Creative Selection

Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs

By: Ken Kocienda

Narrated by: Ken Kocienda

An insider's account of Apple's creative process during the golden years of Steve Jobs.

'If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work in a hotbed of innovation, you’ll enjoy this inside view of life at Apple. Ken Kocienda pioneered the iPhone keyboard, and this book gives a play-by-play of their creative process –from generating ideas to doing a demo for Steve Jobs.'
Adam Grant

Hundreds of millions of people use Apple products every day; several thousand work on Apple's campus in Cupertino, California; but only a handful sit at the drawing board. Creative Selection recounts the life of one of the few who worked behind the scenes, a highly-respected software engineer who worked in the final years of the Steve Jobs era, the Golden Age of Apple.

Ken Kocienda offers an inside look at Apple’s creative process. For fifteen years, he was on the ground floor of the company as a specialist, directly responsible for experimenting with novel user interface concepts and writing powerful, easy-to-use software for products including the iPhone, the iPad and the Safari web browser. His stories explain the symbiotic relationship between software and product development for those who have never dreamed of programming a computer, and reveal what it was like to work on the cutting edge of technology at one of the world's most admired companies.

Kocienda shares moments of struggle and success, crisis and collaboration, illuminating each with lessons learned over his Apple career. He introduces the essential elements of innovation, inspiration, collaboration, craft, diligence, decisiveness, taste, and empathy, and uses these as a lens through which to understand productive work culture.

An insider's tale of creativity and innovation at Apple, Creative Selection shows readers how a small group of people developed an evolutionary design model, and how they used this methodology to make groundbreaking and intuitive software which countless millions use every day.

Critic reviews

Kocienda reveals the real secret of Steve Jobs's leadership and Apple's magic: the ability to push people to think for themselves, and to empower them to turn their best thinking into reality. It is a story about the intersection of technology and humanity. (Kim Scott, New York Times bestselling author of Radical Candor)

I’ve literally been waiting a decade for this book. Ken Kocienda takes you inside Apple in way only a true insider, a veteran software developer, could. Creative Selection is the answer to the prayer uttered by anyone who wants to truly understand how Apple works. I couldn’t put it down. (Adam Lashinsky, author of the 2012 bestseller, Inside Apple)

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work in a hotbed of innovation, you’ll enjoy this inside view of life at Apple. Ken Kocienda pioneered the iPhone keyboard, and this book gives a play-by-play of their creative process –from generating ideas to doing a demo for Steve Jobs. (Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals, Give and Take, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg)

Ken Kocienda played pivotal roles in the creation of both Safari and the original iPhone. One of the hardest problems – and biggest risks – of the first iPhone was the development of a multitouch keyboard. I placed this formidable responsibility squarely in Ken’s hands, and the success of the keyboard emerged from his insights, collaboration and dogged pursuit of excellence. He now offers readers, in his own words, a window into his experiences and insights from the trenches. (Scott Forstall, Original iPhone Software Team Leader and SVP iOS, Apple)

Great reading Ken!

Loved it. Fascinating read for those involved in software creation, and some great problem solving anecdotes and Steve Jobs stories.

Very easy listen

This book is easy to listen and gives an insight and details to one of the most impactful businesses in a way that can only be told by someone that worked at Apple for many years. Very useful for entrepreneurs.

Worth the "read"

Ken is such an awesome writer and i never expected this book to be so well written from someone who is not a writter but a programmer :) The story itself is very intiguing, but the way you are guided through his experiences is extremely well constructed and i really felt like i was there next to him, experiencing what he did. Kens narration is just perfect, and for all those reasons i will definitelly get a real book as well, so i can read it again and again :)