Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

What I spend is someone else’s income. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs discussed every morning at breakfast with his family about buying a set of Miele washing machines and dryers from Germany for two weeks. Why? Of course, it was to teach their children about economics and to illustrate a lesson about opportunity cost, a common trait among wealthy people. If you buy this washing machine, you cannot buy that one. That is the opportunity cost. It’s a form of relative value, based on the idea that choosing one option means sacrificing another, so the value of each can be compared within those limits. Wealth begins with training in understanding even trivial opportunity costs. To succeed in business, you need to learn how to measure opportunity cost first, rather than just how to make money. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

What someone can share with others is referred to as a “non-rival asset,” whereas the counterpart is termed a “rival asset.” Intangible assets, such as brands and intellectual property rights, fall under the category of non-rival assets. In contrast, tangible assets that physically exist, like buildings and goods, are classified as rival assets. Non-rival assets can theoretically be utilized by numerous individuals simultaneously, and their depreciation is nearly nonexistent even when an original copy exists. Thus, the scale and speed of wealth creation differ from that of an economy focused on existing tangible assets. In Apple, the personality assets of founder Steve Jobs are considered non-rival assets, while the productivity aspect, traditionally seen as a rival asset, has been managed through outsourcing. If Apple focuses solely on non-rival assets, managing the rest becomes straightforward, as they understand the sources of high-added value. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The most important thing in product design and development is “imagination.” While others developed laptops to fit the size of the battery, Steve Jobs imagined a laptop that could fit in an envelope. Then he pressured the battery company. If no technology was available in those days, he would wait. He traveled around the world in search of technology that matched his imagination. He envisioned putting a workstation (OS•X) in a cellphone and developed it for 3 years, but when Apple couldn’t deliver, he demonstrated it by connecting it to a separate workstation. It was a scam, but no one criticized him. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

We remember Apple founder Steve Jobs as a strong leader with a stubborn streak and charisma, but he also consistently upheld the company's core values as its leader. While developing the iPhone 4, Jobs wanted to incorporate solar charging. Still, Apple's engineers disagreed, arguing that the technology at the time, would make the iPhone thicker than previous models and compromise the company's core value of simplicity. When confronted, Jobs gave up to stand his ground and listened to the engineers. The most important thing about leadership is not charismatic authority, but defining the company's core values and complying with them, even a highest-level officer. It's not a matter of power, but of defining core values and ensuring that everyone in the company has common interests in their meaning and that this understanding is shared internally. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

It's a simple calculation. No matter how unstable the economy, residential real estate prices are unlikely to increase tenfold in a decade. But it's quite possible for the stock of Apple, Amazon, or Google to increase tenfold in that time. That's because they're organizations that continue to create value-added. It's very easy to make better investment judgments and decisions, but our instinct to seek stability can lead us astray. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”