Sequencing Apple's DNA

By Patrick Corsi and Dominique Morin

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781119261605

Book preview

Table of Contents

Cover

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Preface

Setting a new stage

Why is this book different?

Bridging an Apple capacity for craziness and design innovation

How to use this book

The power is in the DNA

How did the authors come up with it?

How is the book structured?

Introduction

PART 1: From Insanely Successful Episodes

1 Sequencing the First Segments of Apple’s DNA

1.1. The gene, domain and cultural bias

1.2. Nine DNA segments of rare importance

2 On Risk Taking

2.1. Where is the gap?

2.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

2.3. The genes

3 Product Design

3.1. Where is the gap?

3.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

4 Market Studies

4.1. Where is the gap?

4.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

5 Giving up Some Fights

5.1. The chasm

5.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

6 Entering New Markets

6.1. The chasm

6.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

7 Apple, the Learning Company

7.1. The chasm

7.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

8 On Research and Development

8.1. The chasm

8.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

9 On Company Acquisition

9.1. The chasm

9.2. Amplifying the gap

9.3. Progressing the gap

10 The Manager, the Software and the Process

10.1. The chasm

10.2. Developing the chasm

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

11 Failures Left Behind

11.1. Why failures?

11.2. Failure dissolves in time

11.3. A basket of historical failures

12 A Cornucopia of Commerce Situations

12.1. Commercial policy

12.2. Asking customers

12.3. Forecasting and strategy

12.4. Grabbing a trend

12.5. Communicating

12.6. Getting incomparable value

12.7. Making something profitable

12.8. Going after the enterprise market

12.9. Expenses versus returns

12.10. Management to commitment to product

13 Emergence of a Brand

13.1. The chasm

13.2. Amplifying the gap and progressing

PART 3: Importing Apple’s Genes into Transferable Knowledge (In Evidence of Deeper Gaps)

14 On Structure and Contents

14.1. The chasm

14.2. Developing the chasm

15 You Said Reality? Which Reality?

15.1. The chasm

15.2. Developing the chasm

15.3. It’s all about perception

16 Combining the Genes

16.1. Taking stock of a flat list of genes

16.2. Setting the stage toward a combined dynamics

17 Evolving Competition

17.1. Cracking open the notion of competition

17.2. Designing an expanded understanding competition

18 Evolving Innovation

18.1. Cracking open the notion of innovation

18.2. Designing an expanded understanding of innovation

19 A Company Under (Dynamic) Tension

19.1. Tension is a co-evolving dynamic

19.2. Tension is a dynamic toward futures

19.3. Walking the way

20 Overcoming Common Blocking Points

20.1. The need for an innovation molecule

20.2. A need to revisit risk-taking

Conclusion

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Apple Genes List

Appendix 2: On the True Nature of Software

A2.1. Software role, software people role

A2.2. Software, an immaterial product

A2.3. Software development activities – the CMM model

A2.4. Software people productivity

Appendix 3: On Purposefully Recalling Leonardo Da Vinci Design Innovation Codes

A3.1. Introduction

A3.2. Where a Leonardo inventor and designer shows the C-K way

A3.3. Create by starting from an empty space, then connect the dots

A3.4. On the value of the analysis

A3.5. Wrapping up the key elements of relevance to Apple

Appendix 4: Further Tips in Designing Innovations with C-K Theory

A4.1. Tracking dominant designs above all

A4.2. Why they (still) exist

A4.3. Why they still work (less and less)

A4.4. What would an industry breaker do?

A4.5. Conclusion

Appendix 5: Tips on Deepening Understanding by Using Trialectics

A5.1. Introducing trialectics

A5.2. Using trialectics

A5.3. Operating trialectics on the concept of Brand

A5.4. Articulating trialectics with C-K theory

A5.5. Conclusion

Appendix 6: Selected Quotes from Steve Jobs

Bibliography

Books about Apple

Complementary references

Sites of interest

Further reading

References specific to Appendix 3

Other references

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Preface

Table 1. Structuring the book from linear to nonlinear thinking

1 Sequencing the First Segments of Apple’s DNA

Table 1.1. In free market economies, firms face eternal issues to consider. Exploring their core subsets reveals hidden issues to bring into consideration

9 On Company Acquisition

Table 9.1. Apple’s acquisitions through history: a cornucopia of long-term value, most of the time brought in right on target and soon transformed into worthwhile internal assets

11 Failures Left Behind

Table 11.1 A list of four genes corresponding to Apple’s major historical failures

16 Combining the Genes

Table 16.1. The acquired list of genes

Table 16.2. Relevance to the two synthetic characteristics of innovation and competitiveness

Table 16.3. The root knowledge base. Each cell contains a wealth of knowledge, both traditional (e.g. business schools) and Apple-made

