--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best and most innovative products…" description: "\"The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked\" — Walter Isaacson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png" --- # The best and most innovative products don't always… ![“The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png) > “The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked” [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovative products may fail due to inherent aesthetic mismatches with how reality operates. **In simple terms:** Good ideas can be hindered by design flaws. Key Takeaway Check design assumptions early. Themes innovation design aesthetics failure reality Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product development - design reviews - market testing - team brainstorming Key Concepts cognitive bias systems thinking product-market fit Questions to Reflect On - How can we identify hidden aesthetic biases? - What metrics reveal design misalignment? A Different Perspective Aesthetic flaws may be subjective and vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“This exposed an aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked: The best and most innovative products don’t always win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/this-exposed-an-aesthetic-flaw-in-how-the-universe-worked-the-best/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [We believe we've got the skill base and the techniques to supply the chips that really enable the end manufacturers to develop exciting, innovative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/we-believe-we-ve-got-the-skill-base-and-the-techniques-to-supply-the/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [“Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/something-really-new-three-simple-steps-to-creating-truly-innovative/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [People are unlikely to know that they need a product which does not exist and the basis of market research in new and innovative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harvey-jones/people-are-unlikely-to-know-that-they-need-a-product-which-does-not/) [John Harvey-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harvey-jones/) > [At Uniqlo, we're thinking ahead. We're thinking about how to create new, innovative products... and sell that to everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadashi-yanai/at-uniqlo-we-re-thinking-ahead-we-re-thinking-about-how-to-create-new/) [Tadashi Yanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadashi-yanai/) > [Companies have to be innovative in leading with values the same way they have to be innovative in their products and services.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gerzema/companies-have-to-be-innovative-in-leading-with-values-the-same-way/) [John Gerzema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gerzema/) > [“That's how the universe worked at times: little things - the tiniest things - could catapult you toward a good life, but you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davy-rothbart/that-s-how-the-universe-worked-at-times-little-things-the-tiniest/) [Davy Rothbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davy-rothbart/) > [“Like, okay. Everyone in history thought they were the ones who finally knew everything. In their naissance, right, they were positive they knew exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/like-okay-everyone-in-history-thought-they-were-the-ones-who-finally/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“She thought about the last car ride she had taken. It had only been a few days ago but it felt like she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/she-thought-about-the-last-car-ride-she-had-taken-it-had-only-been-a/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [The Universe is worked and guided from within outwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-universe-is-worked-and-guided-from-within-outwards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“(Productive Workers + Innovative Products = Industry Leadership, no?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-depree/productive-workers-innovative-products-industry-leadership-no/) Max DePree > [We live up to our father's ideals by caring for the earth and creating high quality and innovative products.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/we-live-up-to-our-father-s-ideals-by-caring-for-the-earth-and/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) > [ “In his book, Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products\[lviii\], author Denis J. Hauptly deconstructs the process of innovation into… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/in-his-book-something-really-new-three-simple-steps-to-creating-truly/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [“Jim Hackett, the CEO of Steelcase, is one of a small number of enlightened business leaders who understand that a steady flow of innovative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-brown/jim-hackett-the-ceo-of-steelcase-is-one-of-a-small-number-of/) [Tim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-brown/) > [A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/a-big-part-of-my-job-is-to-accelerate-our-ability-to-bring-innovative/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) ## More by Walter Isaacson > [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/if-you-want-to-live-your-life-in-a-creative-way-as-an-artist-you-have/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was a key lesson for innovation: Understand which industries are symbiotic so that you can capitalize on how they will spur each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-a-key-lesson-for-innovation-understand-which-industries-are/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison may have been baffled when Jobs insisted that he was not motivated by money, but it was partly true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/ceo-gil-amelio-stumbled-ellison-may-have-been-baffled-when-jobs/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Once a year Jobs took his most valuable employees on a retreat, which he called " The Top 100." They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. 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Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Isaacson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-best-and-most-innovative-products-don-t-always-win-it-s-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aesthetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-best-and-most-innovative-products-don-t-always-win-it-s-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/walter-isaacson-384_aesthetic_the-best-and-most-innovative-products-do_1664920.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked” — Walter Isaacson", "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": "Walter Isaacson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best and most innovative products...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-best-and-most-innovative-products-don-t-always-win-it-s-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-best-and-most-innovative-products-don-t-always-win-it-s-an/#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 } } ] } ```