Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

The Product Lineup: Saying No

Steve followed what I call his Say No principle with a passion. He came to understand that the challenge isn’t which product ideas you decide to pursue, but which ones you decide not to. He was able to brag that Apple, which had become a $30 billion company, had fewer than 30 major products. But those 30 were what he had decided to pursue, after saying no to hundreds of others.

Think about that: over time, Apple had considered hundreds of product ideas before narrowing down to 30.