Steve Jobs took inspiration from Japs art blood, sweat, and tear

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"Ethos" refers to the characteristic spirit or beliefs of a community, culture, or individual. It relates to the values, ideals, and guiding principles that shape behavior and decision-making. It is often used to describe the credibility, authority, and trustworthiness of a person, organization, or argument.

 

It's undeniable that Apple's supply chain and manufacturing processes have faced criticism and scrutiny over the years, particularly regarding labor conditions in some of their supplier factories, including those in China. The complexity of Apple's products and their global supply chain indeed contrasts with the simplicity often emphasized in their marketing and design ethos.

While Apple strives to uphold ethical standards and improve working conditions within its supply chain, allegations of labor abuses persist. Addressing these issues is an ongoing challenge for the company and the industry as a whole.

When discussing Apple's ethos, it's essential to acknowledge both the ideals they promote and the realities of their operations. Striving for simplicity and innovation doesn't negate the complexities and ethical considerations involved in the production process. It's a multifaceted issue that requires continuous attention and improvement.

This was Steve Jobs’ favorite piece of art.

Here’s why:

Simplicity can take more time than complexity.

Picasso spent countless hours reworking these designs — starting with the most complex design and slowly simplifying.

Jobs did the same thing with Apple and built that as a central tenant of the ethos at the company.

He used this image as part of the secretive company.

“It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.”

Simplicity scales much faster and more sustainably than complexity.

Takeaway

Time spent thinking about what is at the core of something is time well spent.
We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught.

To me, this visual is a great reminder that studying the essential nature of whatever you are working on always makes your work better.

What are you trying to solve now? What is the core of that issue?

If this post resonates with you, share ? this post and follow Matt Schnuck for insights on entrepreneurship, EQ and from 25 years in business.
 
 
 
 
Shengwen Calvin Li, PhD,EIC,FRSB,FRSM

 

 
Tell them what you found insightful…
 
See profile for Cory Allen Burnsed

Cory Allen Burnsed out of network

Enterprise Architect at Adobe
(edited)
You’re pretty much quoted Lex Luther. I’m not saying the ideology around It is wrong, far from it actually. But the individuals who chooses to implement it and their own vision to benefit themselves, that’s the rub.

Do you think creating the iPhone and ensuring a new one comes out every year so people have to keep paying and paying and paying, and being unable to use the prior iPhone is genius?

It is. It’s the work of an evil genius.
 
 
 
 
5 Replies on Cory Allen Burnsed’s comment
 

View Nirmal C.’s profile • 2nd

Chief Executive Officer | NED | Executive Coach | ESG | Artificial Intelligence | Waste to Hydrogen | Decarbonisation | M&A
Couldn't agree more Matt Schnuck! Simplicity is king but boy, does it take work to get there. It reminds me of cooking - the best dishes have the fewest but perfectly balanced ingredients.
 
 
1 Comment on Nirmal C.’s comment
 
 

View Blake Burge’s profile • Following

Helping You Learn While I Do The Same. Fan of Bourbon & Books
"Simplicity scales much faster and more sustainably than complexity." Damn if that isn't the truth.
 
 
5 Replies on Blake Burge’s comment

View Matt Schnuck’s profileAuthor

I post about inflections in business, life, and my entrepreneurial journey.
Complex systems only get more complex as they get bigger.

Simple systems can remain simple as they grow.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

View Eric Partaker’s profile • Following

The CEO Coach | CEO of the Year '19 | McKinsey, Skype | Author | Follow for posts about business, leadership & self-mastery.
This breakdown really makes you strip back your own mindset Matt Schnuck. Fantastic reminder for this Friday.
 
 
2 Replies on Eric Partaker’s comment
 
 

View Sahil Bloom’s profile • Following

Exploring my curiosity and sharing what I learn along the way.
True genius is found in the ability to simplify.
 
 
2 Replies on Sahil Bloom’s comment

View Matt Schnuck’s profileAuthor

I post about inflections in business, life, and my entrepreneurial journey.
100%

Breaking something down to its core and explaining that well is a sign of deeply understanding what you're solving.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With due respect to both, Jobs and Picasso, I don´t see simplicity - I see technique. It is why, IMO, both are regarded as 'masters' in their own right, but not because they made things 'simpler' but because they made things 'unique'. The one time I tried an iPhone (part of an AT&T deal) I couldn´t find it intuitive enough like Android or my ol' iPod, so, I sent it back - I'm still rockin' the iPod, though, but I've never had another iPhone. The one thing I could definitely say both make very 'simple' for me is the realization that I can´t afford neither...
 
