Steve Jobs 1992 MIT Sloan Talk | Generated by AI
Question: What does Steve Jobs say in this talk? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-9Fd2mEnI&t=310s)
Answer:
This video is a recording of Steve Jobs speaking at the MIT Sloan School of Management Distinguished Speaker Series in the spring of 1992. At the time, he was President and CEO of NeXT Computer Corporation (after leaving Apple) and is also introduced in connection with Apple.
The talk is informal, consisting of Jobs’ opening remarks followed by an extended Q&A session with MBA students. He discusses NeXT’s technology, business strategy, reflections on Apple, management lessons, manufacturing innovations, and the future of computing.
Key Topics and Points Steve Jobs Makes:
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NeXT’s Mission and Technology: Jobs explains that NeXT focuses on advanced software (NeXTSTEP operating system) for building custom enterprise applications quickly (5-10 times faster than competitors). This enables companies to improve operational productivity and bring products to market faster. He emphasizes object-oriented programming as a major breakthrough, bigger than graphical user interfaces: “The code that never breaks is the code that you don’t write… so write less code.”
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Shift in Strategy: Initially targeting education and shrink-wrapped software, NeXT pivoted to mission-critical custom apps for large enterprises. He discusses porting NeXTSTEP to Intel processors for wider adoption and partnerships (e.g., with Intel and Novell).
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Competitors: Sun Microsystems (strong hardware but lagging software), Microsoft NT (inferior development tools), and emerging Taligent (potential future threat).
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Reflections on Apple: After leaving Apple in 1985, Jobs notes that “everybody lost.” Apple struggled with its identity, leaning toward consumer products at the expense of high-end professional tools. He shares the story of the Macintosh enabling desktop publishing unexpectedly.
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Management and Leadership: At NeXT, he prioritizes hiring top talent and building a long-term team (“We’re going to do great stuff for the next decade”). Conflicts are resolved via a “Policy Team” seeking consensus. Lesson from Apple: Take a longer-term view on developing people. He criticizes over-reliance on consultants lacking real experience (“A mind is too important to waste”).
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Manufacturing Innovation: NeXT uses just-in-time processes with no warehouses, automated factories run by object-oriented software (robots as “I/O devices”). Simultaneous product and process design reduces time-to-market. He quips about suppliers: “Our money doesn’t break after we give it to them, so their parts shouldn’t break after they give them to us.”
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Future of Technology: Major “windows” open every 5-10 years (e.g., Apple II, Macintosh). Object-oriented technology will drive the next big shift, enabling richer experiences.
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Broader Insights: He stresses the importance of direct field experience (“developing scar tissue”), reusable software objects, and focusing on high-impact work with the best people.
The talk (around 1 hour 15 minutes long) is conversational, with Jobs answering student questions candidly about business challenges, technology trends, and his experiences.
References:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-9Fd2mEnI