Apple's Jobs: 1,000 No's on Way to Triumph

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The secret to Apple(AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs' innovative brilliance, believe it or not, is his ability to say no. Carmine Gallo, author of The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, studied the enigmatic Jobs for years to learn what makes him tick and, more importantly, the secrets behind his creative brilliance.

Gallo recently stopped by TheStreet to talk about the lessons to be learned from Apple's secretive, innovative CEO.

What is the top innovation secret of Steve Jobs?

Gallo: Steve jobs once said the secret to innovation is saying no to one thousand things, which means he focuses just on those products that mean something to his customers and to his clients. That also means eliminating the clutter. That's why iPods, iPhones and iPads are so easy to use. Because instead of adding more features, which is what the vast majority of companies are doing, they actually eliminate features to make it easier to use.

Is Steve Jobs an innovating genius or a marketing genius?

Gallo: I think you can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate that idea it doesn't matter. That is why it is so important to Apple's success that Steve Jobs has become such a marketing genius. But you still have to have a great idea. And you still have to create and design products that excite and wow people. That's been the magic of Apple ever since he and Steve Wozniak started fiddling with electronics in the spare bedroom of Steve Jobs' parents' house.

Are there any other CEOs that apply these secrets to run successful companies?

Gallo: One person who I have met recently and come to know is Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, which is now owned by Amazon.com(AMZN). And Zappos online is really considered the gold standard of customer service. He has a very similar ethos or philosophy to Apple. Apple creates these Apple stores and it's all about enriching lives. When you walk into an Apple store they are trying to make your life better. They are not just moving products, they are enriching lives. The same is true with Zappos. When Tony Hsieh started in the spare bedroom of his house in San Francisco, he asked himself what he could do to delight his customers and deliver happiness.

Will Steve Jobs share his secrets with his successor, whoever that successor may be?

Gallo: I think Steve Jobs chooses the people around him who share his philosophy. A lot of people forget that the principle person behind the iPod is the head of design, Jonathan Ive. He was working for Apple when Steve Jobs was absent during that time in the late 1980s and 1990s. When Steve Jobs returned he recognized his talents. So Steve Jobs surrounds himself with the best people, obviously those people that will continue to work with Apple even after Steve Jobs moves on to his next step, whatever that may be.