 
 
 
 
Love this, and completely agree. As a Mechanical Engineer and Industrial Designer, I have thought a lot about the effort it takes to arrive to a simple design. A challenge I often experience is that others will look at a simple mechanical design and assume it was quick and easy. This poses a problem when planning future design projects and trying to convince stakeholders that we need more time to develop a great and simple solution. They don't see all the iterations and "wrong turns" that were taken when developing previous simple solutions.
 
 
 
 
 
'I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.'

The notion that simplifying takes more time - has long been recognised by many great thinkers and practitioners for good reason.

Complexity attracts a cost - time, money, resources. Which is why simplifying the complex can make the critical difference if your aim is to land a novel or complex idea, and for it to resonate with an uninitiated audience.

As true for writing a business memo, delivering a C-Suite decision brief, pitching a start-up, or marketing a product.
 
 
 
 
 

View Eric Dumont’s profile (He/Him) • 3rd+

Cultural & Digital Transformation | Customer Success | Cross-Cultural Leadership | Ethical AI
As a hackneyed and clichéd design principle that is fine but applying this to anything but the simple shell of a product or device is naive and dangerous.

In reality only the visible shell of anything is simple, what is hidden by the shell represents a universe of complexity.

Picasso's bull is not a bull it is a line drawing.

While you wax poetic about Apple's "ethos", a cities worth of Chinese slaves are required to assemble their devices. There is NOTHING simple about anything developped by Apple.

Name one disruptive innovation cranked out by Apple since Job's death. A better camera does not count, updates do not innovate they sustain.

The sociopath who founded Theranos imbued her company ethos with this platitude while wearing black turtlenecks and look what that "ethos" delivered.

An image of a bull can be drawn with a pencil but a bull's life requires infinite levels of complexity to be and one tiny virus to destroy. An iPhone is identical. It only looks simple.

What matters is NOT simplicity. What matters is creating the illusion of simplicity as a product design principle.

When it comes to reality, complexity is the only constant.
 
 
 
 
 

View Dr. Michael Mackney’s profile • 3rd+

NY based dentist | Building systems and habits for a better life as a full time dentist. Posts and insight on the process.
This piece of art shows how simplicity often requires more work than complexity. Picasso spent a lot of time simplifying his designs, just as Jobs did with Apple. They both believed that taking the time to focus on the core idea leads to better, and more elegant solutions. This reminds you that understanding what’s essential in your work makes it better.

Matt Schnuck
 
 
2 Replies on Dr. Michael Mackney’s comment
 
 
When I think of art this would not be the first thing that came to mind but Steve Jobs was a complicated man. He loved the Japanese gardens and things like Tiffany lamps. I like the story about him living in his mansion with no furniture just his Tiffany. I like to think of his demand for excellence like the iPhone not cattle especially since I believe he was vegetarian
 
 
 
 
 
Is it because he saw us for who we are?...

"We are a nation of sheep (cattle), and someone else owns the grass." - George Carlin
 
 
 
 
 

View Tom Hutchinson’s profile (He/Him) • 3rd+

Strategic Finance Executive | Driving Growth & Capital Optimization with FP&A Mastery | Harnessing Data for Analytical Insight & Long-Term Corporate Success
I've kept several prints of Picasso's pencil drawings in my office for at least the last 10 years.

It's a great reminder to pause and consider the question. Before I build any model or do any analysis, the first questions is "What am I trying to do here?"

* Do you need a simple model to distinguish a bull from a dachshund?
* Are you trying to paint a portrait of your 8yr old long-haired, black and tan dachshund?

You'll be surprised by how often a simple sketch is all that is needed.
 
 
 
 
 

View Brett Hoy’s profile • 3rd+

Sr. lvl Industrial Robotic Program Dev and Applications
I agree with simplicity but let's not forget that a large portion of Job's mindset was to ensnare the unsuspecting user by utilizing simplicity and trap them in his paywall driven world.
 
