Why Insanely Simple Works

TL;DR?
In business, it’s easy to overcomplicate. But if you want to stand out, grow fast, and build loyalty—simplify. Whether you’re designing a product, building a team, or running a campaign, ask yourself: How can I make this simpler?

Why Simplicity Is the Secret Sauce Behind Apple’s Success

In a world increasingly overloaded with information, features, and noise, Apple’s remarkable success story comes down to one powerful principle: simplicity.

Ken Segall, who worked closely with Steve Jobs, highlights in Insanely Simple how Apple baked simplicity into every corner of the business—from product design to team structure and marketing. Here’s how you can apply the same principles to your work.

1. People Love Simple Things

Whether it’s choosing a phone or navigating a website, we all lean towards the option that’s easy to use. Apple understood this deeply. Rather than overloading customers with features or complex processes (like Microsoft did with their infamous Zune store points system), Apple made buying and using its products seamless. One click. One button. One clear choice.

Simplicity isn’t just a design preference—it’s human nature. And companies that remove friction win customer loyalty.

2. Keep Teams Small

Apple doesn't do bloated teams. Steve Jobs was known to kick unnecessary people out of meetings. He believed in lean teams of smart, highly skilled people. The more departments and layers you add, the slower decisions get made. Contrast this with Dell, which struggled with cross-department projects that went nowhere.

So: fewer people, more impact.

3. Work Fast with Deadlines

At Apple, marketing teams had just three months to go from idea to execution. Tight deadlines forced clarity, focus, and efficiency—no time for waffle or meetings for the sake of meetings. The lesson? Smart people, short timelines, clear outcomes.

4. Be Different, Not Just Better

Rather than listing endless features, Apple created emotional campaigns that sold values, not specs. The famous Think Different campaign didn’t push a product—it celebrated creativity. It told customers what Apple stood for and invited them to belong.

That emotional connection drove sales before the product even hit the shelves.

5. Simplicity in Every Decision

When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was on the brink. He didn’t just trim products—he slashed complexity across the board. Apple went from dozens of models to just four. Laptops and desktops, for professionals and consumers.

Today’s iPhone has a single button because, in Jobs' view, one is the simplest number possible—and returning to the home screen should never cause anxiety.

6. Hire for Passion, Not Just Skill

Apple isn’t just full of talented people. It’s full of people who care. Jobs believed that loving what you do was non-negotiable. When a product didn’t meet his standards, the team stayed late to fix it. The motivation? Pride and belief in the mission, not fear of a boss.

This passion is why they could turn late nights into world-class work.

7. Jobs' Legacy: Simplicity as a Competitive Advantage

Steve Jobs didn’t just save Apple—he reinvented it around simplicity. He unified teams, stripped back product lines, and re-established the brand as one focused on clarity, creativity, and ease.

In doing so, he proved that simplicity isn’t a lack of ambition—it’s a strategy for domination.