Hey All,
Welcome to issue #11! :)
Lots of new folks here this week. Just a reminder that you can always access the archives here — it's a great way to fill up your Pocket queue.
Jonathan Ive and the Future of Apple via Ian Parker
Nothing great happens by accident.
You can't even imagine the work and focus that goes into creating products like the iPhone. This article is 17,000 words, incredibly in-depth and worth every minute of the hour or so it takes to read.
As John Gruber wrote on his blog, "This is a resource we’ll refer to for decades to come."
"What the competitors don’t seem to understand is you cannot get people this smart to work this hard just for money."
Seth Godin's Startup School Podcast
This podcast is a collection of excerpts from a live workshop. It's nicely organized and includes some great stories about building a successful business. In a word, it's just so "Seth".
There are a lot of people who spend their time getting their ducks in a row. We're going to spend our time talking about what you're going to do now that you have a duck.
Follow these 3 guidelines to simplify your writing via Ann Edwards
A quick but useful memo on better writing. And before you say, "I'm not a writer," consider that if you email your colleagues, tweet or use any text-based communication, you are indeed a writer. (And there's always room for improvement!)
Your ears can help you simplify any unnecessary complexity in your writing.
The Customer Always Remembers via Paul Jun
For better or worse, customers remember their interactions with you, your support team, the person who runs your Twitter account and even the person in the call center 5,000 miles away. Paul goes into the psychology of the "remembering self".
Why do we behave like this and why do memories play such an important role? [Nobel Prize winner Daniel] Kahneman calls it “the two selves.” The “experiencing self” is about living in the present; it’s about us trying to treasure every moment because we believe they matter, even though these moments are ultimately fleeting. The “remembering self” is how our lives are written; it’s the one that keeps score and likes endings.
Books I'm reading that you might like too:
- The Art of Work by Jeff Goins
- Authority by Nathan Barry
- Everything Is Bullshit by Priceonomics
- On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Have a great week!
Jimmy