20 Overcoming Common Blocking Points

Table 20.1. Analyzing risk-taking in the form of transferable knowledge (the classical view)

Table 20.2. Analyzing risk-taking in the form of transferable knowledge (Apple’s view)

Appendix 2: On the True Nature of Software

Table A2.1. The 18 key process areas of the original CMM model

List of Illustrations

Preface

Figure 1. Three dimensions toward realizing a holistic system

Figure 2. The main layers that form a company’s embodiment

2 On Risk Taking

Figure 2.1. Jobs triggers chutzpah by reversing dominance in a mocked leading newspaper in the eighties

4 Market Studies

Figure 4.1. Energy roots access, which roots...the rest of it

8 On Research and Development

Figure 8.1 Apple’s R&D spending versus revenue over the years shows usual trend

11 Failures Left Behind

Figure 11.1. LISA, the metaphoric self-driving computer, equipped with point and click features as a 1983 advertisement suggested

Figure 11.2. The so-called Newton pad had a stylus and could access databases

Figure 11.3. The Macintosh TV was made by assembling a Sony Trinitron TV and an Apple Performa computer

Figure 11.4. The Venus codenamed QuickTake camera connected to any Macintosh computer

Figure 11.5. The video game player PIPPIN had a very advanced form factor yet failed miserably

Figure 11.6. The Jonathan Ive-designed 8 x 8 x 8-inch Cube addressed designers and web professionals

12 A Cornucopia of Commerce Situations

Figure 12.1 Typography at Apple: when medium is message (souce: http://www.applegazette.com/mac/the-typography-of-apple-typeface-design-from-1984-to-today-info-graphic/)

13 Emergence of a Brand

Figure 13.1. Steve Jobs: Apple Brand Purpose 1997

15 You Said Reality? Which Reality?

Figure 15.1. Escaping from dualistic views requires a ternary model

Figure 15.2. Antagonizing classical and holistic modes of thinking

Figure 15.3. A Trialectics model for perception

17 Evolving Competition

Figure 17.1. The Trialectics diagram working out the concept competition ontologically

Figure 17.2. Two Trialectics diagrams working out the more mundane concept of competition

Figure 17.3. The ontological triangle of any brand

Figure 17.4. An example of a C-K diagram expanding the notion of competitiveness from the acquired knowledge of Apple genes. Such development can be performed further on, here is shown in a simplified view

18 Evolving Innovation

Figure 18.1. The Trialectics diagram working out the concept Innovation routinely

Figure 18.2. The Trialectics diagram working out the concept Innovation ontologically

Figure 18.3. The C-K diagram for C02 on Apple way to innovation

19 A Company Under (Dynamic) Tension

Figure 19.1. The generalized MagicEye diagram as a cultural pattern scheme

20 Overcoming Common Blocking Points

Figure 20.1. Innovating through merely sequencing projects does not necessarily yield an optimized bottom progress line [COR 15]

Figure 20.2. When innovating is the essence of the firm’s culture, all methods and tools serve it and warrant best competitiveness over time, sustainably [COR 15]

Appendix 3: On Purposefully Recalling Leonardo Da Vinci Design Innovation Codes

Figure A3.1. The design square is the connect-the-dots engine. It evidences four generic operators working backwards and inside. Together, will implement the design activity. For designers, the K XC disjunctive operator reads: disconnecting from the Known, while the CXK conjunctive operator reads: connecting to a known element

Figure A3.2. The sunflower made artifact or inspiration right from the garden.This iMac G4 relaunched Apple as a genuinely first rate innovator in 2002

Appendix 5: Tips on Deepening Understanding by Using Trialectics

Figure A5.1. The three fundamental invariants at work. At the very center, the property of unknowability rules

Figure A5.2. Working through the notion of brand with the trialectics methodology: a first diagram captures the intrinsic dimensional powers of a brand

Figure A5.3. The resulting three so-called including thirds are essential synthetic representatives of the initial notion (here, the brand)

Figure A5.4. Working through the notion of brand with the trialectics methodology: a second diagram enhances the more mundane values of a brand

Conclusion

Figure 1. The most iconic Apple’s rainbow logo, as designed by graphic designer Rob Janoff. It was in use over the years 1976–1998

Figure 2. The original Think Different motto that served in the famous Apple’s 1984 advertisement

Sequencing Apple’s DNA

Patrick Corsi

Dominique Morin

Wiley Logo

First published 2016 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:

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UK

www.iste.co.uk

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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USA

www.wiley.com

Disclaimer

The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author or publisher does not guarantee that anyone following the techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas or strategies will become successful. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.

