Get a Job(s)

Yup.. that's a little adaptation of the title
From the old Fifty's hit by The Silhouettes

But this is really about today
Right now
As we 'speak'... so to speak...

Its about the best nonfiction book I have ever read
And why you should 'Get' one
Its about the best company for customers that perhaps has ever existed
Its about the man behind it all

Yes its Steve Jobs and its his biography by Walter Isaacson

Do you have to be an Apple fanatic to appreciate the story?
Nope.
Do you have to be a management expert to appreciate the seeming contradictions in his philosophy?

Photo from the book's cover

Nope.

Neither attribute would hurt but I am convinced...
If you like to read you will love this book

Now I'll confess, I am left-handed...
Therefore by definition I am a dreamer
As a result I have always leaned toward fiction

Haven't read much non-fiction... nope
But this... this book is proof that truth can be stranger than fiction
That truth can be just as intriguing as fiction

Okay, I am done fawning here
Lets move on to a few (just three) excerpts
That prompt me to add my $.02 worth

On the use of PowerPoint;

"I hate the way people use slide presentations instead of thinking," Jobs... recalled.  "People (at Apple) would confront a problem by creating a presentation.  I wanted them to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a bunch of slides.  People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint."

$.02 worth: He had just returned to Apple and was trying to review product lines.  He quickly realized how the company had turned bureaucratic, had too many products and was too confusing to customers.  He wanted them to engage each other and focus... PowerPoint wasn't (isn't) the answer.


On packaging;

(He understood) that people do judge a book by its cover... and therefore (made) sure all the trappings and packaging of Apple signaled that there was a beautiful gem inside.

Compact, precise and conveniently packed
inside and out... through and through

$.02 worth: If you have never seen the box iPhones come in they are something to behold.  I have a photo here but the real thing needs to be experienced to appreciate.  I have boxes from two iPhone models on the shelf in my office. To me, they represent the finest packaging I have ever seen.  If he wanted someone to feel there was "a beautiful gem" inside it worked. The look, the quality of construction, the fit... everything about it.  It is a classic.

On Setting Realistic (limiting) Objectives;

Jobs would stand in front of a whiteboard (he loved whiteboards because they gave him complete control of a situation and they engendered focus) and ask, "What are the ten things we should be doing next?"  People would fight to get their suggestions on the list, Jobs would write them down, and then cross off the ones he decreed dumb.  After much jockeying, the group would come up with a (prioritized) list of ten.  Then Jobs would slash the bottom seven and announce, "We can only do three."

$.02 worth: This is a spin-off from an old management adage that suggests during a  limited, 3-5 year tenure a top exec should limit objectives to five (Jobs liked three).  The point, whether three or five or something within reach, is right on target in my not-so-humble estimation.


Jobs was not without fault in his relationships with others and he apparently wasn't afraid to admit it.  On the other hand, he was a genius at knowing what people (we) wanted before they (we) knew it ourselves.  He was a 'product first, customer first' type person before bottom-line profit. The beauty of this philosophy was and is that profits followed... big-time.  If only more companies were like this today. 

Simplicity and quality
Beginning to end
That's all
That's everything
That was Steve Jobs
RIP Steve... you have changed our lives forever
Walter, you did a damn fine job too, thanks