Chapter 1: Jobs’ parents never made him feel any different because he was adopted; rather, they tried to show him that he was special.
Chapter 2: “If it hadn’t been for the Blue Boxes, there wouldn’t have been an Apple”
Chapter 3: Jobs refused to go to assigned classes and instead went to the ones he wanted, such as a dance class where he could enjoy both the creativity and the chance to meet girls.
Chapter 4: Although he was overly specific on details and authoritarian, Jobs was also part of the counterculture that describes the period
Chapter 5: It takes two to form a company, the maker and the marketer
Chapter 6: Jobs’ obsessiveness drove him to care about some details that other people would disregard, such as the quality of the unpacking experience
Chapter 7: On relationships? Jobs burned many bridges but also regretted the decisions and sought to make amends where he could
Chapter 8: The GUI is synonymous with modern computing but is also indicative of the dangers of conformity and the influence that large corporations have on available products
Chapter 9: Money needn’t change a person’s character: Look at Jobs, he made millions in his first year and only splurged on a cruise that reminded him of his past
Chapter 10: Jobs may always have been a revolutionary, but thank heavens for IBM providing him with a Goliath to inspire his spiritedness
Chapter 11: Playing by one’s rules is thrilling but also dangerous; it almost destroyed the foundations of Jobs’ legacy
Chapter 12: Jobs was not sympathetic to engineering impossibilities and was instead focused on beauty over functionality
Chapter 13: While he was authoritarian, Jobs also acknowledged efforts done behind his back but that benefitted the company
Chapter 14: Two leaders who like to be in control can result either in positive competition or in a delusion that could destroy a great company
Chapter 15: Being first with an innovation does not necessarily stop competitors from competing
Chapter 16: The first 30 years of a person’s life define his or her habits but the last 30 are defined by his or her habits
Chapter 17: Being innovative is not an assurance of continued success for future innovations
Chapter 18: Grasp an opportunity when you see it, and you might just change the world
Chapter 19: Neglect is a form of abuse
Chapter 20: The people around you have the capacity to describe you in ways that even you yourself cannot
Chapter 21: Toy Story is to Pixar as the Apple I was to Apple
Chapter 22: While Jobs had the capacity to be self-destructive, the division of his focus between Pixar and Apple allowed both companies to benefit from his genius without the associated drawbacks
Chapter 23: A focus on money made Apple like any other company; going back to artistic inspiration was Jobs’ way of saving it
Chapter 24: When it’s working right, don’t fix it; when it’s wrong, tear it all apart and rebuild it part by part
Chapter 25: Jobs sought to make Apple memorable and revolutionary, not just rich
Chapter 26: Jobs’ design ethic transferred to his work teams and inspired them to achieve the success that Apple I known for
Chapter 27: Focusing on the emotional rather than functional connections to the computing world was how Jobs propelled the iMac to fame and success
Chapter 28: Apple was forever grateful for Jobs’ intervention and his replacement, Tim Cook, had to embody Jobs’ ethic to maintain Apple’s success
Chapter 29: Jobs always remained hands-on in the development and evolution of the Apple brand
Chapter 30: The iPod, the perfect example of a revolution that would change music forever
Chapter 31: iPod fever due to effective marketing paved the way for the online music sales model that persists today
Chapter 32: The music elements of Jobs’ businesses allowed him to work with musical geniuses who had inspired and entertained him since his youth
Chapter 33: Innovation is important for sparking the idea of new possibilities, even when it invites competition
Chapter 34: While he did not define himself by his wealth, Jobs was not averse to making Apple and himself very wealthy
Chapter 35: The cancer diagnosis was a pivotal part of Jobs’ life and made him think intently about his legacy
Chapter 36: The iPhone is revolutionary, but is again the simple representation of a man whose dedication to quality user experiences remains unmatched
Chapter 37: Jobs’ stubbornness may have robbed him of precious years on his life but also granted the world so much in technological innovation
Chapter 38: Battling against all odds is required to turn coal into diamonds, and opportunities into successes
Chapter 39: Remaining resilient and true to its roots in the face of competition is how Apple built brand loyalty in the age of open source technology
Chapter 40: Even with his counterculture background, Jobs was fiercely competitive and may have achieved some of his success due to his lifelong rivalry with Bill Gates
Chapter 41: From revolutionary to economic influencer: Jobs went from working in a garage to having personal conversations with the President of the United States regarding the US economy
Chapter 42: Jobs’ decisions did not always follow the requirements of Apple’s business interests; rather, he was intent on achieving a long-term goal that superseded both him and the company
Book Review
Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography is a book that follows in the spirit of other biographies on that the author wrote about subjects such as Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. This is evident in the book’s emphasis on presenting Jobs’ legacy as a person who changed history while also sharing aspects of his life that may prove shocking to the readers and expose his humanity. Overall, this approach results in a story that weaves seamlessly across the personal and business aspects of Jobs’ life and brings a sharp personal focus to his life.
Aside from the almost cultic following that Jobs enjoys among technology enthusiasts, the book allows the reader to perceive Jobs from the premise of him as a human being. Rather than glorifying Jobs’ exploits, Isaacson goes a step further and shows the character of the man that built Apple and other companies as well as his successes and failures on this journey. This also brings to focus the reality distortion that allowed Jobs to push his achievement to levels that even his engineers and others around him had thought unimaginable.
While the Isaacson does paint Jobs out to be a visionary, the author also shows that the subject had a need for control and practicing a harsh managerial style that inspired and demoralised in equal measure. This was in contrast to what Bill Gates, who was one of Jobs’ lifelong competitors, has to say about Steve. He points out that Jobs’ need for control also promoted his creative outputs, noting that his strong beliefs about what represents a quality product led to him being one of the most innovative people in the technology industry[1].
Even with his brazen personality as an authoritarian, the author makes it evident that Jobs was an authentic character who stayed consistent in his personal and business lives. One factor that the book emphasises is that Jobs was insistent on his view of how outcomes should be, which also turned out to be the extra mile that his teams and companies needed to achieve excellence. With most of the story told in Jobs’ own words, Isaacson thereby succeeds in delivering a biography that will forever provide audiences with a peek into this modern legend’s life in his sunset years.
Reflection
One of the things that I picked up from the book was that resilience is a key factor in achieving success in innovative fields. This need not mean failing to acknowledge limitations nut rather, to challenge these limitations in an effort to improve upon existing techniques and understandings. The book inspired an urge to contribute to humanity and ensure that current and future generations benefit from my skills and talents. Not that Jobs urged me as the reader to do it, but because his life is inspirational and motivates the reader to seek achievement in his or her own life.
While a direct comparison between Jobs and I is out of the question, I believe that he has a tenacity that I did not think a manager could have and still hold a company together. Given that he drove so many of his Apple employees to tears and frustration with his demands and expectations, it is impressive to see how he was able to achieve so much with his peculiar take on life. Therefore, as a person who seeks to enable others to achieve success, Jobs stands out as a character who craves success in the same way that I do but who unlike me, his abrasiveness is an integral part of his achievement model.
Bibliography
Isaacson Walter. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography. New York: Simon " Schuster, 2011.
[1] Isaacson Walter. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography. New York: Simon " Schuster, 2011, p. 553
