Sequencing Apple's DNA

This book aims to extract the "molecular genes" leading to craziness! Geniuses are the ones who are "crazy enough to think they can change the world" and boldly go where no one has gone before. Where no past habit and usage are available, there is no proof of viability, as nobody has done it yet, or even imagined it, and no roadmap for guidance or market study has come up with it. The authors call upon Leonardo Da Vinci, the Renaissance genius, who as strange as it seems, shared many traits of personality with that of Steve Jobs, in terms of the ways of performing. Da Vinci helps in understanding Jobs, and hence Apple, with his unique way of designing radically novel concepts, which were actually quite crazy for his time. In order to shed light on a special creative posture, the indomitable sense of specifying undecidable objects - a hallmark of the late Steve Jobs - is what led the authors to match it with a specific design innovation theory. A real theory, backed by solid mathematical proof, exists and can account for the business virtue of a prolific ability to move into unknown crazy fields! The authors postulate that, by bringing the power of C-K theory to crack open a number of previous observations made about Apple's methods, it is possible to identify most of the genes of this company. The authors analyze how and why an Apple way of doing business is radically different from standard business practices and why it is so successful. Genes are a measure of the entity at hand and can encourage past business education routine approaches, then become transferable across the spectrum of the socio-economic world.

Autorentext

Patrick Corsi is an international consultant in designing breakthrough futures based in Brussels, Belgium, and an Associate Practitioner in intensive innovation at the Centre de Gestion Scientifique at Mines ParisTech in France. Previously, he had an extensive career with IBM Corp., IBM France, THOMSON-CSF, the European Commission as well as a successful start-up experience in artificial intelligence.

Dominique Morin has worked across private, public as well as semi-public organizations. Throughout his career, he could observe a wide spectrum of mismanagement practices, mostly in the IT domain, while acutely observing Apple's history. Recently, as a senior engineer in aeronautics for Safran Group in Paris, France, he was involved in critical software development and certification, and airworthiness.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments xi

Preface xiii

Introduction xxvii

Part 1. From Insanely Successful Episodes 1

Chapter 1. Sequencing the First Segments of Apple's DNA 3

1.1. The gene, domain and cultural bias 3

1.2. Nine DNA segments of rare importance 4

Chapter 2. On Risk Taking 7

2.1. Where is the gap? 7

2.1.1. Business school 7

2.1.2. Apple 8

2.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 9

2.3. The genes 13

Chapter 3. Product Design 15

3.1. Where is the gap? 15

3.1.1. Business school 15

3.1.2. Apple 16

3.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 16

3.2.1. On packing with functionality 18

Chapter 4. Market Studies 21

4.1. Where is the gap? 21

4.1.1. Business school 21

4.1.2. Apple 22

4.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 22

Chapter 5. Giving up Some Fights 25

5.1. The chasm 25

5.1.1. Business school 25

5.1.2. Apple 26

5.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 26

Chapter 6. Entering New Markets 29

6.1. The chasm 29

6.1.1. Business school 29

6.1.2. Apple 30

6.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 30

Chapter 7. Apple, the Learning Company 33

7.1. The chasm 33

7.1.1. Business school 34

7.1.2. Apple 34

7.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 35

Chapter 8. On Research and Development 39

8.1. The chasm 39

8.1.1. Business school 40

8.1.2. Apple 40

8.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing 40

Chapter 9. On Company Acquisition 45

9.1. The chasm 45

9.1.1. Business school 45

9.1.2. Apple 46

9.2. Amplifying the gap 46

9.3. Progressing the gap 52

Chapter 10. The Manager, the Software and the Process 55

10.1. The chasm 55

10.1.1. Business school way 55

10.1.2. Apple's way 56

10.2. Developing the chasm 56

10.2.1. The case of Mister Hullot 57

10.2.2. Drawing lessons from software management 58

Part 2. Emergence of a Brand: From Failures to Everyday Situations (In Search of Exclusive Value) 61

Chapter 11. Failures Left Behind 63

11.1. Why failures? 63

11.1.1. Business school 63

11.1.2. Apple 63

11.2. Failure dissolves in time 64

11.3. A basket of historical failures 64

Chapter 12. A Cornucopia of Commerce Situations 71

12.1. Commercial policy 71

12.1.1. Business school 71

12.1.2. Apple 71

12.2. Asking customers 71

12.2.1. Business school 71

12.2.2. Apple 72

12.2.3. Development 72

12.3. Forecasting and strategy 73

12.3.1. Business school 73

12.3.2. Apple 73

12.3.3. Development 73

12.4. Grabbing a trend 73

12.4.1. Business school 73

12.4.2. Apple 73

12.4.3. Development 73

12.5. Communicating 74

12.5.1. Business school 74

12.5.2. Apple 74

12.5.3. Development 74

12.6. Getting incomparable value 74

12.6.1. Business school 74

12.6.2. Apple 74

12.6.3. Development 75

12.7. Making something profitable 75

12.7.1. Business school 75

12.7.2. Apple 75

12.7.3. Development 75

12.8. Going after the enterprise market 75

12.8.1. Business school 75

12.8.2. Apple 76

12.8.3. Development 76

12.9. Expenses versus returns 76

12.9.1. Business school 76 12.9.2. Apple 76</p&g...