While rummaging through some stuff, I stumbled across my old I-Pod. I bought it in 2002. It’s a first generation I-Pod. It blew me away to find it. It’s been years since I’ve last seen it. It’s heavy, it has raised buttons and it has a tiny black and green screen. It looks like a monster.

It’s hard to believe Apple launched a new industry with this product. It seems like an eternity since I bought it. But, it’s only been five.

Product progress is what makes Apple impressive. They are constantly pushing the envelope. They look at progress differently than other companies. They don’t make small, subtle changes, they make big sweeping changes. The I-Pod has gone from the first generation to the mini, twice, to the shuffle, twice, to the I-Pod touch and the I-Phone all in 5 years.

Companies can learn a lot from Apple. Growth comes from product progress. I posted about this here in the past. Growth doesn’t come from sales, it comes from products and Apple understands this.

It was a trip to find this bad boy. I can’t find the charger, but I think it still works. I’m going to leave it on the my desk it’ll make a great conversation piece.