Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

Chapter 2

Steve’s Business Philosophy and Values

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.

—Steve Jobs

Steve and I spent a lot of time discussing the core of the company’s values. He kept emphasizing that they had to reflect the nature of a start-up company and of a company driven by innovation, entrepreneurship, and products that truly satisfied the user. He wanted the company to be based on values, and he wanted values that would remind everyone not to compromise the integrity of the product in the name of profit. He wanted the company to be an innovator and a premier manufacturer of personal computers—but as the value leader, not the price leader.

He also wanted the statement to be based on two further premises:

Achieving our goals is important to us.

We are equally concerned with the way we reach those goals.

We had long discussions about what should be included in a values statement for Apple. What I came up with, following his guidance, was a document that began by stating the business principles and then presented a set of values.

The business principles included these items:

• To follow the principles of human engineering to build “friendly” products whose simplicity and ease of use make them natural extensions of their owners.
• To create a worldwide customer service organization to service retailers, distributors, and technical support centers, unmatched in the industry. ...