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- Think different
Think different
Is a choice, not a tagline
Rob Norris
February 13, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
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Table of Contents
Pull to Eject
Think Different is not just the tagline from the 1997 Apple ad campaign.
“To the crazy ones.
Here’s to the misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The people who see the world differently.
The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who actually do.”
It was a launch point for individuals using the power of the personal computer to create more than just spreadsheets and word processing docs.
Music. Design. Art. Multimedia. Web sites. Books. Presentations.
Within 12 months of the campaign, Apple’s stock price tripled as they launched colorful iMacs on the way to becoming today’s worldwide #1 consumer brand.
Thanks to early guidance from Launch Key subscriber Paul Gebhardt, I had already been on the Mac train for 10 years when the Think Different campaign broke.
It was confirmation.
By bucking the corporate trend of boring beige boxes and DOS clones from Michael Dell, my first computer was different.
In 1987, I bought a used Macintosh that came with Hypercard.
That little application allowed me - an English major - to easily ‘program’ stacks and cross reference other ‘data.'
I used Hypercard to:
Create digital personnel files of candidates for my headhunting job
Build a GMAT study guide prior to grad school applications
Drive laser discs (and later CD-ROM) for multimedia projects
Organize client files, time management and invoicing in my first consulting business
That one decision - to swim against the mainstream and buy a Mac gave me uncommon knowledge (at the time) that allowed me to shift my communications skills into more technical fields.
Thinking Differently gave me a new career trajectory.
- I quit my job and went back to grad school.
- I took an unpaid internship during summer break.
- I convinced the company to buy a few Macs.
- I created slides and multimedia projects as the (now paid) intern.
- After graduation, I sold multimedia projects to other companies.
- I did Mac consulting for ad agencies and photographers.
- We partnered on creating a few web projects.
- The original company hired us to design their web sites.
- We created a usability lab and redesigned online banking tools.
- We landed Fortune 500 clients.
- We learned how to hire, motivate, grow (and fire) talent.
- Our clients won awards for our work.
- It lead to other startups and business opportunities.
- 1 of those eventually sold to a Fortune 500 company.
- 1 of those won National Science Foundation grants and published patents.
That little Mac ultimately gave me exposure to entrepreneurship, information architecture, employee motivation, UX design, mergers and acquisitions, enterprise data, ecommerce, and software development concepts that have led to 30+ years of technology businesses.
My career portfolio - including this weekly newsletter - comes as a result of Thinking Differently.
And so does yours.
Now go launch something 🚀
ps. Shoutout to subscriber Gale Haruta for the new logotype and newsletter masthead!💥
Subscriber Stories: Patrick McLean
The Launch Key community is comprised of people who Think Different.
Patrick McLean is this months example.
Creative Director. Writer. Video explainer.
He’s made his living crafting messaging for corporate clients. But that doesn’t mean he’s boring.
He’s written 11 books, including the award winning How to Succeed in Evil series.
His blogs, Youtube content and Substack writing experiments sometimes turn into side hustles.
He cranked his sense of humor by using AI to resurrect the greatest journalists, essayists, commentators to produce newspaper articles based on today’s stories.
Who wouldn’t prefer Hunter S. Thompson’s take on 2024 election year ‘news’?
He’s recreated a few Aesop’s Tales with AI voice-over and images.
Today Patrick is extending his storytelling expertise to create characters and write video game story lines for Microsoft.
Helluva growing career portfolio.
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Research links, real life examples and necessary steps gleaned from 30 years of creating innovative digital products. Start this weekend.
Modern Tools
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Old School Wisdom
Originally published in 1976, Zinsser’s writing tips on mechanics, structure and thinking have stood the test of time for generations of writers of all kinds. His principles are equally sound for today’s bloggers, nonfiction and fiction writers and any kind of digital publisher.
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In case you still had questions, this issue is about the importance of writing.
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Visual Crapshoot
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