Shop Different Quotes

“Years on from Groos’s observations, philosopher Dallas Willard would give theological weight to his conclusion. The drive to “significance,” Willard writes, first appears as a vital need in a tiny child, and is not egotism. Rather, it is the extension of our God-given creative impulse, and it is directed outwardly at the good to be done. “We were built to count, as water is made to run downhill,” Willard writes. “We are placed in a specific context to count in ways no one else does. That is our destiny.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“Sixty years earlier, a German psychologist, Karl Groos, had observed a similar phenomenon. He termed it “the pleasure at being the cause.” If we derive pleasure from being the cause, Groos seemed to say, then we find that pleasure in imagining that something will happen—like, say, that a mobile will move if we touch it—and seeing if we’re right. That was all I ever wanted: to see if things like design at Target—or delivering support through a bar—would work. And while I did think a twenty-four-hour store on Fifth Avenue would succeed, its actual performance blew my socks off. It was like we tugged on a mobile with our foot and ripped a hole in the ceiling.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“In the late twentieth century, psychologists ran experiments in which they attached infants’ feet to pieces of string, then tied those strings to mobiles above them. They observed that once infants realized they were moving the mobiles, it was all they wanted to do.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“This book is based on my personal experiences and my best recollections of conversations and events. Dialogue has been re-created from memory to reflect the essence of the conversations that took place. In some instances, I have consulted with others to verify details; however, this remains a subjective account and does not represent the official position of any past employers.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“It’s possible,” I said. “Intelligence, athleticism—these things are gifts. But kindness is a choice. Anyone can choose to be kind.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“Who is the best athlete in class?” I asked. “Oh, that’s Dash,” Will said. “And who is the smartest kid in class?” “Will!” Dash exclaimed. I smiled. “And who is the kindest?” A long pause. I don’t remember who they said, but that was the point. “Wouldn’t it be great,” I began, “if the smartest kid in class—or the best athlete—was also the kindest?”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“Today, I still try to model the behavior that worked so well at the Apple Store—greet people with warm welcomes, learn about their needs and address them, then issue fond farewells.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“In a world isolated from itself, maybe the real convenience is the ability to convene.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“I’ve heard it said that grief is the brain’s effort to keep making a connection it no longer can, and every day as I drove back to the hotel in Plano from Penney’s, I realized how true that was.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“He was at his best at his busiest. We all were.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“You know I’m trying to build a culture of kindness,” I said. “How you spoke to the team earlier . . . that wasn’t kindness.” “The highest form of kindness is telling the truth.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

“The best conversations tended to happen between people with diverse personal geographies, defined as everything we’ve experienced in our work and life: where we grew up, where we’ve lived, what we’ve learned. And while Steve’s and my “geographies” couldn’t have been more different—he was a technologist from Silicon Valley, and I was a retailer from Minnesota—we shared genius as Whyte describes it: an ability to be truly present with one another and thus hear what we needed from each other.”
― Ron Johnson, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius