[psaux]

There is a lot to digest in this piece. Work environments are very dynamic and context and time-in-point is very important. I did not see this behavior, but I was not part of that group at Apple.

I worked with Jony after we were acquired. The original Siri linen background was his idea, the bubbles had to be perfect, the padding, the text size, the lists goes on. I inferred this as design obsession and did not find it offending, he was right 95% of the time.

When I left Apple, I emailed with Jony on a device I had designed and pitched internally in 2011 but was shelved. His response has stayed with me to this day, “not all ideas make the cut, even the best ones”.

He could have cut me down or ignored me, but he responded with honesty.

I think that void he left when he moved on was too big to be filled. Steve and Jony were always together, pretty much every day we would see them at lunch.

[the_af]

> “not all ideas make the cut, even the best ones”

I'm not sure I understand. If the best ideas don't make the cut, which ones do? Or was Jony acknowledging a flaw in Apple's process?

[ksec]

>“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.

-Steve Jobs.

[throw0101a]

There is Product Category A, Product Category B, and Product Category C. In each of those categories there is a "best" product.

But a company may not have the bandwidth to release in all three categories. So it may choose to focus on Product Category B, and the best implementation for B, and leave A and C (for now). Even though there are "best" implementations/ideas available for A and C.

Sometimes it is not possible for a company to walk and chew gum at the same time.

[synu]

I read it as “even (some of) the best ones” based on the “not all ideas” start.

[SV_BubbleTime]

Carful to remember the “some of”… but the best ideas might be too risky, not as practical, timed poorly, too controversial, etc.

[simonh]

They are discussing design ideas. There might be many, many reasons why a product with an absolutely killer design could get cancelled anyway.

[mouzogu]

Yeah like having a standard USB port on a laptop in 2020. At least they fixed it now.

[kergonath]

Not all the best ones do, it is quite straightforward. Some bad ones also do occasionally make the cut, but it tells more about the nature of ideas than Apple’s process at this point.

[sumedh]

> If the best ideas don't make the cut, which ones do?

The best idea might be too expensive for the market so you go with the next best one?

[snambi]

It could mean there are more than one.

[davidhariri]

Thanks for sharing this!