Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

I’ve had the biography of Steve Jobs for years, and finally had the resolve to finish this book that’s almost 600 pages. And wow, am I glad I did.

I used to have a mostly negative impression of Steve Jobs. I’d always heard he was a bit of a a**hole, and in my mind, I didn’t respect anyone who acted like that. While I can’t say that my opinion has completely changed, this book did cause me to realize that Jobs was a complicated man who was inspiring in many ways. While he may have been manipulative to many, a complete jerk to some, often distant to his family and overall quite childish, he did make a huge impact on the world and was a man who stood strong in his beliefs, though was open to being challenged.

As a marketer, it is amazing to see how Jobs led Apple and Pixar to success, bringing such amazing products and movies to the marketplace. I’m sure some of it stemmed from Mike Markkula, who was a mentor and father figure in many ways to Jobs. These were the tenets of “The Apple Marketing Philosophy” by Markkula:

1. “Empathy, an intimate connection with the feelings of the customer
2. Focus… ‘In order to do a good job of those things that we decided to do, we must eliminate all of the unimportant opportunities’” (according to Markkula).
3. “Impute” which “emphasized that people form an opinion about a company or product based on the signals that it conveys,” emphasizing that presentation is of the utmost importance (78).

It was interesting to hear about and subsequently watch some of the famous advertisements, some of which I’d seen before, but looked at in a new way after reading about them. I admire Jobs’ attention to detail and how he was so involved in ensuring that each of Apple’s products were perfect. Although his pickiness probably seemed ridiculous to many at the time, he built Apple into what it is today. 

His belief in minimalist, simple designs is part of what has made Apple products so intuitive and easy to use. (But also something that was strange about him – he would often just go without what some would think as necessary furniture because he couldn’t find the ones that were perfect for him). Jobs once said, “Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers.” While I think this statement also applies to nature, it makes absolute sense to me. Jobs discussed how his dad taught him that even the parts you can’t see should look good when you create something – that is a sign of true craftsmanship, and someone taking pride in their work. And, he found a PR agency whose motto became “the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’” (80). Jobs embodied philosophy throughout his life.

It was also fascinating to learn about the tight integration of software and hardware that Jobs cared so much about. This made it possible to control the entire user experience, and that everything was seamlessly integrated. As an Apple user, this sometimes drives me crazy because I know that it would be hard for me to switch to non-Apple products due to the integration of my iPhone, macBook and iPad which I’m used to. But, I know that that’s what Steve Jobs wanted 😉 The only company I can think of today that uses the same vertically integrated approach is Tesla – from building the batteries, to the software, to the car, Elon Musk is another leader who seems to have the whole scope of their products under their control. And as far as I know, it’s working well for them in building one of the best-known and successful electric car companies. But I digress.

Another aspect of Jobs I admire is his ability to hone in on what was most important for his companies’ success (as highlighted in Markkula’s marketing philosophy). As Tim Cook rightly said, “Few people are really good at turning off the noise” (460). When Steve Jobs returned to Apple after his time away, he was instinctively and mindfully able to cut out the unnecessary products and focus on those which he deemed would be most relevant to consumers. And, when innovating new products, he wasn’t worried about the older ones being disrupted as a consequence. Jobs even said, “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will” (408). This attitude is what kept Apple constantly innovating and churning out revolutionary products and services. They went from changing the computer industry, to transforming the music industry, to ushering in the age of digital commerce and practically creating the smartphone industry into what it is today.

One facet of Jobs’ personality that I found interesting is how he never seemed to worry about offending anyone. Which is a bit hypocritical considering that he was quite sensitive himself. But while he was often brash and blunt in conversations, he was always candid when sharing his opinions. This made him one of the best people at cutting through the BS, and is probably part of what helped him focus so intently. He even said “I’m disappointed in Obama…he’s having trouble leading because he’s reluctant to offend people or piss them off…Yes, that’s not a problem I ever had.” Even Tim Cook said “…if you don’t feel comfortable disagreeing, then you’ll never survive” regarding working with Jobs (460). While I’m sure this was of the utmost importance in working with Jobs, I think it’s good advice for life in general. In order to make progress, our world needs to have constructive disagreements – something that I think is often lacking in our society. We tend to err on the side of unproductive disagreements or false harmony (something that I also learned when reading a different book for work – The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which I also recommend and may write about in a future post).

Lastly, I found it intriguing to learn about Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field.” While it may have caused some problems such as late product launches, it also influenced many successes. It was inspiring to hear how his belief that they could overcome certain engineering barriers or ship products more quickly than engineers thought possible would actually come to fruition. It wasn’t always a success, but many of his employees recounted that Jobs pushed them to do what they thought was impossible, showing them the true power of their capabilities. 

All in all, it’s pretty amazing to see the legacy that Jobs has left. I’m sure it’s partly because I live in the U.S./S.F. Bay Area, but 99% of the people I know use iPhones and/or other Apple products. There is even a slight stigma among my peers against people that have the “green bubble” when they text, meaning that they aren’t using iMessage – quite ridiculous if you think about it, but an unfortunate reality for those non-iPhone users.

And, although he may not have been an amazing father and husband, he clearly did care a lot about his family and loved them dearly. At the end, his family was all by his side. He was a deeply passionate man that cared deeply about creating the best possible products and services for the world. Even towards the end, he tried to attend every Apple launch event he could, despite his ill health. While you may not respect many of his actions and choices, you can’t deny that he changed the world. I would say he was one of the “crazy ones” as he described in the famous “Think Different” ad: 

"Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. 
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, 
glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. 
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, 
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world are the ones who do."

With that, I look forward to seeing the new Apple products that will be launched on Tuesday, September 15, hopefully carrying on Steve Jobs’ legacy.