Why Apple is Successful

The Apple Computer Co. Philosophy – 1977

In 1977 when the Apple Computer company was created they put their principles down in a one-page paper called “The Apple Marketing Philosophy”. It had 3 points. Empathy, Focus, Impute.

Empathy was about empathy with the customer: Truly understanding the needs of the end user better than any other company.

Focus was about eliminating the lots of unimportant things so as to do a good job of the important.

Impute is about having the packaging impute a sense of quality into the product when the person opens the box, because people do judge a book by the cover.  Steve Jobs later said ” When you open the box of an iPhone or iPad, we want that tactile experience to set the tone for how you perceive the product”  (Steve Jobs p78)

Empathy is about understanding people. Focus is about doing a few things well. Impute is about good marketing. I think Apple still do all these things exceptionally well. The iPhone 34 years later embodies this philosophy.