I just read Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success and was really inspired by it's peek into Steve Job's mind.
What is really great about the book (and author) is how it shows the decision making process behind Steve/Apple's success.
The key message is how Simple and well designed products/solutions, are a result of a relentless and uncompromising focus on Simplicity.
There are great stories of 'Steve Jobs Simple Stick', which was used when Complexity appeared, and threatened to derail a particular project or idea.The book also shows how what Steve was really good at was to have a great instinct for what a Simple solution should look like (there are multiple examples from other companies, like Dell or Intel, that showed what happens when Complexity is allowed to rule).
I guess the reason I can relate to this book a lot, is because I'm also very driven and focused on Simple solutions and on Simplicity.
Yes, I know that it might not be very obvious, but what I'm doing with the O2 Platform is to try to simplify what is today a very complex and obscure world (finding/documenting security vulnerabilities and writing Unit Tests to replicate them). And Simple solutions, are an evolution of starting with complex solutions, and relentlessly work on them, until Simplicity and ease-of-use just 'happens' (i.e. I'm on the right path, just not there yet :) ).
For me the best quote of the book is: Simplicity is the love child of two of the most powerful forces in business: Brains and Common Sense , which you can read in the free preview available on Ken's website (and embedded below)
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