Steve Jobs
By: Walter Isaacson
Short Book Summary & Review
“He was an anti-materialistic hippie who capitalized on the inventions of a friend who wanted to give them away for free, and he was a Zen devotee who made a pilgrimage to India and then decided that his calling was to create a business.” ~ Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs
This is such a detailed book and in-depth analysis into Steve Jobs’ life. There was so much that I was unaware of, not only with products that he created, but with the impacts he had on specific movies such as Toy Story and a Bug’s Life to the impacts on digital music and current phone designs.
This book is more than just the life story of Steve Jobs, it’s a book about innovation. At a time when creativity matters more than ever, this entrepreneur became a symbol of imagination and new ideas. He believed the future belonged to people who could combine creativity with technology. Instead of making small changes, he and his team invented completely new products and services that people didn’t even know they needed.
Steve Jobs’ pursuit of perfection and relentless drive changed six major industries:
- Personal computers (in their current form)
- Animated movies (Pixar, Disney)
- Digital music (iPods & Apple Music)
- Phones (iPhone)
- Tablet computing (iPad)
- Phone Apps
- Digital publishing
He had another idea that I thought was worthy of this list, although it never came into being. Instead of school students lugging around heavy book bags full of textbooks, Jobs wanted the iPad to come with digital school textbooks as a standard feature. That would save students from hauling the books and would also save them a lot of money.
Jobs is not known as the engineer behind the technology that he created, but he is still the brains behind the innovations. And he refused to create standard new products. They had to be iconic and exciting new products, or nothing at all.
By the time he left as CEO of Apple in 2011, the business he started in his parents’ garage had become the most valuable company in the world.
“I went from fairly poor, which was wonderful because I didn’t have to worry about money, to being incredibly rich, when I also didn’t have to worry about money.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs’ Personality & Management Style
Steve Jobs had a complicated personality. He could be self-centered, narcissistic, and sometimes very mean, often showing strong emotions when talking. He had trouble controlling his feelings and could be quite harsh with people, but was also prone to break down crying during conversations and meetings. His tantrums would commonly go from yelling to crying. However, he was also very persuasive and charming, able to inspire and motivate others when he needed to. This mix of personality traits made him a unique and powerful leader.
Jobs had a key management lesson that he learned from his Macintosh experience, and that was that you need to be ruthless, and brutally honest:
“It's too easy, as a team grows, to put up with a few B players, and they then attract a few more B players, and soon you will even have some C players. The Macintosh experience taught me that A players like to work only with other A players, which means you can't indulge B players." ~ Steve Jobs
I can’t help but notice all of the similar management qualities that Steve Jobs has with Elon Musk (from Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson book). A professional drive almost to the point of insanity, and a lack of empathy for those who get steamrolled along the way. They were both not out to be mean to others, it was a side effect of both wanting to do whatever it takes to make the absolute best products for humanity.
Hygiene
This was something about Steve Jobs that I was unfamiliar with. Throughout his younger adult life he became a vegan, or “fruitarian”. He thought this was enough for him to not wear deodorant. And on top of the no deodorant, he often walked around barefoot, and rarely bathed.
“There was also the issue of his hygiene. He was still convinced, against all evidence, that his vegan diets meant that he didn’t need to use deodorant or take regular showers. “We would have to literally put him out the door and tell him to go take a shower,” said Markkula. “At meetings we had to look at his dirty feet.” Sometimes, to relieve stress, he would soak his feet in the toilet, a practice that was not as soothing for his colleagues.”
The Feuds
There are a few battles Steve Jobs has with other notable figures throughout this book. Such as his long relationship with Bill Gates and the competitive battle between Apple and Microsoft. Another maybe lesser known battle that takes place in this book is with Disney and Pixar, the feud between Jobs and Michael Eisner. These quarrels gave a look at Jobs’ ability to be mean, possibly too mean, but also fight for what he believes without bending.
The Steve Jobs Vision in His Own Words
“My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary. Sure, it was great to make a profit, because that was what allowed you to make great products. But the products, not the profits, were the motivation.”
Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.” ~ Steve Jobs
My Thoughts
It’s hard to fully grasp the impact that Steve Jobs had on our technological world. This book really gives a deeper understanding of not only Steve Jobs the person, but also what he gave to the world. I knew that he had a major impact with Apple, but I didn’t realize how much Apple actually gave to the world, and how much of that was a direct result of Steve’s vision. It was really cool to hear the story from the very beginning, starting in a garage with Steve Wozniak.
There aren’t too many people out there with his kind of mind–someone so creative, passionate, and driven that they actually do what it takes to make amazing products happen. Jobs’ death in 2011, after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, was a huge loss not just for Apple, but for the whole world.
If you've made it this far, and enjoyed Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, I'd recommend checking out another great biography by Walter Isaacson, his book Elon Musk. The same style and in-depth look at one of the greatest innovators and entrepreneurs of all-time, Elon Musk.
