Steve Jobs Quotes

We have to make sure, at Apple, that we stay true to focus, laser focus - we know we can only do great things a few times, only on a few products.

I used to have this debate with Steve Jobs, and he would always say, 'You guys are doing too much stuff.' He did a good job of doing one or two things really well. We'd like to have a bigger impact on the world by doing more things.

Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph.

Best productivity tool ever invented? Easy...the word "no".

You’ve gotta keep control of your time, and you can’t unless you say no. You can’t let people set your agenda in life.

Success depends on getting good at saying no without feeling guilty. You cannot get ahead with your own goals if you are always saying yes to someone else's projects. You can only get ahead with your desired lifestyle if you are focused on the things that will produce that lifestyle.

Great entrepreneurs focus intensely on an opportunity where others see nothing. This focus and intensity helps to eliminate wasted effort and distractions. Most companies die from indigestion rather than starvation, i.e., companies suffer from doing too many things at the same time rather than doing too few things very well.

Smart people tend to enjoy thinking about a lot of things at once. I'd say entrepreneurs should be serial monogamists; do one thing at a time until you make sufficient progress and then move on.

And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

Three hours of focused time on the projects that will really add value and uplift your career are so much better than 10 hours where you are constantly being interrupted and taken off your focus.

To help you focus, to help you really understand what you're doing, you have to say no a lot. When you say yes to everything, you get distracted. When you say no, you have to get the one thing you're doing really right.

I've learned, I think, to be able to distinguish between the necessary and the unnecessary as far as my limited outside time is concerned. Saying 'no' politely is a necessity if one wants to lead any kind of stable life.

You do what is manageable, and you do it well rather than trying to do a thousand things just a little bit OK.

Who begins too much accomplishes little.

Focus on doing the right things instead of a bunch of things.

In devoting more time and attention to fewer commitments, we can have a bigger impact on the things that matter most.

We need to execute fewer things better.

Concentrate your energy, your thoughts and your capital.

There are only two words that will always lead you to success. Those words are yes and no. Undoubtedly, you've mastered saying yes. So start practicing saying no. Your goals depend on it!

Innovation is saying 'no' to 1,000 things.

People are effective because they say 'no,' because they say, 'this isn't for me.'

I learned the value of focus. I learned it is better to do one product well than two products in a mediocre way.

Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things.

The hardest thing when you think about focusing. You think focusing is about saying "Yes." No. Focusing is about saying "No." And when you say "No," you piss off people.

When you really want to say no, say no. You can't do everything - or at least not well.