Ken Segall

Former Apple Ad Consultant

Creator of the name iMac

Ken Segall BCC Conferenciantes

Start your event with a healthy dose of simplicity. Simplicity is the most powerful force in business. Simplicity is always in fashion

English
Digital and Social Media · Futurist and Technology · Innovation and Creativity · Marketing and Branding

Ken Segall is an advertising executive and the man who put the ‘i’ in iPad. He worked side-by-side with Steve Jobs for 12 years as the advertising creative director of both NeXT and Apple. Segall was instrumental in seeing Apple grow from near bankruptcy to become the world’s most valuable company. Currently, Segall does creative work, branding and product naming for major brands, and regularly blogs about technology and marketing.

To Steve Jobs, ‘simplicity’ wasn’t just a design principle. It was a religion and a weapon. The obsession with simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It’s what helped Apple recover from near-death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011, and guides the way Apple is organized, how it designs products and how it connects with customers. It’s by crushing the forces of complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory.

As Creative Director, Ken Segall played a key role in Apple’s resurrection, helping to create such critical ad-campaigns as ‘Think Different’ and coming up with the ‘i’ before Apple’s key products. As an advertising executive by trade, Segall previously worked as a global creative director at Dell, IBM, Intel and BMW before joining Apple.

Keynote business presentations by Ken Segall are as creative and inspired as the speaker himself. Travelling from the USA, he is sought-after across the globe for his witty yet clear, succinct and concise speeches where he reveals the key elements of simplicity that have driven Apple’s success – which you can, and will, use to improve your own organization.

Able to eloquently speak about his career path following his education at Penn State University, Ken Segall shows that he is no stranger to disappointment, and is living proof that one’s career path can make unexpected turns. He also recounts his life at Apple, working with Steve Jobs and how he challenged everyone to think in the most simplistic terms on all aspects of business. Often pushing the idea that one should follow their interests when choosing a career, presentations by Ken Segall are ideal for those feeling lost or confused about what they want to do with their life.

Conferences

The Power of Simple

In this speech, Ken Segall dives into the topic of his best-selling book, Insanely Simple. He talks about Steve Jobs’ passion for simplicity and how it helped Apple grow from near bankruptcy to become the world’s most valuable company. Illustrating his points with interesting examples of life in the world of Steve Jobs, Ken shows how Steve’s love of simplicity impacted the way Apple organizes, innovates, advertises and communicates. Simplicity is a concept that can help any organization achieve amazing results.

Inside Apple Advertising

Apple is one of those rare companies whose adverts become as famous as their products. As Steve Jobs’ agency Creative Director during the “Think different” years, Ken Segall can offer an inside look at how some of the more iconic ads came to fruition — from internal debates with Steve Jobs to the production of the ads. This talk covers key moments in Apple advertising history from an insider’s perspective, and demonstrates that simplicity was always the driver and catalyst for Apple’s success. The ads you saw on TV are only part of the story!

Books

Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity

Simplicity is arguably the most potent weapon in business—attracting customers, motivating employees, helping outthink competitors, and creating new efficiencies. Yet rarely is it as simple as it looks.

Ken Segall’s first book, Insanely Simple, was based on observations gained from twelve years working as Steve Jobs’s advertising agency creative director, first with NeXT and then with Apple. He saw firsthand that Jobs looked at everything through the lens of simplicity. His obsession with simplicity was not just visible in Apple’s products. You could see it in the way the company organized, innovated, advertised, sold at retail, and provided customer service.

In practice, simplicity was Jobs’s most powerful business weapon. It helped Apple distinguish its products and create entirely new product categories, and it put distance between Apple and its competitors. But, while Apple is a terrific example of a company that has been propelled by the power of simplicity, it is hardly alone.
Inspired by the ways Apple has benefited from the power of simplicity, Segall set out to find other companies that were traveling this path. He wanted to learn more about the thinking of their leaders. He felt that if he could chronicle the experiences of those who have successfully simplified, it would be an invaluable guide for everyone who would like to do the same.

This book is the result of his journey into simplicity in companies around the world.
Many of the “heroes of simplicity” profiled in this book are probably not on your list of usual suspects. Segall had conversations with over forty men and women from a wide range of industries, in companies big and small, established and up-and-coming, famous and below under the radar.

Each leader has a fascinating point of view about how simplicity has helped improve his or her company and set it apart from competitors. Each is unique, yet, as you’ll find, many display interesting similarities.

From Jerry Greenfield, you’ll hear how Ben & Jerry’s grew from local to global without losing its focus and simple values. From the CEO of one of Australia’s biggest banks, you’ll hear how simplicity is attracting new customers. From former Apple Senior Vice President Ron Johnson, you’ll hear how a simple idea aligned the team creating the worldwide network of Apple Stores.

You’ll discover how simplicity influences the CEOs of The Container Store and Whole Foods. You’ll get insights on simplification from the worlds of fashion, automobiles, entertainment, and technology. You’ll even get inside the blue heads of the Blue Man Group, who developed a business strategy to defeat complexity before it could take root.

No principle is more important for businesses today than simplicity. In this insightful and often surprising book, you will learn how to harness the power of simplicity to build lasting, profitable organizations.

Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity

Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success

To Steve Jobs, Simplicity was a religion. It was also a weapon. Simplicity isn’t just a design principle at Apple—it’s a value that permeates every level of the organization. The obsession with Simplicity is what separates Apple from other technology companies. It’s what helped Apple recover from near death in 1997 to become the most valuable company on Earth in 2011. Thanks to Steve Jobs’s uncompromising ways, you can see Simplicity in everything Apple does: the way it’s structured, the way it innovates, and the way it speaks to its customers. It’s by crushing the forces of Complexity that the company remains on its stellar trajectory. As ad agency creative director, Ken Segall played a key role in Apple’s resurrection, helping to create such critical marketing campaigns as Think different. By naming the iMac, he also laid the foundation for naming waves of i-products to come. Segall has a unique perspective, given his years of experience creating campaigns for other iconic tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and Dell. It was the stark contrast of Apple’s ways that made Segall appreciate the power of Simplicity—and inspired him to help others benefit from it. In Insanely Simple, you’ll be a fly on the wall inside a conference room with Steve Jobs, and on the receiving end of his midnight phone calls. You’ll understand how his obsession with Simplicity helped Apple perform better and faster, sometimes saving millions in the process. You’ll also learn, for example, how to:
• Think Minimal: Distilling choices to a minimum brings clarity to a company and its customers—as Jobs proved when he replaced over twenty product models with a lineup of four.
• Think Small: Swearing allegiance to the concept of “small groups of smart people” raises both morale and productivity.
• Think Motion: Keeping project teams in constant motion focuses creative thinking on well-defined goals and minimizes distractions.
• Think Iconic: Using a simple, powerful image to symbolize the benefit of a product or idea creates a deeper impression in the minds of customers.
• Think War: Giving yourself an unfair advantage—using every weapon at your disposal—is the best way to ensure that your ideas survive unscathed.Segall brings Apple’s quest for Simplicity to life using fascinating (and previously untold) stories from behind the scenes. Through his insight and wit, you’ll discover how companies that leverage this power can stand out from competitors—and individuals who master it can become critical assets to their organizations.

Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success

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