#InsanelySimple 140 Characters at a Time

May 18, 2012 § Leave a comment

I just finished reading the eagerly-anticipated Insanely Simple by Ken Segall. For my money, this is the best way to get a feel for how Apple “Thinks Different” than virtually every other business in America.

From May 10th to 17th I used Twitter to catalogue my journey through the book, and I’ve collected all those tweets below. These aren’t direct quotes, though most incorporate phrases, paraphrases, and summaries from the text.

I hope they give you a taste of the book and its impact upon me, and inspire you to buy your own copy!

Insanely Simple: The Tweet Stream

Embrace Complexity when you don’t know what is going on. Once you do, kill for Simplicity. #InsanelySimple
Simplicity enables Clarity, which enables Purposeful Action, which enables Extraordinary Results. #InsanelySimple
If you @measureyourlife by the right simple standards, you must become merciless at complying with them. #InsanelySimple
When your dream is founded on Simplicity, you cherish everything that adds to it and despise everything that gets in its way #InsanelySimple
Small teams of skilled people inspired by simple goals regularly trash large groups with massive resources. #InsanelySimple
If you have Simple priorities, you will always make time for the most important things. #InsanelySimple @measureyourlife
@Iconic88 If you @measureyourlife by love instead of money, then truth becomes your ally instead of an enemy. #InsanelySimple
If you have Simple goals and a Simple process, you don’t need rules, because everything important is transparently obvious. #InsanelySimple
In an #InsanelySimple organization, finding the Right Solution is the only thing that matters, trumping ego, politics, process, and history.
To change the world, all you must do is create an environment where innovation and creativity prosper. Repeatably. #InsanelySimple
In an #InsanelySimple environment, you wake up each day knowing (and owning) what you should do and why — which produces Joy.
An #InsanelySimple process treats human creativity as the scarce resource to be optimized using #Lean management.
The power of an #InsanelySimple strategy is that it allows — even forces! — us to be totally awesome at every single thing we do.
Being #InsanelySimple means you won’t please everyone, but you can completely delight those you care most about. @measureyourlife
The reason so few choose the #InsanelySimple path is that it requires us to scorn intelligence and trust wisdom.
In an #InsanelySimple organization, progress is always more important than process
When following an #InsanelySimple path, you are forced to decide and fight for what you truly believe. For better and worse.
When you are focused on #InsanelySimple goals, you necessarily get caught up in something bigger than yourself. @measureyourlife
To do #InsanelySimple marketing, you must be crystal clear on what your values actually are, not just what you want them to be.
If education were an #InsanelySimple process, Research, Teaching, and Application would all be part of the same value–driven feedback loop.
The goal if #InsanelySimple naming is to let people know exactly who you are and what you stand for. Which means there’s nowhere to hide…
It is better to say one thing loudly than many things quietly. It is better to say nothing than to say the wrong thing well. #InsanelySimple
@GavinNewson “The #CAEconomy must plan for growth while also planning for cuts.” We need #InsanelySimple solutions that better scale.
Jennifer Hernandez: lawyer nerds agree we need to streamline #CAEconomy regulations and integrate into the planning process #InsanelySimple
The real crisis in California politics is a lack of trust; it won’t get better until we start having honest conversations. #InsanelySimple
“[Monetization] Secrets exist. And finding them is neither easy nor impossible—just hard.” #InsanelySimple http://t.co/bF7LKdV4
“The secret [of success] is in understanding what matters. It’s not obvious, and it changes” http://t.co/zIE3iexT #InsanelySimple
#InsanelySimple organizations eliminate anything that might get between people and truth.
In #InsanelySimple meetings, nothing is allowed to distract from the mission. Which requires clarity and discipline, two rare virtues.
An #InsanelySimple product is defined by its unique reason for existence, not a list of features or demographics.
An #InsanelySimple process inherently self-optimizes to avoid wasting time. Most business processes do the opposite. 😦 #Agile #Lean.
#InsanelySimple organizations make us feel like individuals who can, should, and will change the world, not cogs in a machine. #Stoos
The #InsanelySimple way to obtain #excellence is being totally obsessed with the most important thing and utterly impatient with the rest.
#InsanelySimple communication gains power from brevity.
The hardest part of #InsanelySimple communication is learning to talk to people as they actually *are*, not as we wish them to be.
#InsanelySimple presentations remove confusion to let the facts speak for themselves. Most presentations do the opposite. 😦
The goal of #InsanelySimple communication is to start a conversation, because that is how true learning occurs.
#InsanelySimple thinkers combine childlike passion with ageless perspective to produce timely insight.
The purpose and power of #InsanelySimple technology is simply connecting human beings to each other.
#InsanelySimple devices either eliminate Complexity or move it to where it doesn’t interfere with the primary experience.
An #InsanelySimple technologist sees opportunities for greater humanization everywhere. Most see the opposite. 😦
The hard part of being an #InsanelySimple leader is continually nurturing people’s greatness while being merciless towards their follies.
The trickiest balance in #InsanelySimple architecture is optimizing for both efficiency AND serendipity.
#InsanelySimple innovation should “push the human race forward”, not merely make money.
An #InsanelySimple life comes from embracing the fact that death is the destination of us all.
The keys to creating an #InsanelySimple business are the bravery to take risks and the cleverness to get rewarded for them. In that order.
Becoming #InsanelySimple is not a simple process. It requires a grueling, long-term investment in innumerable painstaking details.
#InsanelySimple marketers understand what makes people tick, then tock to them. 🙂
#InsanelySimple tools enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things they would otherwise have never imagined.
#InsanelySimple competition needs to maximize aggression while minimizing arrogance. Not easy.
The magic of #InsanelySimple wit is that it makes you feel smarter, not dumber, when you encounter it.
#InsanelySimple brands — and people — are authentic expressions of the core values that motivate everything they do.
#InsanelySimple technology should both befriend us and help us befriend others.
#InsanelySimple managers treat data as food to be digested. The goal is to fuel action, not obsess over the end product.
#InsanelySimple thinkers consider “facts” and opinion in their whole context, and will ignore those that threaten to obscure the truth.
#InsanelySimple leaders must be willing to dance with the Hellhound of Risk instead of ignoring it or running in terror.
#InsanelySimple leaders obsess over areas of maximum risk to the vision, while delegating complete freedom over everything else.
#InsanelySimple design requires extraordinary effort to go beyond the conventional belief of what is possible.
#InsanelySimple visions require insanely detailed execution.
#InsanelySimple warfare requires concentrating overwhelming force at the critical point, even if it means ignoring everything else.
#InsanelySimple solutions start by embracing the full Complexity of the problem then peeling away layers until Simplicity emerges.
#InsanelySimple solutions can still be wrong, but at least you’ll quickly find out precisely *what* is wrong.
#InsanelySimple people focus with brutal honesty on what makes us most human. Which is how we change the world.

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