Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson, is a fascinating book and shines a bright light on a man who fostered the creation of an industry. I have long been an Apple fan and have heard plenty about this book and the complicated man called Steve Jobs from family and friends, however, I never really knew Jobs’ motivations and beginnings. His primary aim focused on design: producing a refined product which he could be proud of. Nearly everyone has heard of Job’s ruthlessness and demands, however, such characteristics stem from his intense desire for perfection. I found his motivations for such perfection to be pure: life is too short to waste time producing subpar products and projects. In order to make an impact on the world during the short time we have here, we must do everything with excellence and strive to push the boundaries of common expectations. This aspect of Steve Jobs’ mentality impressed me the most.
Though effective, I believe his methods for achieving perfection could have been more wholesome and uplifting. Berating people and being plain rude at times is not something I would wish to emulate. Maybe such a strategy works the best for success, but if that’s the case, I don’t think I could do it. Is there a way to get people to output the same quality of work in the shortest amount of time as Steve Jobs had done, but with a kinder spirit and greater gentleness?
As with everyone on earth, Steve Jobs experienced plenty of failure and adversity. At one point, he was kicked out of Apple and had to watch from the outside as management took the company he started in a direction he did not intend. The company he started after his ouster from Apple – NeXT – could not produce a product people wanted. NeXT was a failure. Even in everyday life, he received pushback from engineers who would tell him the impossibility of what he wanted accomplished. However, none of this deterred him. He kept creating and demanding.
Steve Jobs had many key competencies that directly led to his success. First, his ability to present ideas in a way which entranced the listener. Jobs could speak, rationalize, describe, and convince like no other. A common theme was his “reality distortion method” where he could bend reality and convince people, and himself, of the impossible. And it worked. He had an instigating hand in producing products no one had dreamed of before. His second core competency ties directly into the creation of such futuristic product, he had an eye for design. Though the idea of minimalism was not Steve Jobs’ own creations, he successfully applied it to a realm it had never been introduced to – technology. The simplicity of his designs made the user experience intuitive and thus comfortable. These traits are imperative when introducing a new technology to the masses. If it’s complicated and difficult, not many people will use it. Not only were the designs simple and intuitive, they were aesthetically pleasing. Steve Jobs knew how to integrate form and function into the simplest and most elegant product. Few people, maybe only architects and artists, truly know how to do this well.
Turning more to the book itself, I kept getting confused by the many names and roles of people. There were so many influential and important people with whom Steve Jobs interacted that it’s hard to keep track. Sometimes, the author jumps back in time while telling the story and so the chronology can be confusing, particularly when he talks about Jobs time at Pixar and transitioning back to Apple. At one point, the story mentions how Jobs’ son ran home from Stanford for a birthday dinner and then talks about how Jobs hoped to make it to his son’s high school graduation. I eventually got things kind of sorted, but there still is some confusion.
If I could ask Steve Jobs anything, I would ask if he would do anything differently and if he ever found meaning. I’m curious about his perspective on the life he lived, should he have been kinder? Or was his intensity and harshness with people and ideas he did not agree with or like necessary for his success? And in regards to meaning, I want to know where he found the most meaning, if any. Did it come from family, work, creating beautiful products, coming up with ideas? And was that meaning fulfilling?
From the very first chapter, Steve Jobs believed hard work stands above all. There is no use in not giving everything you have to achieve something. And sometimes, giving your all and giving just less can determine the difference between perfection and mediocrity.
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