1) You read about an entrepreneur: Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
What surprised you the most? I had no idea he was
such a bad father. I have heard many stories about his vision and demanding
nature. I had never heard anything about his family. Now I understand why. It
was not pleasant and appeared to take a back seat to his work. It’s one thing
to be devoted to work more than your family but to basically be non-existent
for the first ten years of your daughter’s life is much different.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? His
ability to push farther and demand things that most felt were not possible. If the
task was thought possible, the timeline for completion was thought to be
impossible. However, he got more out of people by demanding it and striking
fear in employees and colleagues. The consumer benefited from great products
that were innovative.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? His
inability to enjoy the ride and the process. His keen focus was what made him
great but also what made him least admirable to me.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If
so, what did they do about it? He was fired from Apple and had to start
over. He proceeded to eventually buy Pixar from Lucas Entertainment and then
was brought back to Apple to save it. The second round at Apple is what
produced the products that made the company what it is today.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur
exhibited? Laser focus, work ethic, big picture vision, opposed to status
quo, and belief in his instincts and ideas.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was
confusing to you. I do not understand why he did not focus more on software
like Bill Gates. Especially when they had interaction and Gates built operating
systems for Macs. I feel like he could have focused more on that part of the
business.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the
entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? Did wearing the same thing everyday
make a real difference in your daily routine. Deciding what to wear is one of
the first decisions you make every day. I am intrigued by the fact he wore the
same thing every day. Did it really save any time or mental energy? What do you
wish you would have thought of first and why? I would like to know who he was
jealous of and why.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion
was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I think he thought going daily
until exhaustion was a solid day’s work. I do not agree because I think that
the shelf life for behaving like that is short and limited. Could someone who
was fresh from eight hours of sleep make the same mistakes? Or would they make
more mistakes because they were not laser focused and driven?
Hi Brian!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about your take on Steve Jobs. I liked reading about what you admired about Jobs, his ability to push through with ideas that everyone around him thought were crazy. I read about Ray Kroc; he was behind the success of McDonald's. He seemed to have some of the same qualities. Through some of his most successful ventures, many individuals, including his first wife, told him he was crazy. That never stopped him, though. It seems that intuition and reckless willingness to go after the impossible is in several successful entrepreneurs.
Hey Brian, I chose to do mine on Steve jobs as well. He is someone who has affected so many lives with such amazing devices, he has revolutionized the world so drastically. He is a genius and innovator who shall forever be known as one of the greatest minds of this generation. I agree with you on several point throughout your analysis, especially about the factors that you most and least admire about him. I loved his passion and drive but didn’t like how due to his goals he ignored other important tasks.
ReplyDeletehey Brian,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your review of the steve jobs book.i like how you mentioed and noted his courage to put his faith and hope into a new product that he didnt know if it would be sucessful. I liked your idea in debating that the shelf life of someone who works until exhaustion is very limited. I liked the idea that you expressed by disagreeing with that idea, i agree with you that you need to know when to work and when to enjoy life.