On Perfecting The Product

D.B. Grady has a great post today in The Atlantic. The whole story is insightful and worth reading.

The key moment to me is this:

When engineers working on the very first iPod completed the prototype, they presented their work to Steve Jobs for his approval. Jobs played with the device, scrutinized it, weighed it in his hands, and promptly rejected it. It was too big.

The engineers explained that they had to reinvent inventing to create the iPod, and that it was simply impossible to make it any smaller. Jobs was quiet for a moment. Finally he stood, walked over to an aquarium, and dropped the iPod in the tank. After it touched bottom, bubbles floated to the top.

"Those are air bubbles," he snapped. "That means there's space in there. Make it smaller."

We all have read legends of how obsessed was Steve Jobs with product quality. He wouldn't stop until the product in question was perfect. Whether it is the shade of yellow in Google's logo or the size of the iPod, everything that Apple produced under his supervision had to live up to his high standards.

Apple's current renaissance -- from an almost bankrupt company to the most valuable public firm in the world is not a result from only one thing and even not only one man. But this obsession with quality, this desire to craft beautiful products was maybe the single most important factor.

And this is a priceless lesson for everyone who creates products for people to use. Whether you make mobile apps, websites, desktop software or office furniture, you need to be obsessed with the product.

You need to make it perfect and if you are not sure, keep trying. Keep iterating until you finally have something that you'll love to look at and use. Do not settle for mediocre look & feel and do not stop half the road just because it's easier.

(Image via Wikipedia)