It is interesting how reading the authorised biography of the recently deceased Apple co-founder Steve Jobs can lead you to ponder things unrelated to technology. One wonders how deep a role “nature vs nurture” played in shaping the man and his destiny, how it is sometimes possible to bend reality to one’s will, and how a man can be both brilliant and misguided at the same time.
Walter Isaacson peppers his book with rich detail, using an easy-to-read prose style. With the advantage of unprecedented access to Jobs’ inner circle, one senses that Isaacson developed a deep respect for Jobs, yet he does not sugar coat his subject. Family, friends, rivals, ex-colleagues and even ex-lovers give insight into some of Jobs’ less flattering personality traits.
The book melds Job’s private life with his storied career, and inevitably we are given a history lesson on IT innovation over the last 30 years – particularly in the areas of desktop and personal technology. But to Isaacson’s credit, he presents the inner workings of Silicon Valley with the accessibility and thrill of a suspense novel. Here for all to read is Jobs’ love-hate relationship with chief rival and contemporary Bill Gates, his animosity towards Google over Android and his tussles with Adobe due to his refusal to have Flash support on Apple’s mobile devices (Jobs maintained that the technology is too clunky, a view posthumously vindicated when Adobe recently stopped developing Flash and instead switched its mobile development platform to HTML5… which Apple uses).
For entrepreneurs, this book presents a fascinating character study of one of the world’s most intriguing figures in business. CEOs, though, would be well advised to be more discerning about what lessons to take to heart and which traits to emulate.
Gigi Onag
