"organizations which design systems ... are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations." - Conway's law
I mean that a perfectionist dictator must be in charge of design if a company is to make truly differentiated and tasteful hardware, instead of trending towards the mediocrity pumped out by typical corporations. It's riskier, of course, but that's how you make a $1T company, and it's the only way to overrule the bean counters. It's like making art as an individual instead of handing everyone a paintbrush.
Apple's design is (or was) completely under the control of Jony Ive, due to the leadership of Steve Jobs. He is an opinionated, controlling industrial designer and, although you may not like his designs, he sticks to his principles. It is much easier to lead the way - and screw up - as an individual. You can't please everybody, but you can at least have a cohesive whole. Same kind of thing with Tesla vs every other major car company.
I mean that a perfectionist dictator must be in charge of design if a company is to make truly differentiated and tasteful hardware, instead of trending towards the mediocrity pumped out by typical corporations. It's riskier, of course, but that's how you make a $1T company, and it's the only way to overrule the bean counters. It's like making art as an individual instead of handing everyone a paintbrush.
Apple's design is (or was) completely under the control of Jony Ive, due to the leadership of Steve Jobs. He is an opinionated, controlling industrial designer and, although you may not like his designs, he sticks to his principles. It is much easier to lead the way - and screw up - as an individual. You can't please everybody, but you can at least have a cohesive whole. Same kind of thing with Tesla vs every other major car company.