27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Book Chosen: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

1) You read about an entrepreneur:


What surprised you the most?

I've seen the movie "Silicon Valley" that explains a little how Apple and Microsoft were created, what surprised me then was how stubborn Jobs was. But the biography explained more how he had some other issues in life and why he was the way he was. He had to struggle to find the way back to Apple because at the time he wasn't "CEO material", but the fact that he did, surprised me the most.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

What I admire the most about Steve Jobs was his huge passion and determination. I considered that these two traits were essential in making Jobs the successful man he was. Additionally, I admire his cleverness, intelligence, and innovation. He was able to combine these three traits, merging two worlds: creativity and technology. Lastly, I highly admire Jobs' spirituality; without a doubt, this distinguished him from many other businessmen and entrepreneurs. I admire his commitment to his spirituality and beliefs, as well as his ability to disregard other people's opinions on them.


What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I think that what I least admire from Steve Jobs were some of the personality traits attributed to him by people that used to work closely with him. He was known as obsessive, compulsive for control and perfectionist. He seemed to have problems regarding his soft skills as he often had issues with peers and employees, and even with some of his relatives such as his first daughter. Additionally, I also think I least admire his arrogance and stubbornness as I said earlier. He was described as a man that sometimes lack humbleness and was very stubborn, even with highly important matters such as cancer, family, and friendship (Wozniak).


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


Like almost every other entrepreneur Steve Jobs did encounter adversity and failure. His strong personality caused him a variety of problems along the way leading him to be fired from his own company at a point. In my opinion, this was Job’s main failure. He coped with the situation by creating NeXT and investing in Pixar. The first company also added to the adversity and failure he experienced, as this company was unsuccessful requiring high amounts of money without providing returns. However, being fired and his mishappens with NeXT did not stop him. With his determination and his unique set of skills, Jobs was able to greatly contribute to Pixar creating Toy Story, a very successful movie that launches the Pixar to the public.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Overall, I think Steve Jobs had many competencies, as a result, he was very successful. Among these, we can find his perfectionism, accuracy, and attention to detail. Although being a perfectionist has its pros and cons, I consider that Jobs’ attention to detail is what allowed him to be as successful as he was with the design of his products. Additionally, I consider that Jobs was very innovative and revolutionary, two aspects that provided him with a competitive advantage in regards to other competitors. For example, he was very clever in pushing towards an integrated system. Even though this idea was risky at the time, I consider it was a good decision as it created sort of “Apple Families” who owned a variety of products from the company. This attribute also distinguished Apple from its main competitors such as Microsoft and Google who encourage open systems and intercommunication. Without a doubt, the competencies that made Steve Jobs unique was his “sense of design, simplicity, and aesthetics.”

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

Overall, in my opinion, the book was simple to understand. However, what was confusing at times for me was the comparison between what I was reading and my previous knowledge. I always thought Steve Jobs had attended Stanford for his undergraduate. Nonetheless, this book allowed me to realize I was mistaken as he actually attended Reed College. Additionally, I was also kind off confused with my understanding of Jobs relationship with Wozniak, and what explained in the book.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

How did you handle problems with the competition?

Why?: In the book, they narrate how Steve Jobs was able to make a deal with its “biggest rival Microsoft ending a decade of legal battles.” Dealing with competition is very important therefore is a highly delicate matter. I am curious to know how throughout his professional career and while being CEO of Apple, Jobs was able to mediate with these types of conflicts.


How did you overcome failure and the feeling of frustration?

Why?: One of the things I struggled the most with is the feeling of frustration when things don't go my way. I would like to know how to overcome this feeling as it is important in becoming an entrepreneur.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

One of the book quotes that stood out to me the most was the one concerning how no matter the odds or challenges if Jobs would decide that something had to happen he would bend reality to his will to make it happen. Even though this is related to his view of the "reality distortion field," I think it greatly relates to the meaning of hard work. Even though he speaks about realities, I think that this quote could also be interpreted as no matter how many one falls or fails, you have to keep working until you find a way to succeed. This portrays his view of hard work and its importance.