 
 
 
 

View Carl-Johan Collet’s profile (He/Him) • 3rd+

Incoming Partner, Thylander | Real Estate Investment Strategy | Operating Platforms | Leadership | Nordics | Decarbonation | Social Impact
(edited)
Awesome. I have found simplification to be the key to communicate complex concepts. Once the lightbulb goes on, people can't unsee the trees. Until it does, it is just forest.
 
 
1 Comment on Carl-Johan Collet’s comment
 
 

View Don Nelson’s profile • 3rd+

I work more than full-time at reading and writing and playing with images. Life is short. Art is long. My 30 years working in cutting edge R & D has also allowed me to apply my expertise as a virtual product designer.
How many cows did Picasso milk?

How many times did he fall off a one legged milking stool.

Him many warm glasses of fresh milk did he drink?

How many times did he take that warm milk, separate it and churn the cream into butter, then slather that fat rich yellow butter onto a hand torn chunk of fresh baked sour dough bread?

How many times did he heard the milk cows down from the meadow to the milking barn?

How many milk cows did he deliver during calving season?

How many acres of alfalfa did he put up to feed those hungry milk cows?

How often did he scoop the cow pies out of the milking barn?

Making milk is not simple but if you give the cow your milking a name , then it becomes personal.
 
 
 
 
 

View Brian Amos’ profile • 3rd+

Customer Service, Problem Solving, Business Development, Executive Leadership
I love this!

I remember a test in college. There was a set of problems on the test, we had a notebook, a pencil, and an hour to solve them. I filled the notebook with page after page of equations. The professor went over the answers in 15 minutes using 1 corner of the blackboard.
 
 
 
 
 

View Jesse Kramer M.Ed’s profile (He/Him) • 3rd+

Sales Enablement | Instructional Designer | Learning & Development Consultant | Technologist | AI | Problem Solver | Human
Seeing this I'm also reminded of something that I think is attributed to Steve Jobs and that is the concept that technology should be transparent. The tool should not interfere with the user. It should simply work by performing its stated purpose. Nothing less, and nothing more. If something is complex I imagine it would be harder to guarantee that it would just work.
 
 
 
 
 
(edited)
“Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher” Saint-Exupery

Attempt of translation
“It seems that perfection is reached not when there’s nothing to add but when there’s nothing to remove”
 
 
 
 
 

View Cornelis Tanis’ profile • 3rd+

Supporting Leaders and their Organizations to stay fit for changing contexts
(edited)
In my humble opinion, the post also demonstrates the 'retrospective coherence' trap. Something like: if only I were as smart as Steve Jobs, we could put all the unnecessary complexity to bed. There is probably a reason why these simpler visuals are at the right hand side of the piece of art. I appreciate the question that invites me to think of essence. What I am questioning is the suggestion to ‘do better root cause analysis'.
 
 
 
 
 

View Qudus A.’s profile • 3rd+

Living a Life of Resourcefulness, Value and Impact. Polymath | Human resources Business Partner | Data Analyst | HR Analytics | People Analytics | A.I Enthusiast
I love that complexity was an option but simplicity was chosen, makes us break the line of breaking through the comfort zone but retaining control on choosing where to stop.
 
 
 
 
 

View Vasilis Hartzoulakis’ profile (He/Him) • 2nd

Director of Product ♦Entrepreneur ♦ Helping Deep Tech & Science product teams to deliver ethical innovative valuable solutions vasilis@aiagents.co.uk
Simplicity is ok for communicating but... what do we do when we need to actually spend the time and energy to understand something complex and look at a problem in different ways?
Is a Beethoven symphony, religion, raising children, relationships, or philosophy simple?
Our limited attention span seem to be informing our values and priorities.
It does not feel right.
 
 
 
 
 

View Anne Winn, MBA’s profile (She/Her) • 2nd

Strategist & Leadership Expert ? Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner ? Magic Maker I create space for people to think and reconnect with their best human. I build systems that help people thrive.
Simple is hard. The depth of understanding required to simplify is often underestimated. In my former life as an artist, I always reminded myself that if it works in simple lines and black and white, it will work in full color. The challenge is understanding if and when full color is actually necessary and having the restraint to stop or remove when needed.

