1) I read about Steve Jobs:
What surprised you the most?
- What surprised me the most was how singularly focused Steve Jobs was to make Apple products an extension of the user. He truly felt that people could change the world by using Apple products.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
- I honestly admire his conviction. He made many unpopular decisions at the time, some worked out and some didn’t, but he remained steady based on how strong his convictions were that he made the correct decisions.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
- I am a big family man and have extremely strong friend relationships. I did not like how Steve at many points in his life prioritized work above all personal relationships. There certainly were some negative consequences as a result.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did
they do about it?
- Yes, he encountered adversity and failure multiple times. When he did, he always got to a point of picking himself back up an using it as a chip on his shoulder to improve and get back what was his.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
- The best competency I noticed was his ability to inspire. He was gifted in communicating his vision and getting others bought in, even though it meant they would be going against the grain and would have to sacrifice so many personal things while working on his projects.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
- I don’t believe any part was confusing to me. There were a few parts, related to some decisions of how he approached certain situations that negatively impacted his personal relationships, where I was sitting there questioning why he was making those decisions. But it wasn’t confusing when you understand who he is, it was more contrasting to how I would have done it, which caused me to question why he made some of those decisions.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what
would you ask? Why?
- Would you do it all over again the same way knowing how/where you and Apple end up today? I’d be curious about this because by every measure he and Apple were/are successful, but there was a lot of heartache along the way.
- Can I work for you? This is obviously self-serving, but I’d love the opportunity to be around him if he was still alive.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard
work? Do you share that opinion?
- I think his opinion of hard work was if it wasn’t hard, impactful, and a passion of yours, you shouldn’t be doing the work.
Hi Justin! This reflection was really great and very thorough. Steve Jobs is known as one of the greatest most influential entrepreneurs in America. He's really shaped the phone industry in an incredible way. I also don't admire that he put work over his personal relationships. I also have a very strong relationship with my family and friends and wouldn't trade that for the world.
ReplyDeleteI also read this book and I thought you named a great competency of Jobs. Despite how much he pushed his employees he was able to spark innovation and buy into his vision. He drew people to Apple and had big goals for his company. I agree that one downside of his was his relationship with his family and those close to him.
ReplyDeleteHi Justin,
ReplyDeleteI also read this book about Steve Jobs as he is someone I have always been fascinated to learn about. I was surprised to learn that even one of the greatest innovators such as himself had character flaws, as well. I think one of his greatest assets, though, was his passion for what he was doing. He believed in Apple more than anything else in his life and people were able to see that in him which is why they believed in it too. I don't believe Apple would be what it is today without the passion of Steve Jobs to go by.