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BOOK REVIEWS INSANELY SIMPLE REVIEW BY RIC GETTER approached him with the simple concept "Think different", and Segall turned it into one of advertising's most memorable campaigns ever. "He understood Jobs's Zen-like focus need for simplicity in all aspects of his company." Framed in ten basic rules like, "Think Minimal," "Think Iconic" and even, "Think War," Segall manages to keep his message concise (inside 225 pages), but avoids much of the pithiness that is the downfall of many trendy business advice books that pour onto the market. He uses a series of stories and anecdotes from his work with Jobs at Apple and NeXT, often contrasting them with his experience of the other tech behemoths in his advertising career. Each of these illustrates and underlines the essential core of Jobs's remarkable success. When reading Insanely Simple, it's nearly The one thing that Apple has consistently proven throughout its history is that simplicity succeeds. Its darkest years came during Steve Jobs's absence when a more traditional kind of management led the company and its product line became a morass of perplexingly named machines. Its resurgence began with the arrival of distinctive and groundbreaking products that mostly began with the letter "i." Though best known for his work with Apple's ad agency, TWBA\Chiat\Day, Ken Segall was the mastermind behind the entire "iConcept," responsible for naming the colorful re-imagining of the successor to the Macintosh and reviving one of personal technology's best known brands. Segall's new book, Insanel y Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success, is a collection of telling, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and intimate observations that help define Jobs's way of thinking. In the process, you gain a unique insight into the philosophy behind what has become the cornerstone of history's most successful corporation. As the agency creative for three other technology giants, IBM, Intel and Dell, Segall became very familiar with both approaches. He understood Jobs's Zen-like focus need for simplicity in all aspects of his company. At one point, Jobs impossible to avoid some comparisons to Walter Isaacson's definitive biography of Jobs. Segall only really sees him as the entrepreneur and businessman. But his position as a technology insider leads to an insight that is in some ways more accurate and of potentially greater value. It is certainly a more positive perspective, perhaps to the point of being a bit biased—but aren't we all? Segall is also a wonderful writer and storyteller with some great tales to tell. Though he doesn't dwell too much on concept and theory, he does draw out the important message behind each of the tales he recounts. As a result, his book is as enjoyable and entertaining as it is informative. Segall is here to evangelize the power of Simplicity (a term he consistently capitalizes throughout the book). You may not be able to take this philosophy as far as Jobs and Apple, but it will inspire you to think (and manage things) differently. Insanely Simpleby Ken Segall; $25.95 (hardcover), Portfolio/Penguin (penguin.com) 2012; 225 pages, ISBN: 978-1-59184-483-9 38 MacDirectory