Let me first disambiguate. This is not a review of the classic biography by Walter Isaacson. Karen Blumenthal’s Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different (2012) is a less heavier book written more for the man in a hurry who cannot be compelled to peruse Isaacson’s 500-plus-page tome.
Let me also state that I have never used an Apple product, be it an iPad or iPhone or Macintosh or iMac. I have never wandered into an Apple store, never even seen an iPod, and never experienced the iTunes music store.
What the hell, I was left wondering some years ago, was the buzz about Steve Jobs? Why did Fortune name him “CEO of the decade” in 2009?
There are three distinct phases to Job’s professional career. The first phase was when Jobs bumped into Steve Wozniak and founded Apple Computers. Apple II which came out in 1977 was a blockbuster product with a success unparalleled till the invention of the Macintosh in 1984.
While Apple II was mostly Wozniak’s baby, Jobs sweated over every detail of the Macintosh, for instance asking that the title bars on the top of each screen be redone “again and again – more than a dozen times.” Is such “perfectionism” (or is it mere obsession?) really necessary? It is difficult to say.
Jobs’ second phase started when he was fired from Apple for his quirky style of management. He went on to found NeXT (which was almost a disaster) and Pixar which teamed up with Disney to make some memorable animation movies.
The third phase began in 1997 when Jobs was back at the helm of Apple and delivered his greatest performance. Starting with the iMac in 1998, Apple delivered in 2001 iTunes, iPod and the first Apple Store. Jobs went on to launch the iPhone in 2007, Macbook Air and the App Store in 2008, and the iPad in 2010.
Jobs died at the relatively young age of 56 of cancer. He kept on working at his amazing products in spite of his illness.
According to Blumenthal, Malcolm Gladwell called Jobs a “tweaker”. He explained, “The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and reimagines the world. The tweaker inherits things as they are, and has to push and pull them toward some more nearly perfect solution. That is not a lesser task.”
Jobs is an excellent example of a man who thought hard about making things simple for the layman to use and ended up with devices which give the layman an entirely personal experience. Does this mean I will switch over to an iPhone? Not so sure, I am quite comfortable with my Android!
Let me also state that I have never used an Apple product, be it an iPad or iPhone or Macintosh or iMac. I have never wandered into an Apple store, never even seen an iPod, and never experienced the iTunes music store.
What the hell, I was left wondering some years ago, was the buzz about Steve Jobs? Why did Fortune name him “CEO of the decade” in 2009?
There are three distinct phases to Job’s professional career. The first phase was when Jobs bumped into Steve Wozniak and founded Apple Computers. Apple II which came out in 1977 was a blockbuster product with a success unparalleled till the invention of the Macintosh in 1984.
While Apple II was mostly Wozniak’s baby, Jobs sweated over every detail of the Macintosh, for instance asking that the title bars on the top of each screen be redone “again and again – more than a dozen times.” Is such “perfectionism” (or is it mere obsession?) really necessary? It is difficult to say.
Jobs’ second phase started when he was fired from Apple for his quirky style of management. He went on to found NeXT (which was almost a disaster) and Pixar which teamed up with Disney to make some memorable animation movies.
The third phase began in 1997 when Jobs was back at the helm of Apple and delivered his greatest performance. Starting with the iMac in 1998, Apple delivered in 2001 iTunes, iPod and the first Apple Store. Jobs went on to launch the iPhone in 2007, Macbook Air and the App Store in 2008, and the iPad in 2010.
Jobs died at the relatively young age of 56 of cancer. He kept on working at his amazing products in spite of his illness.
According to Blumenthal, Malcolm Gladwell called Jobs a “tweaker”. He explained, “The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and reimagines the world. The tweaker inherits things as they are, and has to push and pull them toward some more nearly perfect solution. That is not a lesser task.”
Jobs is an excellent example of a man who thought hard about making things simple for the layman to use and ended up with devices which give the layman an entirely personal experience. Does this mean I will switch over to an iPhone? Not so sure, I am quite comfortable with my Android!
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