Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success Kindle Edition

A blueprint for running a company the Steve Jobs way ... should be required reading for anyone interested in management and marketing (The Times)

Punchy ... Segall gets inside Apple's branding and marketing to explain its directness and power (Financial Times)

Required reading (Observer)

An entertaining perspective on how Apple typically gets it right... Candid and insightful. Insanely Simple should be required reading for any boss with a Byzantine organisation and a shrinking business (The Guardian)

In this captivating book, Segall has succeeded in distilling what made Steve Jobs succeed in ways no one would have imagined - simplicity. The idea of going simple, and Jobs's obsession with it, is neither a set of rules nor a goal, but a worldview of how things should be. . . More practical than theoretical, this essential book is about using the power of Simplicity to set a company apart (Publishers Weekly)

Intriguing insights from someone who worked closely with Jobs on some of Apple's most successful ad campaigns (Forbes)

A few pages in, I was hooked. . . [A]n amusing and revealing book about the company's extraordinary leader, Steve Jobs, and the guiding principle that made him one of the great businessmen of the age (The Boston Globe)

Ken Segall has literally captured lightning in a bottle. Insanely Simple reveals the secret of Steve Jobs's success with such clarity, even we non-geniuses can make use of it. Ken shows us how to cut through the cobwebs of fuzzy thinking, bureaucracy, and mediocrity, and clearly see what's most essential - and therefore most important (Steve Hayden, former vice chairman, Ogilvy, and author of Apple’s legendary 1984 Super Bowl commercial)

As the man who came up with the iconic iMac name that launched one of the most successful product lines in history, Segall played a pivotal role in reviving Apple from near-death. His close working relationship with Jobs allows him to provide insight into how Jobs's obsession with simplicity became the driving force that informs every decision the company makes to this day (Booklist)

Reveals a fresh insight into Steve Jobs's mind and how his obsession with simplicity drove Apple to success (Macworld)

This book provides industry insight that many other books on Steve Jobs and Applelack. . . Recommended for those looking for advice on running a successful corporation and readers interested in all things Apple (Library Journal)

A fascinating glimpse behind Apple's famously closed doors, taking the reader inside the inner sanctum and sneaking a peek at the marketing meetings presided over by Jobs (PC Advisor)

To Steve Jobs, Simplicity was a religion. It was also a weapon. Simplicity isn’t just a design principle at Apple—it’s a value that permeates every level of the organization. The obsession with Simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It’s what helped Apple recover from near death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011. Thanks to Steve Jobs’s uncompromising ways, you can see Simplicity in everything Apple does: the way it’s structured, the way it innovates, and the way it speaks to its customers. It’s by crushing the forces of Complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory. As ad agency creative director, Ken Segall played a key role in Apple’s resurrection, helping to create such critical marketing campaigns as Think different. By naming the iMac, he also laid the foundation for naming waves of i-products to come. Segall has a unique perspective, given his years of experience creating campaigns for other iconic tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and Dell. It was the stark contrast of Apple’s ways that made Segall appreciate the power of Simplicity—and inspired him to help others benefit from it. In Insanely Simple, you’ll be a fly on the wall inside a conference room with Steve Jobs, and on the receiving end of his midnight phone calls. You’ll understand how his obsession with Simplicity helped Apple perform better and faster, sometimes saving millions in the process. You’ll also learn, for example, how to:
• Think Minimal: Distilling choices to a minimum brings clarity to a company and its customers—as Jobs proved when he replaced over twenty product models with a lineup of four.
• Think Small: Swearing allegiance to the concept of “small groups of smart people” raises both morale and productivity.
• Think Motion: Keeping project teams in constant motion focuses creative thinking on well-defined goals and minimizes distractions.
• Think Iconic: Using a simple, powerful image to symbolize the benefit of a product or idea creates a deeper impression in the minds of customers.
• Think War: Giving yourself an unfair advantage—using every weapon at your disposal—is the best way to ensure that your ideas survive unscathed.Segall brings Apple’s quest for Simplicity to life using fascinating (and previously untold) stories from behind the scenes. Through his insight and wit, you’ll discover how companies that leverage this power can stand out from competitors—and individuals who master it can become critical assets to their organizations.