The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation

by Jay Elliot, William L. Simon

The former Senior Vice President of Apple Computer and close colleague of Steve Jobs’s throughout his tenure, Jay Elliot takes readers on a remarkable tour through Jobs’s astonishing career. From the inception of game-changing products like the Apple II and the Macintosh, to his stunning fall from grace,
and on to his rebirth at the helm of Apple, his involvement with Pixar, and the development of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and much more, The Steve Jobs Way presents real-life examples of Jobs’s leadership challenges and triumphs, showing readers how to apply these principles
to their own lives and careers. Packed with exclusive interviews from key figures in Apple Computer’s history, this revealing account provides a rarely seen, intimate glimpse into the  Steve Jobs you won’t see on stage, thoroughly exploring his management and leadership principles. From product development meetings to design labs, through
executive boardroom showdowns to the world outside of Silicon Valley, readers will see the real Steve Jobs, the “Boy Genius” who forever transformed technology and the way we work, play, consume, and communicate—all through the eyes of someone who worked side by side with Jobs. Written in partnership with William L. Simon, coauthor of the bestselling Jobs biography iCon, The Steve Jobs Way is the “how to be like Steve” book that readers have been waiting for.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Biography, Leadership, Management, Technology, Self Help

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Ahmad Sharabiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation, Jay Elliot, William L. Simon
The former Senior Vice President of Apple Computer and close colleague of Steve Jobs’s throughout his tenure, Jay Elliot takes listeners on a remarkable tour through Jobs’s astonishing career. From the inception of game-changing products like the Apple II and the Macintosh, to his stunning fall from grace, and on to his rebirth at the helm of Apple, his involvement with Pixar, and the development of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and much more, The Steve Jobs Way presents real-life examples of Jobs’s leadership challenges and triumphs, showing readers how to apply these principles to their own lives and careers.

Packed with exclusive interviews from key figures in Apple Computer’s history, this revealing account provides a rarely seen, intimate glimpse into the Steve Jobs you won’t see on stage, thoroughly exploring his management and leadership principles. From product development meetings to design labs, through executive boardroom showdowns to the world outside of Silicon Valley, you will see the real Steve Jobs, the “Boy Genius” who forever transformed technology and the way we work, play, consume, and communicate — all through the eyes of someone who worked side by side with Jobs.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم ماه دسامبر سال 2012 میلادی

عنوان: شیوه های نوین رهبری: استیو جابز؛ نویسندگان: جی الیوت؛ ویلیام سایمون؛ مترجم: امیرمحمد قدس شریفی؛ تهران: گرایش تازه، چاپ اول تا دهم سال ‏‫1390؛ در 299 ص؛ شابک: 9789649304526؛ چاپ هجدهم تا بیستم 1393؛ چاپ بیست و دوم 1396؛ موضوع: شرکت کامپیوتری اپل - سرگذشتنامه استیو جابز - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21 م

عنوان: راه و روش استیو جابز؛ نویسنده: جی الیوت؛ ویلیام سایمون؛ مترجم: محمد سردارنیا؛ تهران: لوح فکر‏‫، 1390؛ در 320 ص؛ مصور، رنگی، شابک: 9789648578270؛ موضوع: شرکت کامپیوتری اپل - سرگذشتنامه استیو جابز - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21 م

