Steve Jobs Paperback – 15 Sept. 2015

I sat on the plane reading this book. The chap next to me had an iPhone, the lady on the opposite aisle had an iPad, and the lady by the opposite window had an iPhone. It brought home the impact this man had on the world.Steve Jobs was one crazy guy. He was into spirituality, but he didn't seem to be spiritual at all really. In a weird way he spiritualised products while denigrating fellow human beings. He served humanity by making elegant technology, not by maintaining healthy relationships with those around him.From a business perspective, it was inspiring to read about his commitment to the vision: the passion for simplicity. The founding of the Apple store, the drive and courage to produce the iPod, iPad and iPhone, the stories are powerful and uplifting . Indeed the story is a big part of his business success - Ross Perot paraphrased it and got a lot of it wrong, but people wanted to retell it because it inspired people.His genius for selling manifested at his product launches. He was at ease making multi-million dollar deals. He didn't try and play God - there were loads of people who felt cheated by him, but he wasn't bothered. The Pixar subplot was astonishing. To have played such a role in animation, on top of everything else, was just incredible.But as a human being, he was an untreated compulsive. He was insanely fussy in his demands of Apple technologists, but he showed the same attitude to the people who cooked for him, or treated him for his illness.I loved the book and read it in a week. I feel I need to have a bigger vision for my life and business for the next 10 years - so I'm grateful for that.

Quality from start to finish. How a biography should be and even turned me into an Apple convert. The story of a driven man who probably did manage to put a dent in the universe (time will tell).Snippets:Believed first and foremost in making great things before making money. Pretend to be completely in control and people will assume that you are. The goal of starting a company is to make something you believe in and that will last, not to get rich. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - "less but better". To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. Design must reflect a product's essence. Good execution is as important as a great idea. A-players like to work together, not tolerate B-players. You can't afford to tolerate the B-players. Even the aspects that remain hidden should be done beautifully - a great carpenter isn't going to use lousy wood for the back of a cabinet just because it isn't seen (how many CEO's behave like that as opposed to finding cost-cuts?). Don't accept "no" for an answer, even if it means adopting a "reality distortion field". Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint. If something isn't right, you can't just ignore it and say "we'll fix it later" - that's what other companies do! Motivations really matter - if you don't love music, don't create a music product. The best way to begin a speech is to say "let me tell you a story", because nobody wants a lecture. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose: memento mori. "Here's to the crazy ones".

Walter Isaacson has done an incredible job writing this book. It seems accurate and candid. This is no sycophantic tribute. However, it is still a tribute the the genius and vision of a remarkable man and what he created by sheer determination, obstinacy and self belief. It is people like Steve Jobs who change the world and make our lives so much better. I did not really know much about him, and my only Apple product at the time of reading this biography, was my trusty old ipod. After reading this book, I am full of admiration for the genius of this man and the incredible legacy he has left behind for us all. I was fortunate, in that we chose it for our Self Development bookclub, and were therefore able to stretch it over 5 sessions. It allowed us to do justice to the book.

Apart from being an interesting read, for me it was also an eye-opening experience regarding my naive belief that I was someone 'in at the start of contemporary computing'. In 1974, I was employed by the John Lewis Partnership and worked on IBM 360/50 and 370/135 mainframe computers. I really did believe I was at the forefront of computing and yet, in California, Jobs and his compatriots were already producing computers that would make the leviathans I was blissfully serving, completely redundant. They probably didn't realise it but they were inventing disruption technology that would change computing from being an unwieldy corporate tool into a personal device to be used whether you worked for a company or just wanted to play games at home. IBM, Burroughs, Univac, NCR,CDC and Honeywell had to either reinvent themselves or disappear over the following years. Most people can remember the early Apple products, some will remember playing Atari Pong in the pub and more, products such as the early home computers. This book takes you back to the genesis of these inventions which came about not just through genius hardware and software engineering but also from enthusiastic use of LSD and transcendental meditation.A surprising man for a surprising time.