--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The system is that there is no system…" description: "\"The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg" --- # The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean… ![“The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But that's not what it's about. Process makes you more efficient.” quote by Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg) > “The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But that's not what it's about. Process makes you more efficient.” [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Systems can be flexible yet disciplined, allowing efficient processes without rigid structures. **In simple terms:** Flexibility with discipline improves efficiency. Key Takeaway Embrace adaptable processes. Themes flexibility discipline efficiency Mood inspirational reflective Type motivational leadership When to use this quote - startup management - product development - team leadership Key Concepts systems thinking process optimization Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance structure and freedom? - When does process become a hindrance? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on process can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-that-doesn-t-mean-we-don-t-have-2/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Well, Apple invented the PC as we know it, and then it invented the graphical user interface as we know it eight years later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/well-apple-invented-the-pc-as-we-know-it-and-then-it-invented-the/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I was actually a fruitarian at that point in time. I ate only fruit. Now I'm a garbage can like everyone else. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-was-actually-a-fruitarian-at-that-point-in-time-i-ate-only-fruit/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [What is Apple, after all? Apple is about people who think 'outside the box,' people who want to use computers to help them change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/what-is-apple-after-all-apple-is-about-people-who-think-outside-the/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator... these are NOT three separate devices! And we are calling it iPhone! Today Apple is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/an-ipod-a-phone-an-internet-mobile-communicator-these-are-not-three/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Apple's goal isn't to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products... We trust as a consequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/apple-s-goal-isn-t-to-make-money-our-goal-is-to-design-and-develop/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [We're not a media company. We don't own media. We don't own music. We don't own films or television. We're not a media company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-re-not-a-media-company-we-don-t-own-media-we-don-t-own-music-we/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [We think Android is very, very fragmented, and becoming more fragmented by the day. And as you know, Apple strives for the integrated model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-think-android-is-very-very-fragmented-and-becoming-more-fragmented/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [You know, I've got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can't say any more than that it's the perfect product and the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-know-i-ve-got-a-plan-that-could-rescue-apple-i-can-t-say-any-more/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [When companies get bigger they try to replicate their success. But they assume their magic came from process. They try to use processes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-companies-get-bigger-they-try-to-replicate-their-success-but/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Positive thinking is so firmly enshrined in our culture that knocking it is a little like attacking motherhood or apple pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikumar-rao/positive-thinking-is-so-firmly-enshrined-in-our-culture-that-knocking/) [Srikumar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srikumar-rao/) > [Like a satellite in orbit, Apple is perpetually falling. It just happens to miss Earth every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-dediu/like-a-satellite-in-orbit-apple-is-perpetually-falling-it-just/) Horace Dediu > [I love to eat an apple after a meal, just to cleanse my teeth - they always look polished afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-love-to-eat-an-apple-after-a-meal-just-to-cleanse-my-teeth-they/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. I think Steve Jobs has started one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-m-not-only-a-fan-of-apple-products-i-have-stock-in-the-company-i/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) ## More by Steve Jobs > [Who wants a stylus. You have to get em and put em away, and you lose em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/who-wants-a-stylus-you-have-to-get-em-and-put-em-away-and-you-lose-em/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I admire Mark Zuckerberg... for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-admire-mark-zuckerberg-for-not-selling-out-for-wanting-to-make-a/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/everything-around-you-that-you-call-life-was-made-up-by-people-that/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/innovation-is-not-about-saying-yes-to-everything-it-s-about-saying-no/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-have-always-said-if-there-ever-came-a-day-when-i-could-no-longer/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I'm not dismissing the value of higher education; I'm simply saying it comes at the expense of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-not-dismissing-the-value-of-higher-education-i-m-simply-saying-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“To YoYo Ma: "You playing is the best argument I've ever heard for the existence of God, because I don't really believe a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/to-yoyo-ma-you-playing-is-the-best-argument-i-ve-ever-heard-for-the/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The