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Steve Jobs Summed Up Apple's Entire Strategy Using Just 6 Bullet Points

On October 24, 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs sent a very important email.

It contained the agenda for the company's upcoming retreat, a top secret and super exclusive offsite management meeting that was reserved for 100 of Apple's most influential employees.

Jobs's agenda point consists of these six major bullet points: Who are we?; What do we do?; Post PC era; 2011: Holy War with Google; 2011: Year of the Cloud; 2015: New Campus.

Let's break each of them down.

1/5. Be intentional

Jobs knew well how easy it is to fall from the top. Apple had experienced huge success in the past, only to lose itself in a flurry of products and initiatives.

To keep history from repeating itself, Jobs knew Apple needed to continually question who it was and what it did. It had to clearly identify company leadership, values, and focus - and make sure to align its goals with its desired culture and purpose.

Takeaway: Your company will change as time goes on. Keep questioning yourself, and make those changes intentional, not accidental.

2/5. Identify your strengths

The next bullet point, "Post PC era," did two important things. First, it early identified the consumer shift of purchasing more mobile devices. Just as important, though, it highlighted Apple's strength in this nascent market.

The key for future success, as Jobs outlined, would be to leverage this shift through continued improvement of mobile devices, communication, apps, and cloud services.

Takeaway: Identify what your company does well in the context of the overall market. And double down on doing those things better.

3/5. Learn from competitors

The next bullet point encapsulated Jobs's view of the competition: 2011: Holy War with Google. While it was true that the iPhone and iPad were revolutionary, Google had begun to surpass Apple in some ways - and Jobs knew it. Later in the agenda, he highlighted how Google's Android operating system excelled at deeply integrating Google's cloud services, admitting that Android was "way ahead of Apple" in cloud services for contacts, calendar, and mail.

The goal, then?
"Catch up to Android where we are behind...and leapfrog them."

Takeaway: Focus on your strengths, but ignore your weaknesses at your own peril.

4/5. Focus on one big thing

Jobs next clearly establishes the single most important priority for 2011, which he terms "the year of the cloud." Apple "invented" the digital hub concept, writes Jobs, by using the PC as a hub for digital assets like contacts, calendars, photos, music, and videos. But the digital hub was shifting from the PC to the cloud, and Apple had to move fast.

"Google and Microsoft are further along on the technology," he wrote, "We need to tie all of our products together, so we further lock customers into our ecosystem."

Identifying and executing on this priority was pivotal in helping shape Apple's strategy, and in helping the company keep up with - and even surpass its competitors.

Takeaway: There are one thing that should be your top priority. Figure it out, and make sure you're working on it.

5/5. Look to the future

Jobs's final bullet point is 2015: New Campus. Of course, this was a reference to what eventually became "Apple Park," the company's 175-acre campus and futuristic office complex that now serves as the its corporate headquarters. This was one of the final projects pitched by Jobs, a workplace that would embody the spirit of Apple and inspire employees to continue to "think different."

Takeaway: Focus on the here and now. But always plan for the future.

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