13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

·      What surprised you the most?

o   Being a part of this generation, everyone either owns or knows what the company Apple is. Steve Jobs is someone that people look up to and are inspired by because of his company and his road to success with it. Personally, I have always been interested in entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and have done research on him prior to reading this book. While some might say that they were surprised by his decision to drop out of college or how he is invested with other companies, I was most surprised by how he coined the name Apple for the company. Since I have learned about Steve Jobs prior to reading the book, I knew about his story and how his company took off. I never wondered how he named the company until I read it in the book. I thought it was a bit humorous that he named one of the biggest and most successful companies Apple because he visited an apple farm the day he founded Apple Computer.

·      What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

o   The most admirable thing about Steve Jobs was his charisma. Even after he dropped out of college, he chose to take courses to learn more. He was always driven to produce products that are perfect and never settled for anything less than great. The term “Reality Distortion Field” was coined, it was used to describe Job’s dedication to his products and his ideas. Having a term coined due to his dedication and his strive for success shows how charismatic he was.

·      What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

o   The least admirable thing about Steve Jobs was his treatment of his colleagues and staff. His temperament was a very well-known issue that he had, people have even admitted that he verbally assaulted them. I believe that no matter who an individual is, they deserve respect. While Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple, that does not mean he had the right to disrespect others who work for/with the company.

·      Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

o   Steve Jobs did encounter adversity and failure. In 1985 he was fired by the Apple board of directors due to an accumulation of his behavior and his treatment to those around him. Jobs did not stop there; he continued to invent and do what he loves. He became invested with Pixar and designed a computer called NeXT. He then was given a second chance with Apple in hopes to save the company. 

2.     What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur had?

a.     Competencies that Steve Jobs had was his creativity in technology and his way of persuading people. Jobs always was creative and wanted to innovate to produce products that were like no other. Without Steve Jobs, we would not have most of our high technology today. With his creative mind, it was known that Steve Jobs had a way with words, he could convince individuals to push farther when developing ideas and work endlessly.

3.     Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

a.     I was confused about the relationships that Steve Jobs had. His relationship with his daughter from his first marriage was briefly touched on. I was confused about this because I know that his issues with his daughter were very public and well known, so I thought that there would be more insight to this topic in the book. 

4.     2 Questions I would ask

a.     What do you think about the company now and what has been produced?

                                               i.     I would ask this because I wonder if Jobs approves of the products that are released from Apple now and if they meet his high standards.

b.     Do you regret anything that you did in your career? Any products?

                                               i.     I would ask this because I have a hard time believing that things are perfect. I feel that Jobs had to have regretted or wish he done something different with certain products. 

5.     What do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

a.     I believe that Steve Jobs never considered his work as hard, I think he viewed difficult work in a way that things can always be improved. After reading about his determination and drive to make perfect products, I think his mindset was not whether if it was easy or hard work, it was more about if it can be better. I do share that opinion but only to an extent. I think Jobs was very influential and successful, but he lacked the skills of being a genuinely nice person. I think he was always driven towards success but never understood that there is more to life than having a successful business.