No one could have taught you more about starting a company than Steve Jobs, and I had the privilege and honor of working for him in the Macintosh division of Apple.

没有人能够比斯蒂夫·乔布斯给你更多关于创建公司的指导了，而笔者也有幸能够与他曾经在苹果的麦金塔电脑(Macintosh)开发部门共同工作。

Over the course of several years, and then watching him for another two decades, these are the five most important things that I learned about startups from him.

经过了这些年，再留意他近20年的成就，下面就是笔者从他身上所学到的5件创建公司最重要的经验。

1. People cannot tell you what they need.

1. 人们无法告诉你他们的需求是什么。

They can tell you what they want, and it’s usually along the lines of a better, faster and cheaper status quo. For example, in the 1980s, Apple’s customers wanted a better, faster and cheaper Apple II. No one asked for a Macintosh. Truly successful entrepreneurs² create what people cannot articulate³.

他们能够告诉你他们需要的是什么，并且它常常随着现有产品更好，更快和更便宜而演变的。比如在20世纪80年代，苹果的顾客希望得到的是更完善，更快速和更便宜的Apple II。而Macintosh则无人问津。真正成功的企业家能够为人们创造出人们无法用言语描述的产品。

2. Experts cannot tell you what to do.

2. 专家无法告诉你该做什么。

Experts are good at telling you what’s wrong with the current state of the art. They cannot tell you how to fix what’s wrong, nor, like customers, tell you how to leapfrog the current leaders.

专家们都很擅长告诉你当前到底出现了什么问题。但是他们不能告诉你如何解决这些问题，顾客也一样，他们无法告诉你如何超越你的主导产品。

3. The action is on the next curve.

3. 在下一个转折点行动。

In the 1830s, ice harvesters were wiped out by ice factories. In the 1850s, ice factories were wiped out by refrigerator companies. Duking it out on the current curve can work, but true innovation⁴ and entrepreneurship⁵ occurs when you get to the next curve or create a new one.

在19世纪30年代，冰矿采集器彻底被冰工厂取代了。而在19世纪50年代，冰工厂也彻底被冰箱公司取代了。在当前的时代转折点与其他的竞争者一绝高下，绝对能够创出一番新天地，但当你处于下一个转折点或创造新的转折点的时候，真正的创新与相关企业才会出现。

4. Design counts.

4. 设计很重要。

It might not matter to everyone, but design matters to enough people to make a startup successful. Simple functionality isn’t enough any more. Now your product or service has to do the job in an elegant⁶ and pleasing way. Steve Jobs and Apple have raised people’s expectations forever.

也许这并不与每个人都有关系，不过产品的设计确实能够让某些人让新建的公司获得成功。基本的产品功能已经不足以迎合市场需求了。如今你的产品或服务应该以一种优雅且怡人的方式赢得关注。乔布斯和苹果公司就已经做到永远地唤起人们的期待。

5. Value is not the same thing as price.

5. 价值与价格是两回事。

Price is a number printed on a list. Value is the totality of the costs and benefits of a product. Something with a higher price can have a better value because it reduces costs, such as training, and produces better results. Don’t focus on price -- focus on providing and communicating value.

价格是标注在表单上的数字。价值是这件产品的成本与利润的总和。某些价格更高的产品之所以价值更高，是因为它能够降低成本，比如调试成本，并且还能创造更好的效果。但不要把焦点放在价格上——应该放在提供价值和沟通价值上。

One more thing: Steve Jobs taught me that some things need to be believed to be seen. Skeptics refuse to believe in something until they see it. If you want to be an entrepreneur¹, you have to believe in your idea. This is why Steve Jobs changed the world while most people waited for the world to change.

还有一件事：乔布斯教会了我某些事情要先相信才能看到。有怀疑主义者在真正看到一件事实之前拒绝相信它的可能性。如果你想要成为一名企业家，你必须相信自己的想法。这也是为什么乔布斯能够在大多数人等待世界改变的时候，却改变了世界。