In my life as a strategist and problem solver, I have found the same mental framework is equally transformative. You know you are talking to a master when the concept or idea can be explained with clarity, regardless of the medium.

What a lovely message to find in my feed today, Matt Schnuck. Thank you.
 
 
 
 
 

View Nick Sanabria’s profile • 3rd+

Announcer: “I serve and project”
He made the Mac easy to use by making the machine do the complex tasks and the commands simple. You did not have to learn its language to use it. I found it very intuitive and easy to learn and use.
 
 
 
 
 

View Adam Hertell’s profile • 3rd+

Brand Builder | Strategic Marketer | Global Director at Cargill
(edited)
This reminds me of an Einstein quote I often reflect on, and I'm paraphrasing here, in that "anyone can make something complicated, but it takes a genius to make something simple." Really resonates with me b/c it's much more challenging and time-consuming to make things easy to understand/communicate (since you really need to understand the matter at hand to winnow down to just the salient points) and most people just don't take the time to do that.
 
 
 
 
 

View Arnoud Buizer’s profile • 3rd+

Chief Supply Chain Officer @ Interfood Group | Strategy to Execution Leader
100% agree, it’s similar to a famous writer sending a letter to a dear friend stating “..apologize, I have limited time so I write you a long letter”
 
 
 
 
 
(edited)
Hi Matt. Is there a reference to the statement re: this piece of art? Probably in the biography by Walter Isaacson?
I find it way often, that piece of art gets related to Steve Jobs (e.g. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1681/).
Or is this the origin (https://x.com/TrungTPhan/status/1545413798588141569)?
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1681/
 

The beginning of Steve Jobs' lifelong love of shin-hanga

Thursday July 1, 2021
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When it came to tech, Steve Jobs had a clear vision: it had to be simple, minimalist and elegant. And according to those who knew and worked with him, this aesthetic sense developed early and was influenced heavily by Japanese art — especially the modern woodblock prints, or shin-hanga, of Kawase Hasui.

Jobs was just a teenager when he first encountered Kawase's work. He often visited the family home of close friend Bill Fernandez, who would become Apple's first full-time employee, where a number of shin-hanga prints hung from the walls. He was particularly fond of the three Kawase prints in the living room.

"He liked Hasui above all others," says Bambi Fernandez, Bill's mother. "He was standing in front of them and looked at them almost every time he came over. It was so obvious that he was drawn to them."

Fernandez' living room
Steve Jobs was first introduced to shin-hanga as a teenager at the home of his friend Bill Fernandez.

His favorite, she says, was "Senju waterfall, Akame", which depicts a tree hanging in front of a waterfall. Kawase adopted a minimalist style for the print, shedding intricate detail in favor of a modest dynamism. Bill Fernandez believes this reserved aesthetic was a source of great inspiration for Jobs.

"You can see his love of simplicity and elegance throughout his life, like in the products that he developed at Apple," says Fernandez.

Senju waterfall, Akame
"Senju waterfall, Akame" Kawase Hasui (1951)

Shin-hanga

The shin-hanga movement started in the early 20th century as a domestic effort to revive the ukiyo-e tradition of woodblock prints and painting. But it was overseas that these pieces, which mostly depict Japanese landscapes and scenes of people’s lives, experienced huge popularity. Kawase is considered one of the three greats of the genre, along with Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Watanabe Shoichiro, a major shin-hanga publisher, says what sets the style apart is the subtlety of color and detail. This requires exquisite technical ability and, as a result, the pieces take much longer to produce. Shin-hanga paintings can take five times as long to complete as ukiyo-e ones. Watanabe believes this is what attracted Jobs to the style.

"I think shin-hanga speaks to people like Steve Jobs, people who try to innovate with cutting-edge technology," Watanabe says. "They see the blood, sweat, and tears behind each painting. I guess Steve appreciated shin-hanga."

25 Kawase Hasui's prints
Steve Jobs bought 25 Kawase prints over two decades of collecting.

"There are certain aspects of shin-hanga that are popular with foreigners, like snowy scenes, torii gates, shrines, and women with umbrellas," says Nishiyama Junko, a curator at Chiba City Museum of Art. "But Steve Jobs collected no such pieces. He liked Hasui. And Hasui liked quiet things the most. It seems these two men shared exactly the same aesthetic tastes."

