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Steve Jobs' Requirements for 'Fit and Finish' Leading to Massive Cost Overruns for Apple's New Campus

Just a simple little story. My friend and I both purchased homes down the street from one another. These houses go for a significant amount of money and you expect quality. Both of the houses have granite counter tops. But the first thing I noticed in her house was the seams between the slabs (when you have 20' of counter top, you're bound to get seams). My wife insisted that we had a single slab, no seams at all. When we returned home I pointed out exactly where the seams were in our counter tops. The difference, my friends seams are 1/16" while mine are no more than 1/32". It just looks finished.

Now, don't get me started on the tile work, mine is damn horrid.

Anyway, the point is, quality matters. It really does, even though you may work in a building and may not take time to stop and enjoy all the details, it has a positive influence on your state of mind. To work in a building made with heart and soul, with attention to every little detail such as how things fit together would be inspiring. Encourage the employees to make sure that their job is done with the same level of detail.

It is very easy to over look the little things, to accept "good enough". But Steve didn't want that, he wanted the best. Thus building the facility to reflect this desire is commendable. It also helps attract the best talent and encourages them to work longer hours, be more creative, and enjoy their experience.

Good for them. Think different.
 
samcraig said:
Again - stockholders don't want to see a company spending billions upon billions and delaying the opening of the campus for a decade (for example) just because Steve jobs wanted no brush strokes to ever be seen.
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I would ask if you questioned every stockholder to determine this 'fact' but I know you didn't. So please stop acting like you speak for anyone but yourself, because you don't.
 
- Per Jobs' orders, gaps between surfaces should be no more than 1/32 of an inch, far tighter than the typical 1/8 inch standard in U.S. construction.


ROFL... what a nutbar!
 
bobob said:
I agree, when did Apple ever care about quality in their products?

(Oh right - - always - - it was what made them great in the first place.)
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dead dead dead ! I dont think people at Apple care so much about Steve jobs anymore like a lot of people do here.....

Move on :eek:
 
GoldenJoe said:
I'm all for spending the money you earn however you like, and I appreciate fine craftsmanship, but it sounds like much of the cost here arose from arbitrary requirements. I don't really care what Apple does (it's not open to the public anyway), but if I were in their position, I think I would have opted for a second smaller campus on the east coast instead of allowing the budget to balloon. :D
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The same could be said for any nice smartphone then. Or any nice shoes, coat, home, or car. I mean, why bother when we could all just use cheap garbage?
 
I'm a stockholder who approves of this use of money.

It's like the "broken windows theory of crime" in reverse. The environment sets the tone for people's expectations. This will continue to inspire future engineers and designers to really understand what Steve was about a long, long time for now. And that will alter how they look at their own work.

Worth it.
 
It things like this that we continue to drive the stock lower. They may be a great company, but you cannot spend money with impunity on frivolous gold plating.
 
I'd be humbled and honored if my employee would go to these extents to build a beautiful work environment. It's also easy to see how such a place would improve work atmosphere and foster creativity.

Go ahead Apple, spend the 2 billion, you have my blessing.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
My Apple sources tell me they are pulling engineers off of OS X 10.9 and iOS development to help with the building project.
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Wow, you should be writing for Fallon, Kimmel, Leno, or Letterman. Your jokes are far more entertaining.
 
What?

MacRumors said:
- Polished concrete ceilings are to be cast in molds and then raised into position to ensure uniformity, rather than being cast in place. The requirement "left one person involved in the project speechless."
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He/She wasn't speechless. They just couldn't print the profanity used in the response. As an engineer, this makes no ******** sense and would just be a massive expense. You use cast-in-place elements when the design is specific and precast elements don't work. You don't just create precast elements to crane into place for fun.

Furthermore, a precast element would require more labor in this instance to properly secure and anchor to whatever foundations are constructed. Cast-in-place would allow all of this detailing to happen simultaneously and would result in a much stronger, more uniform design.
 
NanoTubeReturns said:
It's their hard earned money, they can do whatever they want with it.
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and deal with the repercussions from their stockholders.

charlituna said:
I would ask if you questioned every stockholder to determine this 'fact' but I know you didn't. So please stop acting like you speak for anyone but yourself, because you don't.
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Ohhhh I think you knew I was speaking in a general sense given the context (which you omitted). I started off stating... "Only - they answer to the stockholders and BOD. If it's seen as "waste" and overblown in budget - that's not going to sit well."
 
A corporate campus should be viewed as a physical manifestation of the company's culture and akin to a product produced by company. Expecting the use of low cost or cheap materials in campus construction is the same as expecting Apple to switch to low cost or cheap materials in their products.

In order to foster Apple's image and culture as an innovator and leader in product quality the campus must be the best, most innovative and highest quality in the world.
 
charlituna said:
I would ask if you questioned every stockholder to determine this 'fact' but I know you didn't. So please stop acting like you speak for anyone but yourself, because you don't.
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Stockholders want money and hate to see companies spend money. It's that simple. They're selfish ****ers.
 
samcraig said:
and deal with the repercussions from their stockholders.


The stock holders have never been of concern for Apple.

What repercussions anyway, dump the stock?

They'll all buy again when it goes up.

This thing needs to be built the way it was designed and with high quality.

Not my money, but I say they owe it Steve's legacy to carry this out as he wanted it.
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Jobs could build that building as he wished b/c he could bring in sales to support its cost. The Post-Jobs Apple hasn't proven it can so, realistically, it needs to trim some of the more extravagant elements like spacings and how the concrete is put into place.

Will Apple even need such a large building in 2015? This building was planned at what looks to have been Apple's peak. May it should shrink the building down some.
 
mrzeigler said:
Cupertino is about four or five miles away from the San Andreas fault line, isn't it?

Granted, I'm not a contractor nor do I live near an active fault line, but is it the smartest of ideas to build a $5B building — one in which the exorbitant cost is due to cosmetic and not structural engineering — in such a geologically active zone?
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I have a feeling there's a bit of embellishing going on in this story, especially regarding Steve's "fit and finish" requests. At the end of the day engineering will trump aesthetics when necessary no matter what Steve said.
 
Wicked1 said:
I agree, are they going to let him dictate what Apple does for the rest of their lives? His way of thinking is no longer valid, however I am not taking away from the things he had an impact on over the time he was with Apple.
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You talk as if he wanted these things just to want them and never gave a valid and logical reason to the other executives, the board, the local government.

Or that changing of the details is as easy as snapping your fingers. It's not like you don't have to get approval for your revised plans. Oh wait, you do. Not to mention costly penalties that might be in place on the existing contracts
 
entatlrg said:
Gotta love quality and higher standards. Kudos to Steve, for having the balls to push the limits.

But, the poor shareholders ... better cut the costs and give the money to them, they need it. That's more important than a high quality, unique, artistic project :rolleyes:
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When your business is public, your shareholders are the most important thing.
 
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