استیو جابز بدون شک پدیده‌ ای بودند که بسیاری ایشان و تفکر مدیریتی ایشان را به عنوان چراغ راه پیش روی خود می‌‌انگارند، و سعی می‌کنند با الهام گرفتن از ایشان مسیر کاری و زندگی خود را مشخص کنند. اما «جایز» خود شیوه ی فکری و مدیریتیش را چگونه به دست آورده است؟ این کتاب قرار است چه چیزی را پیش روی ما بگذارد؟ استیو جابز نقل می‌کند: جمله قدیمی از وین گرتزکی (بازیکن اسطوره‌ ای هاکی روی یخ) هست که من دوستش دارم: موقع هاکی ترجیح می‌دهم ببینم توپ کجا خواهد رفت، و بر اساس آن حرکتهایم را تنظیم می‌کنم، به جای آنکه کورکورانه دنبال توپ حرکت کنم. ما هیمشه در اپل سعی می‌کنیم این کار را بکنیم. اما جادوی افشا شده از «جابز» به این عبارات و نکته‌ های کوچک خلاصه نمی‌شود. «جایز» در این کتاب از چگونگی تاسیس «اپل» با همکاری «استیو وازنیاک» و تولید نخستین رایانه شخصی‌شان، با عنوان اپل 1 و 2 را شرح می‌دهد و در ادامه درباره ی چرایی جداییش از «اپل»، در سال 1985 میلادی سخن می‌گوید. چرایی تاسیس شرکت «نکست کامپیوتر» و ایجاد اولین مرورگر «وب» در جهان، و در ادامه، بازگشت دوباره ی «جایز» به «اپل»، تا ماجرای ایجاد «آی پد» و فروشگاه «آی تیونز» و نیز خرید شرکت معروف «پیکسار» که انقلابی در تولید انیمیشن‌های کامپیوتری ایجاد کرد. اما اینها نیز همه ی ماجرا نیستند! چرا «جابز» دیوانه‌ ها، سرکش‌ها و دردسرسازان و کسانی که، دنیا را جور دیگری می‌بینند، و ممکن است بعضی‌ها آن‌ها را دیوانه بپندارند ر،ا نابغه‌ می‌پنداشت؟ چرا باور داشت دنیا را همان‌هایی تغییر می‌دهند، که آنقدر دیوانه‌ هستند که فکر می‌کنند از پس این کار برمی‌آیند؟ اینها بخشی از موضوعاتی است، که این اثر درباره ی آنها به همراه نکته های ظریف دیگر از اندیشیدن و شیوه ی مدیریت و زندگی «جابز» بازگو کرده است. ا. شربیانی

[Raed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Up side:


If you are a Steve Jobs's fan then this book is a must. It gives a good insight on the inside of apple,and how this greater than life figure annoyed most people around him to get apple's product to perfection. A product Czar who worries about most meticulous detail and an entrepreneur who worried only about the consumer experience. A leader who was at times unreasonable, but never forgot to say a word of thank you or show gratitude to everyone who contributed to any of Apple's product.

Most interesting bits were:

- Steve's trip to Japan: Meeting with Canon and Sony.
- Retail: (how Steve replaced the tiles of an Apple store twice overnight)
- Retail: the launch of apple store in-house for several months until they were ready.
- How he kept rejecting all pleas of Apple engineers to consider adding more button to the new product: the iPhone and he insisted and kept rejecting them: NO one button, figure it out.

it was also nice of Jay Elliot to for see how Apple would lead in Steve's absence even though the book was written in 2010. Tim Cook the COO back then was named as the person who could bring all the pieces together, even with Steve gone. He is as tenacious, perfectionist, and someone who believes in holistic product approach. The innovation, entrepreneurship element, creativity are all installed at the top team that Steve has worked on for several years.


some quotes are not so bad such as:


"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” Robert Francis Kennedy

The downside:

- Perhaps it's how rich Steve led this busy entrepreneurial life of his that could throw off any writer. The excessive usage of flash forwards and flash backwards, made you lose your sense of time. Sometimes it's the iPhone, others it's Apple2 without any warning!

- Tons of names, you might be familiar with those if you were from the industry,an Apple employee yourself or simply a geek in which case you should start up your own technology company and have people remember your own teams' names.

- Personal information about the writer (a Vice President of Apple himself for a long time, he saw the young Steve when he built Apple, exiled and came back to make it what it is) I have so much respect for that, but this book is not about the fact that you were born and raised in farm, and it's not about Mego: a USB that loads your system operator on the go with all the files and documents - the writer's personal experience with entrepreneurship more like post Apple thing. I am just not interested.

- It's badly written!


