English
I am reading the book entitled “Steve Jobs” that was written by Walter Isaacson, and so far, as I continue reading it, I discovered that Jobs knew that he was adopted at an early age. This book of Isaacson gives a glimpse of the life and success of Steve Jobs. The book was completed after conducting personal interviews with Jobs for a period of two years.
The next week, I was able to read the interviews made by the author on several family members, friends, colleagues, and competitors of Jobs in order to give the real story behind the roller-coaster life of this great man. Jobs, who was a passionate and creative entrepreneur was able to succeed throughout his lifetime by developing expertise in six industries. Jobs excelled in the following industries: personal computers, mobile phones, movies and animation, music, digital publishing and tablet computing.
The week after, I learned about the struggles of Jobs before he became the icon of invention and the master of digital-age technology. Things did not come easy for Jobs since he also had a share of failures in his career. In fact, Apple Computer Inc. terminated Jobs in 1985 after experiencing internal conflicts with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Isaacson 136). Apple struggled during its early stages and it was only during the return of Jobs in 1997 when he introduced a new line of Apple products.
The following week, as I continued reading, I learned that Apple reached its peak during the management of Jobs who implemented changes to enhance the corporate culture within the organization. One of the major changes that Jobs implemented is to give the employees the opportunity to express their opinions with regard to the future projects of the company. Jobs was also known for being an advocate of the “closed door” policy by shielding the technology of their products from outsiders (Isaacson 140). He was very particular with product information and keeping confidential this data. After Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the initial price of the shares of stock were priced at $3.30 per stock. Over the years, the price of shares reached $339.87 in 2011 through successful management of Apple by Jobs (Isaacson 327). The greatest accomplishment of Jobs is when Apple landed the first place in the World’s Most Admired Companies of Fortune Magazine. Apple products became the most-sought after gadgets in the global market because of their innovative and state of the art features that consumers love. In fact, Jobs was able to maintain the innovative edge of Apple products because of his imagination and exceptional engineering feats.
On my fifth week of reading, I was able to see the other side of Jobs, which is different from the Jobs that the public knew. Aside from being a genius in digital-age economies, Jobs was also just a regular guy and a family man (Isaacson 267). Jobs had opened his life story with the author for the completion of this book by allowing candid interviews. There were parts in the book where Jobs appeared brutally frank in his opinions. This is one of the traits that he was known for as he encouraged the people around him to speak honestly. Jobs spoke candidly about his colleagues and rivals.
This week of reading revealed that aside from being a computer genius, Jobs was also fascinated in the world of animation when he developed Pixar by combining technology with art (Isaacson 238). Aside from this, Jobs was also fascinated with music and created the own soundtrack of his life. The interview with Job’s friends, rivals, and colleagues gave a clear picture of a man who was driven by his passion, obsession, perfection and artistry. These were the motivations of Jobs that shaped his tactics in business and the arts. The author also shared how Jobs battled with cancer after discovering its recurrence. Finally, the book ends by presenting the legacy of Jobs and life lesson on leadership, character and moral values.
Works Cited:
Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2011. Print.
