Steve: what would this product be like if it were magical?
Engineer: I don’t think we can build that with our current technology.
Steve: I don’t give a fuck. You’re a nerd who is meant to like inventing. Do it.
It’s really easy when we live in the world of the Mac, and the iPhone to say “Ah it was inevitable” but Steve’s approach to product is what got us here. He made sure that the GUI was computers, that capacitive touchscreens were smart phones.
Being arguably the greatest product guy and salesman of all time is some feat.
> After launch, MobileMe was widely panned, full of embarrassing bugs. Jobs gathered employees in an Apple auditorium and asked them, “Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?” And when his team started to answer, Job snapped, saying, “Why the F doesn’t it do that?” He spent the next hour berating the group, saying they had tarnished Apple’s reputation and that they should all hate each other for having let each other down. He then fired the head of the team and replaced him on the spot. Steve wasn’t happy at all. He clearly felt very deep shame and took it out on his team”
Engineer: I don’t think we can build that with our current technology.
Steve: I don’t give a fuck. You’re a nerd who is meant to like inventing. Do it.
It’s really easy when we live in the world of the Mac, and the iPhone to say “Ah it was inevitable” but Steve’s approach to product is what got us here. He made sure that the GUI was computers, that capacitive touchscreens were smart phones.
Being arguably the greatest product guy and salesman of all time is some feat.