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Comment by IdeaHamster | Hacker News Reader

But there is no mystery! All successful business people have the one same trick. Warren Buffet put it best:

Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.

I mean, can it be said any more clearly? The problem is, much like putting chocolate cake in front of a fat man on a diet, telling a CEO that they shouldn't take the quick buck because staying the course will yield greater returns in the long term...well, I guess you can imagine how well that works.

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Thanks for your reply. But I don't feel that has any real bearing on my point. Investing and building a product are two different things. Steve Jobs took a class in calligraphy. He has said that is why the Mac has beautiful typography and that Microsoft basically copied what Apple was doing, so had he not done that, it's likely no computer would have good typography. I imagine that would have been a significant problem and would have seriously hindered the computer industry. It's a "touchy feely" kind of thing -- I mean it's about aesthetics (or more generally what has personal appeal to humans), which often get dismissed as icing on the cake but, in reality, design of that sort has significant value in terms of legibility and therefore ease of use.

So I think it is pretty widely acknowledged that his influence goes far beyond figuring out how to make money. It goes far beyond merely building Apple. Microsoft copied what he did. His value judgment about what was important (with regards to typography) has thus basically influenced 'all' computers. What I don't think I have ever seen anyone explicitly say is that without his insistence on good typography, it's possible computers would have never been popularized to the degree they have been. That's the kind of thing that mere self discipline doesn't fully explain. I think that's the kind of thing which falls in the "mystique" category.

Peace and have a good day.

I understand what you are saying...that Steve has the taste and design sense to guide Apple's development process. While I agree that this is true, I don't think this is why Apple has been successful. It's Steve's obsession with perfection that has driven the company; his unwillingness to ship just anything that will sell and make money.

Steve doesn't do it all himself. Even much of the original Macintosh design is probably better attributed to Jeff Raskin, Woz, and Bill Atkinson. Steve is a good showman, and good showmen know to never introduce the stage-hands, but Steve has had plenty.

Now, you might argue that if Steve had zero taste, then he also would not have had the sense to demand design perfection. That may be true. But if you are a CEO of a company today and you are hoping to replicate Apple's success, you would be much better served by cutting your product line in 1/4 and demanding absolute perfection from the remaining products, than by going off to find a guru, take Caligraphy classes, and stare at van Gogh all day...

I understand what you are saying...that Steve has the taste and design sense to guide Apple's development process.

No, that's not really what I'm saying. I'm saying that "celebrities" become celebrated in part because whatever it is they do is to some degree baffling to most people and yet wonderful. That which is baffling is more commonly offensive to people. Baffling but wonderful leads to a sense of mystique. If what Steve did could be replicated by just studying his track record, I don't think Apple would have brought him back. That's a rather unusual turn of events. Firing the Big Boss most often leads to deep wounds of a sort that won't close unless hell freezes over.

I will note I am not suggesting anyone run off and find a guru. I'm a big believer in "if you meet the buddha on the road, kill him". People have to learn to think for themselves. That's where the magic of life happens. That's what leads to the best decisions.

Thanks for your reply. Pleasant conversation is always a good thing.

Peace.

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