Personal note: I really felt sad with Steve's death. Please don't think I am a drama queen, please do not call me an infidel because a I am sad over a Buddhist death. I am just sad because of his contribution to humanity and how we are more in touch with Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, but seem to truly value the likes of Steve only when they are gone.

Is this applicable in my own hometown? I hope we do reach a level of understanding that it is a performance based organizations that matter and that leadership is a form of Art, there isn't right or wrong about it.

one last thought (I promise) I think that I would just as my old man has always said, wind up being an entrepreneur because tigers don't change their stripes.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining book, especially for fans of Apple, but it can also be an frustrating book. At first, it begins to read less like a book on leadership, and more like a memoir of sorts of Elliot's time at Apple. Then it turns into what amounts to unabashed praising of Steve Jobs, Apple, and their products. Even when he offers criticism, he only does so to identify a particular lesson learned that pays off later. It almost feels as if Apple's PR department (or even Jobs himself) vetted this book. However, it's possible that no vetting was necessary because the author was so enamored with Jobs and Apple that nothing but undulating praise flowed through the first draft.

I would have preferred that this book take a more critical view of Jobs's leadership style. While it's clear that he is a very effective, charismatic leader, he isn't without his faults as a leader; no leader is. I'd like to know some of the problems with Jobs's leadership style, and how might the reader avoid such pitfalls. Assuming that most readers don't have the charisma of Jobs (who does?), what practical qualities could we learn from his style? There's a little of that in the book, but not as much as I would have liked. Finally, I was most disappointed with the fact that I didn't gain any new insights into leadership or Jobs. Most of the really insightful parts I had heard before, and this book didn't really add anything new. Nevertheless, it was entertaining, and some of the stories of Apple and Jobs in the early years were interesting.

[Haider Al-Mosawi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very irritating because it reads like a PR release than a book on leadership lessons.

Steve Jobs is hailed as a great leader and wonderful visionary whose vices were either presented as virtues or a weak rationalization was offered to do away with them.

"Steve was..., but he..."

"Granted..., but..."

"Sure..., but..."

At one point the author says: "Yes, he could be difficult, but look at the results." (!!!)

If you find the warped reality of Apple fanboys to be annoying, then this book is definitely not for you.

I'm interested in the history of tech companies and getting a peek inside Apple made the book worth it.

But I'd love to read a more balanced book on Steve Jobs. One that either completely avoids any discussion of his questionable management techniques and unethical business practices or one that highlights the lessons we can learn from his failings, as well.

[Frahmani110 · Rating 3 out of 5]

صوتیشو گوش کردم، با صدای میکاییل شهرستانی.
باید اعتراف کنم که برام جذاب نبود و خیلی قسمتها رو دائم میزدم جلو، خصوصا جاهایی که درباره مدل قطعات کامپیوتری یا درگیری های اپل و مک صحبت میکرد.

[Norouzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

بعد از فوت #استیو_جابز یکی از تاثیر گذارترین افرادی پیشرو در حوزه #تکنولوژی، #کتاب و #فیلم های زیادی منتسب به ایشان روانه #بازار شد یکی از بهترین های این کتاب ها، کتاب استیو جابز، #شیوه های_نوین_رهبری #نوشته #جی_الیوت همراه و #مشاور دیرین أو در طول #زندگی وی بوده است. که در آن علاوه بر مطرح کردن زاویه های مختلفی از زندگی ایشان، #تکنیک ها و روشهای وی در رهبری شرکت #اپل و سایر #شرکت های زیر مجوعه پرداخته است.من بعد از آشنایی با #نوار #علاقمند شدم این کتاب را که قبلا #مطالعه کرده بودم را تهیه کنم و مجددا با صدای زیبای #استاد #میکائیل_شهرستانی #گوش کنم و این تجربه نیز همانند کتاب #جاناتان_مرغ_دریایی بسیار لذت بخش بود و به شما نیز پیشنهاد میکنم.

