One the most impressive aspects to this interview is Gabe's lack of dogmatic prognostication. They're not into something because "mobile is the future" or "the

One the most impressive aspects to this interview is Gabe's lack of dogmatic prognostication. They're not into something because "mobile is the future" or "the PC is dead" or "social gaming is taking over the world." They're looking into things because they seem like a good idea, but it's clear that they're equally open to discovering that they weren't that great an idea after all. That last part - a form of idea edit and review - is something that I see a lot of companies lose very quickly. They get so caught up in what they think they should be doing (or how they define themselves, e.g. "we are a social media company") that they lose the ability to let go of ideas that just don't work, even when it seems like they should. Apple is really good at this. For every product that Apple actually announces, there are hundreds that never make it off the ground. The iPad idea had been floating around Apple for years, but it wasn't approved until mobile technology had come far enough to make it actually a practical idea, not just a good idea. There's a saying that behind every great poet is a great editor. I suggest that behind every great tech company is (at least one) great idea editor.