Steve Jobs' aesthetic sense

Matsuoka Haruo, an art dealer at Gallery Kabutoya in Tokyo's posh Ginza district, helped Jobs buy shin-hanga prints. Jobs first visited the gallery in March 1983, when he was still in his late 20s, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He asked Matsuoka to teach him about shin-hanga as he was keen to start collecting.

Matsuoka says Jobs carefully examined every piece but was quick when deciding which to buy.

"Jobs seemed fond of simple, sophisticated works," he says. "He knew precisely what he wanted. Customers usually make choices after consulting with staff, but Jobs was the opposite."

Despite this quick-fire method of buying, Jobs would usually only buy prints that were stocked in the gallery's backroom. The staff would bring out what was available and he picked what he liked out of the selection. But Matsuoka remembers a day when he showed up at the gallery and asked for one piece in particular: Kasawe's "Red sunset."

Completed in 1937, just before the start of World War Two, "Red sunset" depicts silhouettes of soldiers on horseback, strikingly distinct against a red sky. It marks a sharp break from Kawase's usual style. Matsuoka says Jobs didn't explain why he wanted the piece. The gallery didn't have it and had to find it for him.

Red sunset
"Red sunset", Kawase Hasui (1937)

Final favorite

The last time Matsuoka heard from Jobs was in the fall of 2003. By this point, Matsuoka had left the Ginza gallery and set off on his own. One day, he received a message on the answerphone at his gallery.

"Hi, Haru, this is Steve Jobs."

Over two decades, Jobs bought at least 43 shin-hanga pieces through Matsuoka; 25 of them were works by Kawase.

Jobs died in 2011 at the age of 56. His daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, recounts her father's final days in her memoir, "Small Fry." She describes the room in which her father lay in bed:

"There were framed prints by Hasui of twilight and sunset at temples. A patch of pink light stretched out on a wall beside him."

Saeki Kentaro
Saeki Kentaro
NHK World
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2706/
 

Apple's North Star: How Steve Jobs took inspiration from Sony

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View Tara R.’s profile • 3rd+

Public Health Communication and Knowledge Management
Every time I approach something new, I am reminded of this. Simplification is a journey and takes time to arrive at.
 
 
 
 
 

View Bhargav Sri Prakash’s profile • 2nd

Winner Financial Times/IFC (World Bank) DeepTech Award | #1 Global Transformational Business | AI-VR Digital Vaccines | 4X Founder | Ethical safe sustainable planetary scale proven solutions to complex problems
Human perception across the full spectrum between theoretical limits of infinite complexity on one end and utmost simplicity (or zero) at the other extreme, alas, are in the eye of the beholder.

Mathematically, infinity and zero are interoperably accessible through a simple mathematical operation on any number of your choosing. Hence, the 0, invented by the peerless mathematician Aryabhatta, is the most powerful number in the cosmos => X/0=infinity; X*0=0.

Therefore vast power is attained, by way of scalability and sustainability, when a concept tends to 0
 
 
 
 
 

View Don Kurn’s profile • 3rd+

Versatile Freelance Healthcare Copywriter—All Levels
(edited)
Simplicity requires a purpose.
If what remains is no longer a cow, then simplicity has gone too far.
 
 
 
 
 

View Ahmed AbuSwa’s profile • 3rd+

Co-Founder | Managing Partner at Abolox LLC
The core of any issue often lies in understanding its fundamental aspects and addressing them directly. This approach can lead to more effective and lasting outcomes.
 
 
 
 
 

View Martin Gallardo’s profile • 2nd

Building 3 companies in public and sharing what I learn / Partner / CEO / Founder / Top 1% Scaleup Consultant | Author | martinhacks.com
(edited)
You need to decompose to its most fundamental pieces, everything else is like everyone else. Mastery is deconposition to the fundamental laws and being able to play like a child with those laws
 
 
 
 
 

View Kameel Vohra’s profile • 3rd+

Tech Leader & Storyteller | Speaker | Author of 3 Books
(edited)
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Einstein

Long meandering descriptions are a clue that you're not there yet.

Simplicity is hard, but worth it.
 
 
 
 
 
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