در ادامه بخش هایی از کتاب را معرفی خواهم کرد:

استیو جابز نقل می‌کند: #جمله قدیمی از #وین_گرتزکی(بازیکن اسطوره‌ای هاکی روی یخ) هست که من دوستش دارم: موقع هاکی ترجیح می‌دهم ببینم توپ کجا خواهد رفت و بر اساس آن حرکت هایم را تنظیم می‌کنم، به جای آنکه کورکورانه دنبال توپ حرکت کنم. ما هیمشه در اپل سعی می‌کنیم این کار را بکنیم. اما جادوی افشا شده از جابز در این لوح فشرده تنها به این عبارات و نکته‌ها کوچک خلاصه نمی‌شود. جایز در این کتاب از چگونگی تاسیس اپل با همکاری استیو وازنیاک و تولید اولین رایانه شخصی‌شان با عنوان اپل ۱ و ۲ را شرح می‌دهد و در ادامه درباره چرایی جداییش از اپل در سال ۱۹۸۵ سخن می‌گوید. چرایی تاسیس شرکت نکست کامپیوتر و ایجاد اولین مرورگر وب در جهان و در ادامه بازگشت دوباره جابز به اپلتا ماجرای ایجاد آی پد و فروشگاه آی تیونز و نیز خرید شرکت معروف پیکسار که انقلابی در تولید انیمیشن‌های کامپیوتری ایجاد ��رد. اما این همه ماجرا نیست! چرا جابز دیوانه‌ها، سرکش‌ها و دردسرسازان و کسانی که دنیا را جور دیگری می‌بینند و ممکن است بعضی‌ها آن‌ها را دیوانه پندارند را نابغه‌ می‌پنداشت؟ چرا باور داشت دنیا را همان‌هایی تغییر می‌دهند که آن قدر دیوانه‌اند که فکر می‌کنند از پس این کار بر می‌آیند؟

#پیشنهاد_کتاب

#نوار

#کتاب_صوتی
http://hosseinnorouzi.com/blog/%D9%85...

[Jacques Bezuidenhout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great supplementary book to the Walter Isaacson biography.
Pretty short, so doesn't get bogged down with too much details.

This book is from the perspective of co-worker / friend Jay Elliot and how he perceived Steve in his various roles in the business.
He highlights all the business decisions that he believes made Steve a great leader, and the best innovator.

The book does make Steve seem like this almost deity, where as in the biography it was clear that he was a big a-hole as well.

If you look over the punting of Steve, there are a bunch of valuable snippets on how to treat your employees, and the type of employees you should be looking for in the first place.
You cannot have people working for you that don't use or support your product.
Constantly rewarding for reaching milestones and hands-on constant review cycles.
Steve also believed in fairly flat organisational structure, and managed Apple like start-up till the end.

I would recommend reading the biography before this book. As this book might make things seem better than they actually were.

[Soundview Executive Book Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation by Jay Elliot was chosen by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as one of the Top 30 Business Books of 2011.

THE SOUNDVIEW REVIEW:

Let’s face it, there may be no other single executive whose work has received more attention (more positive attention, at least) than former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The impact of Jobs’ decision to step down sent shockwaves throughout the tech industry and caused consternation among Apple shareholders as the source of some of the most game-changing technology of the past two decades fades into memory. Jobs is most often celebrated for his vision and his emphasis on elegant, simple design. However, as this latest book on the subject indicates, Jobs’ incredible abilities as a leader should never be overshadowed.

In The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation, author Jay Elliot (with William L. Simon) takes a look at the aspects of Jobs’ management style that allowed him to guide his company to its position of omnipresence in our lives. This is a view that few people have ever had of this unique, sometimes confounding, corporate visionary.

The single question that is most often asked about Apple is how Jobs is able to get so many people to push themselves to create products that, although never previously conceived, instantly alter our lives. Elliot offers some surprising insights about Jobs’ leadership style. The book is filled with analysis that doesn’t skimp on takeaways. Elliot does an excellent job of examining the nuances of Jobs’ methods without weighing readers down with backstory and biographical information. The Steve Jobs Way is possibly the best book yet about the executive to whose heights the majority of CEOs aspire.

