1. Design Comes First | Every product-management and financial people conceive of products first and then tell the designers what to do. At Apple, it is the opposite. Apple’s emphasis on design is what led to the beauty of Apple’s products, and, undeniably, its financial success.
2. Secrecy is Paramount | Apple employees live in constant fear of termination if they divulge anything about the inner workings of their company. Apple keeps a lid on its plans better than any company its size. More so, its people are focused, freed from the temptation to gossip or play politics - because they don’t have enough information to do so.
3. Forget Revenues | Apple never enters a new field with the idea of making money. It doesn’t ignore revenue, of course. The genesis of a new product segment at Apple never is about revenue optimization. It is always about what kick-ass gizmo. It’s a variant of "Make what you love, and the revenue will come rushing in."
4. Tell Customers, Don’t Ask | Apple delights customers by giving them products they didn’t know they wanted. How could a customer possibly give feedback on a product they don’t know they want? Is this risky? Absolutely. Big risk, big reward.
5. Create One Company, Not Many | Apple is revolutionary for its size in that there are no committees, no separate ad budgets, no fiefdoms. Jobs got the whole company pulling in one direction under his leadership. Just the way a startup would. Think of the Apple brand: There’s just one. And Apple guards it zealously.
6. Say No | Saying no is much more difficult than saying yes. Apple says no not only to products - it waited years to make a phone - but also to features within the products. The lack of a USB connection in the iPad is an example.
7. Value Expertise | Apple laughs at the idea of general management. Why in the world would a company want to “broaden” its executives by exposing them to new things or different parts of the world when they already create tremendous value for shareholders by doing exactly what they’re doing? Apple hires the best in their fields.
8. Own Your Message | When Apple launched the iPod, the executives who were authorized to speak to the news media repeated the phrase over and over again. It’s classic Apple: Craft, control and repeat the message.
9. Spend Whatever it Takes | Apple employees describe their teams as being resource-constrained. But when it comes to making or marketing products, Apple pulls out all the stops. Apple has been behaving this way since it was tiny. No expense can be spared in delighting customers. The return is obvious.
10. Be Insanely Great | A company that believes its products will be insanely great has a shot at making insanely great products. The company that hems itself in by thinking about next quarter’s numbers, some words to describe the products they’ll turn out.