most important thing is a person. A person who incites your curiosity and feeds your curiosity; and machines cannot do that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-most-important-thing-is-a-person-a-person-who-incites-your/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The tragedy is that Dell didn't win it - we lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-tragedy-is-that-dell-didn-t-win-it-we-lost-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“I think great artists and great engineers are similar, in that they both have a desire to express themselves. In fact some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-great-artists-and-great-engineers-are-similar-in-that-they/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-rare-that-you-see-an-artist-in-his-30s-or-40s-able-to-really/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [We're going to be able to ask our computers to monitor things for us, and when certain conditions happen, are triggered, the computers will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-re-going-to-be-able-to-ask-our-computers-to-monitor-things-for-us/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) [Explore all 695 Steve Jobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## More Apple quotes > [“Neither's the one you get, less you want me to see if your apple's ripe, yet. - Yoren”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/neither-s-the-one-you-get-less-you-want-me-to-see-if-your-apple-s/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Most people believe the apple merely represented Knowledge. But we know better. It was the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-beverly-whittemore/most-people-believe-the-apple-merely-represented-knowledge-but-we/) [Miranda Beverly-Whittemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-beverly-whittemore/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“An apple with a rotten core can only last so long,” he”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-rice/an-apple-with-a-rotten-core-can-only-last-so-long-he/) [Morgan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-rice/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. I think Steve Jobs has started one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-m-not-only-a-fan-of-apple-products-i-have-stock-in-the-company-i/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [When Apple introduced its game-changing iPhone in 2007, Nokia was caught sleeping on the job. Although it had actually developed an iPhone-style device -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/when-apple-introduced-its-game-changing-iphone-in-2007-nokia-was/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [I like to make pies. That's kind of my new obsession - peach, blueberry, apple, strawberry. I make a really good pumpkin pie with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-saylor/i-like-to-make-pies-that-s-kind-of-my-new-obsession-peach-blueberry/) [Morgan Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-saylor/) > [I love to eat an apple after a meal, just to cleanse my teeth - they always look polished afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-love-to-eat-an-apple-after-a-meal-just-to-cleanse-my-teeth-they/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [Back in my school days, when I would scuttle off with a cheese roll, an apple, a box of Sun-Maid raisins and a Penguin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-khoo/back-in-my-school-days-when-i-would-scuttle-off-with-a-cheese-roll-an/) [Rachel Khoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-khoo/) > [As far as Apple goes, it was a different company every few years from the time I joined in 1984.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/as-far-as-apple-goes-it-was-a-different-company-every-few-years-from/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [“You are the apple of Love’s eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-paul-kirkpatrick/you-are-the-apple-of-love-s-eye/) [David Paul Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-paul-kirkpatrick/) > [Like a satellite in orbit, Apple is perpetually falling. It just happens to miss Earth every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-dediu/like-a-satellite-in-orbit-apple-is-perpetually-falling-it-just/) Horace Dediu > [Positive thinking is so firmly enshrined in our culture that knocking it is a little like attacking motherhood or apple pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikumar-rao/positive-thinking-is-so-firmly-enshrined-in-our-culture-that-knocking/) [Srikumar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srikumar-rao/) > [To the extent that anyone anywhere does anything interesting, the question is: 'Why isn't Apple doing that; why is Apple behind in that?' We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-federighi/to-the-extent-that-anyone-anywhere-does-anything-interesting-the/) [Craig Federighi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-federighi/) > [I read the Steve Jobs book, and that kind of changed everything. I've been, like, an Apple geek my whole life and have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/i-read-the-steve-jobs-book-and-that-kind-of-changed-everything-i-ve/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) Browse all 889 Apple quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But that's not what it's about. Process makes you more efficient.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Jobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-that-doesn-t-mean-we-don-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apple" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-that-doesn-t-mean-we-don-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/steve-jobs-307_apple_the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-th_2047057.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined…” — Steve Jobs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Jobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The system is that there is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-that-doesn-t-mean-we-don-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-system-is-that-there-is-no-system-that-doesn-t-mean-we-don-t-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```