Soundview's 8-page Executive Book Summary of The Steve Jobs Way is available here.

[Lukman Haris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like reading Sherlock Holmes. Steve Jobs the Sherlock Holmes of Silicon Valley. And of course Jay Elliot as Watson told the reader their adventures at Apple, a very close observation of the way Steve Jobs made the revolutionary devices.

Through the stories we can see what Steve's beliefs about how products should be and how he built the products and the team to make that kind of product delivered to customers. I think these are things we can learn from him.

Steve had detail observation of consumer experiences and he got an exquisite sense of art to solve the problem of creating phenomenal electronic devices. He was also a great negotiator and marketer. And these qualities are hardly imitated by anyone.

Overall the book told us that there is another way customer should use the products, there is another way to lead a company, there is another way to do things.. Think different!

[Milad Bhd · Rating 4 out of 5]

تجربه اولین کتاب صوتی

[Jacques · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is not (some years after this book was written) a major fan of Apple, mostly because I feel that they are grasping at straws as they find themselves sinking well below the innovation standard that other major players are bringing to the market. I do however think that this book brings some incredible insight to what it means to be an individual who has a passion to change the world in some way.
I thoroughly enjoyed the insights we get into the thinking of Steve Jobs. To see his why behind everything he did. Seeing the extent of his vision and that nothing would stop him from making it a reality.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is hungry for the knowledge of what it would take to leave a significant impact in any aspect of this world.

[Faezeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی نامنظم بود. ولی خوندنش خالی از لطف نبود. یه تیکه‌هاییش برام آموزنده بود، یه تیکه‌هاییش الهام‌بخش.
ولی چون خیلی حس می‌کردم داره تبلیغ میکنه برای اپل یا حتی خود نویسنده داشت از خودش تعریف می‌کرد، حس خوبم رو هم یه خرده از بین می‌برد.

[Murali Dharan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books walks through the journey of Jobs during early and later stages of Apple. The book however doesn't talk about leadership aspects in general. Must read if you are an admirer of Jobs and his vision in developing a product.

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful book. While it's written in a "Tenants of Steve Jobs" fashion, there's some good background/biographical info for those who are more interested in Steve and how he did things at Apple. That would be my only criticism of the book... it's kind of "in-between" a biographical recount of Steve's rule at Apple and a self help/tenants book so has some flaws doing both. Because it's not meant to be a straight biography, the story jumps around a bit so if you don't know a bit of the history of Apple and Steve you may get a little confused on timing but on the flip side it goes fairly deep into some situations that may be more than someone looking for Steve's tenants cares for.

All in all, I thought it was a good book and provided more insight into Apple and Steve's rule there than maybe any other. I'd also recommend reading "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs" as it is also fairly well written and informative but with more of an external view at Steve.

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting biography of Steve Job's active adult life as co-founder and later CEO of Apple. I found the descriptions and anecdotes of Steve Job's leadership and management style interesting, but not compelling. Highly successful, highly innovative and inspirational (most of the time), Steve was definitely a genius in his field -- the un-disputed product czar of his lifetime as Jay Eliot puts it. Although I admire his achievements and have bought many of the products he pioneered from idea to reality, I'm not sure I would model his unique style in military leadership. The whole story left me wondering whether Apple will be able to carry on innovating as they have with the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad without their iconic leader. Time will tell whether Apple can remain a great company without the great Steve Jobs at the helm.

[Heriberto Cantú · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al principio pensé que el libro sería más de liderazgo que de Steve Jobs, lo bueno es que esta bien balanceado.

Contiene bastantes anécdotas muy interesantes y las utiliza como ejemplo para darte "tips" de liderazgo.

Lo que no me gustó tanto es que el autor esta traumado con Steve Jobs, no deja de echarle flores en cada párrafo, llega hasta el punto en que al final del libro tiene una carta dirigida a Steve. Pero si ignoras un poco su adoración por el amo y semidios Steve puedes encontrar cosas muy buenas.

