Inside Apple - Adam Lashinsky (Book Review)

Unputdownable.

At first, when I saw this book online, I thought it’d be one among the many, ‘post Jobs Cashing In’, books to be released by a capitalist publisher and a greedy author, with due respect to both of them. So while I was thinking of which one to order among so many of them, somehow, like all Apple products, this one ‘Felt’ right. And Boy, could my intuition be more accurate!

‘Inside Apple’ is an all access card to a secretive behemoth called Apple. The book takes you through all the areas of management, communication, product development and the workflow at Apple. Their obsession with perfection, their emphasis on details right from the text in their ads to the packaging of products, subliminal branding and most importantly, Focus.

There’s a line in the book, which says, Apple is “a company whose methods fly in the face of decades of well established management maxims.” I believe it’s only because they follow a method much older than recent management maxims. Their method is pretty much based on the Zen philosophy of Focus, Minimal and Simple.

It’s very rare for a company to grow to be the world’s largest, in the lifetime of its founder. Through this book, you’ll know, how Apple doesn’t care about either, the size or the growth rate In fact, doesn’t even care about the shareholders. Their focus, like their products, is Simple. Make “Revolutionary” Products and a “Wow” Product Experience, and the rest will take care of itself. Unusual and Surprising, are understatements for both, the company, and this book.

Adam tries to scratch the surface of Apple’s famous Secrecy policy. Right from anecdotes like, the company having plainclothes security at a close by bar to watch over if any Apple employee leaks some information in the heat of the moment, to their memento store at the office, which sells a tee shirt that reads “I visited Apple, but that’s all I’m allowed to Say.” So much is their belief in keeping things secret that most of the times, employees at One Infinite Loop, don’t even know what the person in the next cubicle is doing. The work culture is unlike any of the ‘Best Places to Work’ magazine issues. Something that amused me the most in the book was “Everyone inside Apple is trying to get out, and everyone outside is trying to get in.”

One more thing, it takes us through the leadership and succession planning for the post-Jobs scenario. As an Apple fan, you may rest assured, that the company’s going nowhere south in the near future, for Steve’s pumped enough of his vision into each employee. However, it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out thereafter. The closest one can get to know how Apple works without working there, is through this book. Adam Lashinsky has thrown this light on the ‘dark side of moon’ in a manner that you can’t not be amazed by this company which takes being Casual, very Seriously. I highly recommend it to all. It’s Unputdownable.

IPL Rantings - Read at your own risk.

I do follow cricket with quite a keen eye and do so with an open mind towards all formats of the game. I don’t necessarily subscribe to ‘Test snobbery’, nor do I have any cynicism about the way ODI is going nor do I believe that the future of cricket is just about an orgy of fours and sixes. A cricket match is just like art, ‘art for arts’ sake’, they say, and each format, a different ball game altogether.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that The Indian Premier League does interest me despite all it's commercialization and innovation (although, I believe the only innovations done are new terms such as Karbonn Kamal Catches, Citi moments of Success and Cricketainment and of course, the MRF Blimp. However, more on that later. I enjoy a closely contested match, regardless of all the 'fixed/rigged' allegations for I have not much tangible to lose or gain anyway.

While the cricket is fine and as great as it can ever be, it's the entertainment that gets me agitated. The overkill of content packaging and 'expert' opinions, which comprise of a wannabe model, a Video jockey and ex cricketers who have forgotten the that it’s a contest of Bat and ball not, proverbs and idioms, and the pre-mid-post-anytime match analysis are actually masking the actual cricket rather than enhancing it. A classic case of the wrapping paper so loud that it takes the sheen out of the actual present. As for the ads, enough has already been said. The marketing heads seem to have actually lost their heads and if the game permits, they would even have an ad for every breath a player takes. For one it does look like I’m being served ads with some cricket breaks in between.

What amuses me more is the fact that brands associate themselves with completely unrelated things. For instance, hardly do I understand why a tire making company would have a phallic shaped blimp at each of the stadia and call it a technological breakthrough. It still makes some sense for they do have some association with the game and also sponsor a cricket academy in the country. But try understanding and explaining why a new mobile handset entrant wants to ensure its name is heard at each catch, and I’ll show you a spin-doctor. Try doing the same for DLF Maximum and Citi moment of success. At the end of it all you’ll be wondering ‘How does it make any sense?’ Now just when you're about to lose it, you have another mind numbing phenomenon. There does exist in actuality, a brand which sponsors 'Nothing', absolutely 'Nothing'. Max mobile sponsors the strategic time-out, during which nothing happens. I may not be a media expert, and perhaps that's why I yet haven't understood why a brand would want to be associated with nothing. Funny! That said, there is no denying that it sells, and there are a bunch of people cashing in on it. I, for one, have caught most matches in the city at the stadium and also followed a large part on TV and the Internet. So I can understand that at any given point in time, the demand for cricket in our country will always exceed the supply. This isn’t even my real concern with regard to the tournament.

My real problem lies in the puny tokenism that takes place in this jamboree. We got to accept that it’s a funny world when charity becomes fashion. All of a sudden it seems cool to be associated with some act of philanthropy so much so, that it forms an important part of the agenda. While the act is not questionable, the intent is. Karbonn mobile, for instance, donates Rs. 25,000 per catch taken during their Kamaal catch competition or whatever that is, for each catch taken. I don’t doubt their ingenuity, but why would I really want to see douche-bags attempting to make full fools out of themselves while trying to grab the ugly pink ball hit by a lesser mortal of a franchise? More importantly, does the company actually need to show such belittling benevolence trying to build brand recognition and presence?

It’s unnerving. What’s even worse is the Green Responsibility taken by the IPL fraternity this season. Certainly, Green is the color of the season and his here to stay. But, this one, has surpassed all boundaries, infuriated enough to make an indifferent and an easy going (plain lazy, if you must) me to have actually written the following to the IPL authorities by virtue of the Feedback section on their website. Here is a copy of the same. Informal it is, but rarely does irritation and anger vent itself formally.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is with regard to the green initiative the IPL has taken this season. While it sounds great, I wish to know what green acts have you being doing? For, My only rant against the IPL is the tokenism it undertakes. Green Initiatives. Ha! Despite a spate of Fireworks after each boundary, Blaring Loud Speakers and Corporate Helicopters Flying to and fro for one puny man, they proudly give a stupid green tip right before the toss. This does nothing to reduce carbon footprints. The only green I see is the outfield, which too is fast disappearing because of advertising signage all over. I wish to know if you'll are actually planting any trees or undertaking such acts to offset the carbon emissions created by this tournament so far. If not, then I wonder of what use is the globe you'll got signed by the captains of all franchises, apart from selling it off at yet another 'charity' auction.

Regards,

Mangalam Maloo.

Finally, the eternal optimist in me still says, things will get better. One Day, Cricket (don’t mistake it for One Day Cricket. The comma lies between one day and cricket) will be played the way it should be, and we shall all enjoy it the way it should be. But then again, what should be, would be only if what could be, would be.

Much Love

M