The Maxim of Minimalism: The Genius of Steve Jobs

The Maxim of Minimalism: The Genius of Steve Jobs

by Nosa Omoigui on Thursday, October 6, 2011

There aren’t enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe Steve Jobs and his impact on humanity. But to me, the most amazing thing about the man was his unique ability to create and market products that were beautiful not for what they had but for what they lacked. He was famous for obsessively building products that did only a few things but that did them amazingly well.

The iPod famously had only one user interface control. The first iPad had no camera and no USB port. Pundits panned the product for not having enough features. Yet, Jobs stood his ground and the product became a massive hit.

But what is more often overlooked is that Steve Jobs also applies minimalism to business and marketing. Apple only has a handful of core product lines: the iMac (and MacBook), the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. The other products play a supporting role: iTunes, iCloud, iWork, etc.

Yet with only 4 core product lines this is a company that is now worth $350B and is on any given day – depending on the stock market’s gyrations – the #1 or #2 most valuable company on Earth. I can’t think of any other business that has created so much value with so few products.

Contrast this with Apple’s competitors – Microsoft (sells everything from operating systems to Xbox to databases to customer relationship management software to email servers to ad servers to online search engines (Bing), etc.); Google (an online search engine, advertising software, YouTube, an operating system for smart-phones, enterprise search software, etc.); Samsung (they sell everything); HP (PCs, printers, devices, etc.).

I am sure Steve Jobs has been tempted on many occasions (by investors and perhaps even Board members) to build a search engine or a database or vertical devices for cars, planes, or fridges. But he never fell for this trap. He kept his executives and his troops focused on a few big things so no one got distracted.

Jobs’ minimalism also applies to marketing. Apple’s marketing focuses only on a few key themes for their product launches. They never ever list features in esoteric detail. Simple adjectives and superlatives like ‘amazing,’ ‘revolutionary’, ‘twice as fast,’ etc. All the complexity is hidden from view.

A similar disdain for complexity applies to M&A. Despite having a balance sheet that is flush with cash, Apple rarely makes acquisitions – which, if rashly conceived or executed can be subtractive and defocusing rather than accretive – and despite having what is very likely one of the world’s most sought after corporate development and M&A organizations.

Also, Apple has managed to innovate better and faster than any other firm in the post-PC era without having a formal research lab. It has thousands of scientists – both hardware and software scientists. But there is no “Apple Research” the way there is a “Microsoft Research,” “Google Research,” “HP Labs,” “Xerox PARC,” or “IBM Research.” Apple’s scientists don’t write papers; they build products.

This is why Apple has the highest revenues per unit R&D spend probably in the history of the technology industry.

So while consumers and the media often swoon on the beauty and minimalism in Steve Jobs’ product designs, one shouldn’t forget that this is not unrelated to the minimalism of the company’s entire business philosophy: minimalist product lines, minimalist products, minimalist targets, minimalist marketing and minimalist M&A.

How Steve Jobs was able to create such an immensely profitable business with the same focus and elegant simplicity as his products will be yet another of his innumerable and enduring legacies.