También tiene unos errores de fechas pero eso no afecta la enseñanza o la lectura

A fin de cuentas es un libro muy entretenido si te gusta o apasiona la tecnología y la cultura pop.

[Nguyen Quang tung · Rating 4 out of 5]

How enthralling, captivating and inspirational this reading is; for it had delivered the realistic story behind a Steve Jobs we saw in real life. The way he lived, the way he struggled to gain recognition, and the way he could bring Apple become the most prominent IT company at the moment.

Jay Elliot has successfully illustrated another aspect of Steve, an aspect which hadn't been seen before until he disclosed it to readers. Steve Jobs has taught me one thing and one thing alone: No talented, exceptionally skillful and charismatic person is without flaws; but what's more important is that we have a strong commitment to persistently pursue what we desire and aspire to achieve.

[Jean-Marc Krikorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This retelling of Apple and specifically Steve Job from a close associate was very interesting and inspiring. It's a very current book including the introduction of the iPad. I would have like to see heard more about Steve's time with NeXT but I'm guessing the reason for the lack of detail is that Jay Elliot stayed at Apple when Steve founded NeXT and hence had little direct experience with Steve's role and times there.

[Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have finished this book after reading Steve jobs biography by about 4 months. this book contain valuable information about how did Steve jobs did things at Apple. it is not a biography of Steve jobs but it shows how did he manage Apple and how did he succeeded in building great teams. The best thing i loved about this book is how Steve jobs treated his employees and how he made them feel that Apple is their company and they must give the best for it so that it can change the world.

[Donald Elton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story to a point but after awhile you realize the book is really about the author's "man-love" for Steve Jobs whom he worships in every possible way as many times as possible. Jobs is a great guy but you feel like you have to wash your hands to get the drool off after reading this too long.

[Aakanksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought that autobiographies are the best way to understand a person, but this book actually taught me a third person perspective of working close to a person like Steve Jobs.
This book is not just Steve Jobs, this is a story of how Steve made his team and how they made him!
All Steve's fans must read this piece.

[Manuel Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un buen libro, de lectura amena y con contenido interesante. No es una biografía de Steve sino un "manual" de gestión de equipos y técnicas de RRHH y liderazgo. Muy recomendable.
-------------
This is a great book. It is easy to be read and its content is really interesting. We will not find here a Steve's biography. This is a Team Leader, leadreship and Human Resources guide. It is a must.

[Sepideh · Rating 3 out of 5]

من انتظار داشتم که به صورت منسجم تر روش های مدیریتی و رهبری استیو جابز رو توضیح بده که خب متاسفانه خیلی از این شاخه به اون شاخه پریده بود. نکات جالبی رو بیان کرده بود و برای کسایی که علاقه مند به این تیپ کتابها باشن حتما جذاب‌ه. و صفحات پایانی کتاب، جایی که سخنرانی استیو رو در جشن فارغ التحصیلی دانشجویان نقل کرده بود؛ من رو خیلی تحت تاثیر قرار داد و بیشتر از قبل شیفته شخصیت محکم و خوش فکرش شدم.

[Jason Hekl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, worth reading (or listening to, as I did), but I expected more. Clearly, the author was close to Steve Jobs, but I would have liked more stories. He painted a less-than-complete picture of the iconic leader. The lessons were repetitive, and not particularly actionable.

[Ali Shahab · Rating 4 out of 5]

اين كتاب نوشته‌ي معاون سابق استيو جابز در اپل است و با زباني ساده اصول مديريت و ره‌بري استيو جابز را بررسي مي‌كند. خوبي ماجرا اين است كه اليوت خودش در متن ماجرا بوده و در نتيجه به برخي نكات پشت‌پرده‌ي جالب در مورد جابز و اپل اشاره مي‌كنه

[Siavash · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب خوبی بود، شناخت از روش‌های آدم‌های موفق همیشه برام جذاب بوده، با این که جابز رو میشناختم و خیلی از داستانهایی که تو کتاب گفته میشد رو میدونستم اما جزییات تصمیم‌گیری‌ها و رفتارهای شخصی جابز برام جالب بود.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book if you can filter out all of Jay's hero worship of Steve! Despite all of that, I found this book very enlightening.

