Hard to believe that it's been a year since Steve Jobs died and things are still being unearthed about the man. Marcel Brown has recently discovered the entire recording of Jobs' talk at a 1983 design conference in Apsen. Until now, only a portion of the recording had been available.
What's interesting about the audio-only recording is that Jobs lays out the next 25 years or so of computing and innovation, from wireless internet to Google maps to even the iPad. Our ears perked up when Jobs said:
Apple's strategy is really simple. We want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn in 20 minutes.
A lot of folks are focusing on the iPad prediction aspect of the above quote. Sure that's a pretty boss prognostication to make, but there's something even deeper underlying that quote — design strategy.
Even in 1983, in what Jobs called the "I Love Lucy" stage of computers, Apple had figured out what users' needs would be in the years to come. Jobs predicted that they'd have a book-sized computer five to seven years down the road in that talk. Of course, it took them a few more years to get a prototype and then an actual product to market. More importantly, however, Apple and Jobs had figured out how it should align its business goals with what users would need years down the road.
Think about it this way: what will you predict users will need and how will we align that with your business needs? And what product will you envision now and build tomorrow that will revolutionize the way we interact? The possibilities are endless.
If you want to listen to the entire 54 minute talk, click on the player below. Enjoy!