Ken Kocienda’s Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs is a book I’ve shared and recommended time and time again. Through engaging storytelling it gives a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the origin story of the iPhone and working close to Steve Jobs.
What strikes me, however, is how often I find myself referencing it when discussing broader ideas related to organizational theory, full-stack development, or the importance of taking ownership. It’s evident that behind all the stories and anecdotes, the book presents evergreen insights that I think are relevant whether you’re building software, leading a team or tackling tough problems.
Here are the key takeaways that stuck with me:
Clear ownership through DRI
Apple’s Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) concept is simple: one person is ultimately accountable for a project’s success or failure. Ken was the DRI for the original iPhone keyboard—responsible for everything from autocorrect to the “click” sounds. It’s not about doing all the work yourself but making sure it gets done right.
GitLab also uses this concept. Their handbook defines a DRI as “the person solely responsible for a project’s success or failure.” It’s a role that forces clarity and accountability, ensuring that no decisions fall through the cracks. Both Apple and GitLab show how this approach leads to better outcomes and stronger teams.
Building towards a tangible vision
In Creative Selection, Ken Kocienda recounts how Steve Jobs introduced the concept of the iOS touchscreen interface with a simple, concrete demonstration: sliding his finger across a piece of paper, he illustrated the vision of a fluid, intuitive touch experience that would define the iPhone. This wasn’t a vague directive like “build a great touch interface.” It was a clear and tangible goal that the team could rally behind.
Jobs’ approach highlights the importance of grounding lofty ideas in something actionable. By giving the team a clear vision, he set them on a focused path.
Trusting good taste, and embracing high-velocity decision making
Apple’s obsession with detail stands out in every story Ken tells. They didn’t A/B test their way to decisions—they trusted their instincts and taste. In the early phases of a project, relying too much on data or A/B testing can slow down innovation and stifle bold ideas. Instead, trusting intuition allows for faster, more creative decision-making, laying the foundation for refinement later on.
“At Apple, we never would have dreamed of doing that, and we never staged any A/B tests for any of the software on the iPhone. When it came to choosing a color, we picked one. We used our good taste… and we moved on.”
Driving progress with concrete demos
At Apple, demos weren’t just progress reports—they replaced the need for traditional reporting altogether. Teams didn’t waste time on status updates or endless check-ins. Instead, they used demos to show progress, gather feedback, and iterate. This wasn’t just about showcasing ideas; it was a crucible for alignment and refinement.
Apple’s process didn’t end with demos. The company emphasized convergence—bringing together the best ideas from different teams and making them fit into a cohesive whole. Forget brainstorming sessions and design by committee; the real work was in synthesizing diverse inputs into a unified vision. As Ken puts it:
“We always started small, with some inspiration. We made demos. We mixed in feedback… Round after round of creative selection moved us step by step from the spark of an idea to a finished product.”
Raising the bar on what it means to work full-stack
The early stages of a big project need a certain kind of person—someone who thrives in ambiguity and enjoys solving tough, undefined problems. For the iPhone OS, Steve Jobs hand-picked craftsmen who could work across engineering, design, and beyond. These builders didn’t just specialize in one area, they owned problems end-to-end and tackled challenges with curiosity and broad skill sets.
Ken’s work on the iPhone keyboard is a perfect example. He didn’t just write the code—he designed the user experience, tuned the typing feel, and even created the keyboard’s “click” sounds. This ability to own and execute across multiple disciplines helped the team achieve something “good enough” quickly, allowing for iteration and refinement over time.
There’s a special kind of team that build from 0 to 80
Apple created small, specialized teams for early-stage projects, like the iPhone OS. These teams were shielded from distractions and politics, operating with focus and urgency. While many organizations fear the optics of secrecy, Apple embraced it to protect experimentation and innovation.
I have thought a lot about how the type and maturity of teams might be fractal. Early-stage innovation depends on versatile builders who can solve problems across disciplines and move quickly. As projects mature, the team dynamic changes—shifting from generalists to increasingly specialized experts. Post-docs and world-class researchers may be essential later, but in the early phases, they can be a liability. Recognizing when to transition between team types is key to driving innovation effectively, and I think Apple understood this when they designed the early iOS-team.
Final thoughts
This book offers a great example of what full-stack ownership looks like. Personally, I find it to be an antidote to the tendency in large corporations to rely on heavily specialized roles where everyone owns their turf. In such environments, even simple innovation across disciplines often requires gathering too many people into a room. Instead, Creative Selection gives me the confidence to look beyond the boundaries of my title or field of expertise. Ken didn’t just code the keyboard; he designed it, tuned it, and made it click—literally.
“A small group of passionate, talented, imaginative, ingenious, ever-curious people built a work culture based on applying their inspiration and collaboration with diligence, craft, decisiveness, taste, and empathy.”
Creative Selection isn’t just an interesting book about Apple or Steve Jobs, it offers valuable insights into how to think and work effectively.