[Carrie Kellenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jay Elliot should stick to business and stop writing. This is one of the worst biographies I've ever read. There is no denying that Jobs changed the way we communicate, and I know he has been revered for his leadership abilities. I was looking for something that would lend more to this, but also explain a bit more about his personality.

Jobs was both revered and hated. He was a self-described Buddhist who was insanely rich, but kept stores of watches and expensive gifts for people who 'pleased' him. Yet he never really openly supported charities and spoke out against philanthropy. I don't understand him any better after reading this book, so the Jobs enigma continues for me.

It's a fascinating story to look at the history of Apple and to learn about all the ups and downs they faced. I was most interested in learning more about business and leadership practices from this book. I also expected more information about Jobs specifically. Elliot writes a lot about corporate culture and how Apple developed, but there was very little about Jobs himself other than how he pressured his staff or how he praised them. If I had to describe this book in one word, I'd likely say 'empty'. There is no great value to it.

There are some great anecdotes in this book, but I am not a fan of Elliot's writing style. I don't understand why he included references to his own life. The fan-boying was very annoying. When friends write books about their idols, it never seems to end well. Perhaps I'll have better luck with Walter Isaacson's biography on Steve Jobs, which is highly rated and seems to draw from more interviews and personal encounters with Jobs that are not viewed through the lens of friendship.

[Olga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Скажу честно, ничего эдакого от книги даже и не ожидала, так как сегодня только ленивый не повышает свою репутацию и зарабатывает тысячу-другую на популярности Стива Джобса. Собственно и была права. После прочтения прекраснейшей биографии Стива Джобса авторства Уолтера Айзексона, данное повествование было для меня не информативным, пустым. Автор напичкал книгу хаотичными случаями из жизни Джобса, которые неподкованному читателю будут весьма сложно выстроить в какую-то понятную хронологическую систему. Все эти факты автор безуспешно попытался за уши притянуть к какой-то стратегии лидерства, якобы разработанной Джобсом. При этом он даже не заметил, как факты из жизни противоречат положениям его так называемой стратегии. Один из примеров: автор со знанием дела говорит о необходимости поощрения инновационных идей сотрудника, даже если они бредовые. Однако же при этом говорит, что у Стива все сотрудник делились на гениев и идиотов. Предложи бредовую идею и загремишь в лагерь идиотов навечно с перспективой «на выход с вещами». Так что, все это, пардон, чушь несусветная, поскольку Стив Джобс был человеком харизмы, эмоций и интуиции, с врожденным чувством прекрасного. И это ни в какие уроки и стратегии не выстроишь. Так что чуть меньше половины книги дочитывала по диагонали и на автомате, надоело выискивать там уроки, коих там и не предполагалось. Уж лучше бы автор просто рассказал про свое сотрудничество с Джобсом, было бы интересней.

[Alexiscwh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be one of the first autobiographies I’ve ever read. And I think that it did impact me on a level that I didn’t expect it could. Firstly, being ignorant of the field of physical science and technology, it provided me with some motivation to spend time to understand how technology works and such. It was a very interesting read about the world of business, since I know nothing of that too. It really educated me on how to do business like Steve Jobs, how to create the most perfect products amidst times of stress and upcoming deadlines, to focus on what is truly important - getting something you approve of up the table because that’s what will truly stick. I truly had newfound respect for Steve Jobs, despite him already being up on my pedestal for the amazing creations he has given our era. I loved the way he did business, he truly has a spectacular knack for dealing with people, even if he pushed them to their limits I was very touched when his subordinates always chose to follow this leader. Despite all the obstacles he faced (losing his friends, getting his company stolen from him) I loved the fact that he remained headstrong, literally building another company (although not as powerful as Apple), and continued to relay his knowledge and expertise into doing what he loved.