Insanely Simple

The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success

By: Ken Segall

Narrated by: Ken Segall

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Insanely Simple, written and read by Ken Segal.

'Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple'. -Steve Jobs

The obsession with Simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It's what helped Apple recover from near death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011, and guides the way Apple is organized, how it designs products, and how it connects with customers. It's by crushing the forces of Complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory.

As creative director, Ken Segall played a key role in Apple's resurrection, helping to create such critical campaigns as 'Think Different' and naming the iMac. Insanely Simple is his insider's view of Jobs' world. It reveals the ten elements of Simplicity that have driven Apple's success - which you can use to propel your own organisation. Reading Insanely Simple, you'll understand how his obsession with Simplicity helped Apple perform better and faster.

Critic reviews

A blueprint for running a company the Steve Jobs way ... should be required reading for anyone interested in management and marketing

Punchy ... Segall gets inside Apple's branding and marketing to explain its directness and power

Required reading

An entertaining perspective on how Apple typically gets it right... Candid and insightful. Insanely Simple should be required reading for any boss with a Byzantine organisation and a shrinking business

In this captivating book, Segall has succeeded in distilling what made Steve Jobs succeed in ways no one would have imagined - simplicity. The idea of going simple, and Jobs's obsession with it, is neither a set of rules nor a goal, but a worldview of how things should be. . . More practical than theoretical, this essential book is about using the power of Simplicity to set a company apart

Intriguing insights from someone who worked closely with Jobs on some of Apple's most successful ad campaigns

A few pages in, I was hooked. . . [A]n amusing and revealing book about the company's extraordinary leader, Steve Jobs, and the guiding principle that made him one of the great businessmen of the age

Ken Segall has literally captured lightning in a bottle. Insanely Simple reveals the secret of Steve Jobs's success with such clarity, even we non-geniuses can make use of it. Ken shows us how to cut through the cobwebs of fuzzy thinking, bureaucracy, and mediocrity, and clearly see what's most essential - and therefore most important (Steve Hayden, former vice chairman, Ogilvy, and author of Apple’s legendary 1984 Super Bowl commercial)

As the man who came up with the iconic iMac name that launched one of the most successful product lines in history, Segall played a pivotal role in reviving Apple from near-death. His close working relationship with Jobs allows him to provide insight into how Jobs's obsession with simplicity became the driving force that informs every decision the company makes to this day

Reveals a fresh insight into Steve Jobs's mind and how his obsession with simplicity drove Apple to success

First hand business perspectives loved it

It always makes me laugh when people in business think simple means easy.

This book illustrates that it is not, which aligns with what I've seen foolish companies thinking:

it's easy to turn a culture around or just cherry-pick the bits that fit, and they will get the same results.

Great perspective and a view of Jobs that is qualified and real.

Thank you, Ken. I appreciate your book, your insight, and the clarity throughout.

As a third generation small business owner
I loved it, and I will be mercilessly borrowing some of your analogies. I hope you do not mind Ken

Great book

Loved this book! Super easy to follow, and of great value for business and life in general