I think the biggest thing missing from this article - or really this mindset - is that Apple's biggest success was disrupting the phone business. True, they innovated with the iPad. But their best moves have come when a market for a product already existed, and they rewrote the rules. I don't know how many markets exist like that right now.
"And it certainly wouldn't have to be the same "who" all the time."
Totally agree. And this is the hard part for leaders -- letting their people make big decisions, because the mistakes will be attributed to the team leader, and not their teams. As it should. But great leaders will make that situation a reality, otherwise you have a bunch of unmotivated people working for you who will eventually look for a job elsewhere that empowers them to grow into larger roles.
So leadership has to guide the process, and occasionally just decide. But hopefully only occasionally.
This is where a mission and values come into play. Leadership sets the tone and provides a framework (people should have input during this process of course), then gets out of the way so its people can make their own decisions inside that model. You make it safer for people to take risks this way, and try something that not everyone might agree upon.
Great writeup. Consensus is important, but total dependence on agreement can water down solutions and lead to gridlock. Plus, settling on a solution (however modified) that one person has advocated from the start helps them own it. So long as mistakes aren't lorded over anyone, this is a great way to help people develop professionally; you learn best from your mistakes, and from the initiatives you spearhead.
"Why would you buy a Macbook and an iPhone if you could get away with just one?"
I agree, but I also see this as the moment their product line would start to calcify. I don't worry about Apple's ability to make the smart moves, but it seems like this will come to a head.
I saw this from another HN post, a quote from a Microsoft VP:
"Let’s be clear – helping folks kill time on a tablet is relatively easy. Give them books, music, videos and games, and they’ll figure out the rest. Pretty much all tablets do that.
"But helping people be productive on a tablet is a little trickier."
It'll be interesting to see if there is a convergence, though. As iPads get faster & Apple invests more in the iOS versions of their software, the iPad will naturally become a competitor to traditional laptops. The lack of a keyboard is a real drawback to that, though. The idea of Microsoft as the plucky upstart in that regard seems ridiculous enough to be plausible.
Really curious to hear how this works out. I don't recall ever seeing a paid newsletter signup form; most authors/email list owners use email as a free lead gen tool to sell something else (a book, an online course, etc). It'll be interesting to see if people will pay for the email medium itself.
The realization that a new notebook is on the way in a month would probably prompt me to write more, just to use up the notebook. That would be a great way to force me away from my little glowing screens for a little decompression time.
It's also a response to google docs. Introducing collaboration on iWork is a good first step to address to the shift towards shared docs. I imagine we'll see that expand significantly in the future.
Financial transparency FTW. I've worked for two companies that were extremely transparent. It's made me feel like a) the company knows I am a big kid and can take the good & the bad news, and b) views me as a partner in the work, not a cog in the machine. And if declining finances leads some people to leave, that's infinitely easier than having to let them go.
Apple definitely removed as many affordances as possible with each screen, almost to the extreme. Now, have I figured out how each screen works? Yes. Do I think the UI would be improved with a few more visual hints (button backgrounds, consistent color choice for actions)? Yes.
iOS 7 is such a large reset from previous iOS versions, and I would expect to see this new design language evolve over future releases. The best comparison I read: think of the changes between OS9 and OSX.
You nailed it. Dribbble excels at featuring and sharing solutions to visual design challenges. Icons. Logos. UI components that show effective affordance (as best you can tell from a small screenshot).
I think Dribbble is somewhat a victim of success; everyone wants in and uses it as they see fit.