© ISTE Ltd 2016

The rights of Patrick Corsi and Dominique Morin to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015955796

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-84821-919-9

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Acknowledgments

Until recently, we did not know that we would write about Apple. Even though, as young engineers, a formative Apple has tickled our brains and resonated in our hearts since the late 1970s, and even though we have become acute observers of its developments since then.

Yet, no business book could be written without being influenced by special people. We had the opportunity to meet a few individuals having held notable responsibilities within Apple, all of whom were impressive.

One of them was Jean-Marie Hullot, whom we have occasionally hired for training managers in computing projects in the 1980s. Thanks, Jean-Marie, for your very insightful thinking.

Thanks also go to Jean-Louis Gassée who pointed out that Apple, in its darker days, retained a 5% market share, which was not that catastrophic, as it was also the case for BMW!

We personally witnessed the earliest days of both Apple and Microsoft, from Silicon Valley and Europe, and were often tempted to compare their founders’ trajectories. Professional circumstances made us switch back and forth in using either IBM PCs or Macintosh architectures and models, sometimes with regrets or awe in front of captivating machines, over 35 years. We joyfully tossed around crazy ideas on the future of the two companies. One day, we even designed a formal-free thinking foresight exercise for graduating students where the trick was to scenarize a number of ventures and business models for an ever expanding Apple until 2030. Coincidence or not, several have come true since. This puzzled us, less so the students probably.

But, for such an improbable book, we had to unknowingly wait until the advent of specific methods to dare crack an Apple conundrum which had puzzled us for so many years. One was C-K theory, another was trialectics, and yet, a first understanding of what makes the distinction between the still predominant linear thinking and what can be dubbed systemic approaches.

Hence, the decoding and interpreting of Apple’s DNA components would not have been possible without the power of a special design-thinking method, long since invented and perfected at Mines ParisTech. Our gratitude goes to its Professors Armand Hatchuel, Benoît Weil and Pascal Le Masson and their highly competent team within the Center de Gestion Scientifique (Scientific Management Center) for their unfaltering and patient teaching and their sharpest listening through the years. The foundations in designing innovation capacity that they have built are backed by strong theoretical formulations and can now encompass all human activities.

Entering into the arcane of competition and innovation was happily backed by the deep and systematic thinking offered by trialectics. To its founder, Gérard Gigand, our thankful consideration for having generously and diligently instructed the sometimes arcane nuances of his organized mental procedures.

Our gratitude goes to our publisher, and especially Raphaël Ménascé in London, who sensed the feasibility of a genes-based approach.

And finally, a big thank you to our other halves, Annie and Béatrice, who had to wait patiently for the seemingly never-ending final writing touch. You deserve more than a vacation, you deserve the dedication of our silent typing embodied by this book.

Credits

[CRI 53] The image at front of Part 3 is the historical drawing by artist Ms. Odile Crick (Francis’s wife), extracted from: http://hilobrow.com/2011/08/11/odilecrick/ (as of August 2015).

Icon templates are downloaded from: http://www.freevectors.net/details/Application+Icon+Templates.

Icon templates are downloaded from online icon maker: https://FreeIconMaker.com. Images in Part 3 are Designed by Freepik.com.

Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.

Preface

Setting a new stage

Time is up. Our times require that we transcend the old paradigms of the 20th Century: fixed models, closed systems, linear thinking, etc. Now is the time for new thinking ways: changing the rules, building a genuine consciousness of innovation, acquiring a capacity for sustainability, etc. But, the question is … how can we learn?

In the course of societal and business evolution, sometimes, peculiar elements come to our attention. These may distinguish themselves as a form of a paradigmatic change signaling a distinctive phenomenon; something of particular importance, both unexpected and unprecedented.

A few centuries ago, a host of most creative individuals did what civilization had not seen for many centuries. It sparked from a European region that was not get called Italy yet and spread all over the continent to break free from the conventional, disrupting all domains of knowledge and art, and flourishing to heights in every domain of human endeavor. It was called the Renaissance. It changed the future in ways that were dubbed impossible, even unimaginable before.

Out of that creative wave, one specific man, born in Tuscany, came to show a continuous flow of innovators so varied, so intense, so precise and so structured, that, even today, it just seems impossible from a mere individual. He was named Leonardo as an improbable child, and they just mentioned he came da Vinci, i.e. from the village of Vinci in beautiful central hilly Tuscany.

A flurry of studies have surrounded Leonardo Da Vinci’s works over five centuries – each time surveying through the best lenses of the time – the countless number of domains of human activity which he touched, transformed, transcended and signposted as a remarkable legacy for humanity.

But, a hidden side was left relatively untouched: the way of the artifacts, the thinking way which underpinned the visible side of the Master.

We were fortunate enough to have been dipped into the family just beneath the Vinci hills at very young age, and returning so many times there, including, in this century, to specifically dig out what we believe to represent a Leonardo method.