5 life lessons that Apple teaches us

What can we learn from the basic principles followed by the world's most valuable company?

Sep 25, 2020

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) today is the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of almost $2 trillion, a mark which it briefly surpassed earlier this year. The company is also famous for having cash reserves of over $100 billion. Numbers aside, Apple represents a brand that dominates the consumer tech industry - iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Macbook -these are products that are considered the gold standard the world over. How did they reach here? Well, you might say that everyone is not Steve Jobs - he was a revolutionary but his team often described him as a pain to work with. Neither can everyone be like Tim Cook, who took over the reins and delivered results quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year. But can we learn something from Apple - some fundamental values that we can apply in our everyday lives? Let's find out!

1. You don't have to be first, you have to be right

Apple is mocked to no end for 'copying' stuff from other manufacturers across hardware and software. Most features that you see in the iPhone today were present in other smartphones in some shape or form - facial recognition, an ultra-wide camera, wireless charging - the list is pretty long and Android fan-boys can probably write a book about it. Apple has no qualms about not being the first to do something different. I am sure it wishes it did but the company focuses on getting it right before they implement something. Take for example the widgets on iOS 14. Android has had widgets for ages but one look at the functionality and design of the widgets on iOS 14 will show you how much more superior they are to Android widgets which have barely seen any improvement, if any at all, over the last few years.

In life too, we may not be the first at everything. Somebody else might have already implemented the great start-up idea you thought about. I'm pretty sure others before me have written about this topic. But what is yours is yours and nobody can take that away from you. If you work hard and get it right, being first won't matter at all.

2. If you believe in something, go for it!

Apple (infamously) removed the headphone jack from its line of phones, with the launch of the iPhone 7 way back in 2016. Although several leaks were pointing to this happening, the tech world went berserk. It made headlines all over. Android loyalists mocked this move. Hard-core audiophiles cried their hearts out. Competing smartphone manufacturers put their best (worst?) foot forward to ensure their ads highlighted the presence of a headphone jack as if it was a feature that could reverse the ageing process. Apple's logic was simple. They said they would delivery similar audio quality through the Lightning port. Also, the removal of the headphone jack allowed it to add water and dust resistance and make space for some extra battery, something their users craved for. Apple famously said it took 'courage' to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

Cut to 2020. Look at the phones being launched today. Except for very few low-cost smartphones, none of them has a headphone jack. Users have moved to Bluetooth headphones. They can now take their phones for a swim, while also enjoying all-day battery life. Apple laughed all the way to the bank as they sold nearly 60 million of their Airpods wireless earphones in 2019. The world moved on and we now hear rumours of the iPhone 12 box not including a charging brick and a completely port-less phone in 2021.

Apple believes in something, Apple does it and does it well, Apple wins. What's stopping you from following this formula?

3. Speak to be understood

Whenever Apple conducts its keynotes, the world watches. It doesn't matter if you are an app developer, tech enthusiast, prospective buyer or someone who just wants to share jokes on social media about selling your kidney, you sit up and take notice every time Tim Cook takes the stage to announce the latest and greatest from the Cupertino company. Several tech companies have over-the-top presentations every year but they all go by unnoticed. What makes Apple different? Have a look at the screengrabs below:

What do you see? Plain, simple English. There is no jargon. ZERO. Apple does not talk about how many gigahertz (Ghz) the processor clocks at or how many milliamp Hours (mAh) the battery capacity is. The language used is something that anyone and everyone can not only understand, but also realize the impact of what is being said. So often we are guilty of trying to explain something technical without taking into account the background and knowledge base of the person reading or listening. What we really need to do is cut the fancy words and focus on making sure the key messages are communicated and understood in the simplest manner possible.

4. Create something that people aspire to replicate

We all work to build something that adds meaning to our lives, the person using it and eventually to the world at large. So does Apple - the only difference being that their products hold such value and meaning that other companies spend billions of dollars trying to replicate their products and their success. Another fantastic example on similar lines can be seen in the film, Ford vs Ferrari. As you can see in an excerpt from the script of the movie, Ferrari is known as the greatest car manufacturer in history, not because of the number of cars they produced but because their cars stood for one thing - Victory.

This is exactly we need to imbibe in our daily lives - whether it be developing an app, sending a report to the client, ironing a shirt or making a chapati. Do not settle for mediocrity. Period. Rome was not built in a day, as they say. It will take time and effort but work on it till it's perfect. Work on it till others look at it in awe, wondering how this was done and get inspired to do well themselves

5. Master of few > Jack of all

Another lesson that can be learnt from the same script excerpt is the power of mastering a few aspects, as compared to doing a lot of stuff together. Look at Apple's product line. Or Ferrari's for that matter. They don't release a new model every couple of months. Apple does not sell every type of home appliance like Samsung or LG does. Ferrari does not make small hatchbacks and SUVs and MUVs. With just one iPhone model, Apple achieves much more than a competing manufacturer that has phone models across several price points. It gives the users a cohesive experience - something that instantly makes you feel like you're part of the Apple family.

You don't need to dabble in everything under the sun to be successful. Focus on a few aspects and make sure you do them so well that they are leagues ahead of what anyone else is doing.

There are a couple of other lessons that we can learn from Apple:

The mantra for Apple products is 'It just works'. You don't need to be a tech wizard to understand how to use their products. Whether you are aged 7 or 70, it doesn't matter. How often do we think about ease of use before we make our products available for the end-user?
Customer comes first. Apple continues to top the smartphone customer satisfaction index. Our job does not end with selling something. Making sure our products are in line with client expectations, hand-holding them through the ownership process, troubleshooting, asking for feedback - these are the aspects that make it a fulfilling ownership experience for the customer which eventually drives up brand value.

What other lessons do you think we can learn? Which other companies do you think teach us similar values? Would love to know your thoughts in the comments!

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