotized by the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, you are blinded by your dislike for Steve Jobs and it is impossible to calmly talk about the things he created. All that is left is a screaming match ‘my guy is better’ ‘no my guy’. That is useless.

Jobs' work is derivative from other great people's work.

Re: Make Something Wonderful – Steve Jobs in his own words

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Jobs did that. He hired A+ players. See here: https://talentrust.com/blog/how-steve-jobs-got-the-a-players... You need to have a vision that top talent believes in, in order to retain them.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fj0hpsJvrko You can either listen to what he's literally saying, or just be impressed by his rhetoric. He says pretty bluntly they: "... were not necessarily those seasoned professionals, but who had at the tips of their fingers and in their passion the latest understanding of where the technology was and what we could do with that technology" So, basically find young people with tons of e…

You are hearing portions that you want to hear. Yes, he did not necessarily want seasoned professionals, but you missed the bit before that: "we wanted people that were insanely great at what they did...." Steve Jobs did not build insanely great products by hiring morons.

Also: "Leadership is having a vision, being able to articulate that so that people around you can understand it, and getting a consensus on a common vision".

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