Jony Ive on what Steve Jobs taught him about focus

February 08, 2024

“This sounds really simplistic, but it shocks me how few people actually practice this—and it’s a struggle to practice… Steve was the most remarkably focused person I’ve ever met in my life.”

As Jony explains, the tricky thing with focus is that it’s a struggle to practice. Every minute you have to ask: “Why are we talking about this?” if it’s not what you’re actually working on.

“You can achieve so much if you’re truly focused.”

Steve would regularly ask Jony how many things he has said “no” to. As Jony explains:

“What focus means is saying ‘no’ to something that you believe with every bone in your body is a phenomenal idea. You wake up thinking about it, but you say ‘no’ to it because you’re focusing on something else.”