Becoming Steve Jobs

I'm blanking where I came to hear about this book, I just remember reading somewhere that this book would be good.

Turns out, for me, it was a much much better read than Walter Isaacson's version of Jobs. As a preface, I might suffer from confirmation bias from my previous article of Isaacson's book.

I won't cover much of the book contents, there are the usual bits of history, but not as much as the Walter Isaacson (I mean, one being a biography, I'll attribute it to a style choice).

Instead, I would describe this book as a compilation of mini stories throughout his years starting from 1979. This isn't a retelling of history that you can find on Wikipedia. (Well actually you can now after this book is published.) As a journalist covering the industry, Schlender has a lot of notes from different eras of Steve Jobs life. Moreover, he interviewed various people that crossed Steve's path. They say that wounds heal with time, and remembering a figure that has been passed on has made a lot of people being interviewed a little more candid and opinionated about things.

Schlender interviewed a lot people in the inner circle including both Tim Cook and Lauren Powell Jobs for this book during 2013 to 2014. Constructing stories that we know with these interviews brings more life and passion to the stories, and also to the people.

There is an entire chapter devoted to much shared/retweeted 2005 Stanford University commencement address. The trials and tribulations of getting to the stadium, Steve Jobs panicking at the last minute. The entire speech is reprinted in its entirety. Something even which Isaacson's book does not have. (It was used with permission from Apple and Lauren Powell Jobs.)

Continuing with the mini-stories, the last chapter wasn't something that summarizes the feelings of everyone interviewed, or having an title that is . It was titled "Just tell them I'm being an asshole". It came from a conversation that Schlender had with Jobs about not being able to make it to an important roundtable due to his health. Without wanting to tell the others the real reason for his absence, he simply said:

"Just tell them I'm being an asshole. That's what they'll probably be thinking, anyway, so why not just say it?"

I felt that was the best representation of Jobs' attitude at his age. He's owning up to that part of his history, embracing the arrogance of his youth, perhaps poking fun at it a little.

Maybe Walter Isaacson was caught in the Steve Jobs reality distortion field that was so famously described in his book. Don't get me wrong, his book is still the way to go for people who wants a historically accurate version of Steve Jobs. However, it is missing that spark and passion that Jobs himself embodies. In engaging/courting Isaacson for his biography, he rises to the list of people that Isaacson has wrote biographies about: Einstein, Franklin, Kissinger. The Isaacson story is a story that was essentially told by Jobs. Reading that book and this book has told me a lot about how Jobs' wanted control. Control over product announcements, control over leaking bad news, control over how his story is written. Even when he didn't interfere with Isaacson's version, the side/version that Jobs told Isaacson was essentially what he wanted the world to see of him, of his legacy.

It is sad then, that that book is the official biography of Steve Jobs. There are so many things that can be inferred, so many anecdotes from the interviews of Lauren Powell Jobs, Bill Gates, Ed Catmull, Tim Cook and Jony Ive, that complete the picture of Steve Jobs.

I recommend this book to people who have read Isaacson's book and came away feeling that they've missed parts of the story. Reading this book will not tell you the entire story of Steve Jobs, but you'll leave with a very good idea of who Jobs is and what he stands for.


PS: After doing some wikipedia reading which links to the articles, seems like Apple endorses this book as well. That's great to know. Maybe that's where I remembered it from.

Outliers

Outliers 
by Malcom Gladwell

Outliers are expressed in this book as people who are successful in business, born into the right race at the right time and the right place.

Now to me, the idea of being an outlier is inherently crazy. Being in the chinese culture (which incidentally is covered in this book), I had a long standing idea that success cannot be waited on and through hard work up the ranks will somehow yield success. That part might never change unfortunately because of my upbringing.

The Part One (titled Opportunity) of the book however, provided me with some insights that while yes you cannot change the race, place, time where you are born. You can get definitely get yourself or your children ready for the opportunity when it (if) comes by. Summarized below:

1. To bred a sportsman, have a child whose birthdate is as close to the eligibility date as possible.
2. Show the child that one part of hardwork equals one part of success, the idea of putting in effort means getting some form of return. This becomes a achievement cycle, on how success breeds basically more success.
3. Teach the child to learn numbers in a language that processes numbers fast and have a rigid structured number system (an inherent Asian advantage). The faster they process numbers, the more they can remember said numbers.
4. Even if the child is clever, without the right (encouraging) environment to grow up in, it would be a wash.

The chapter I was most interested in is the idea of "concerted cultivation". I initially had problems with grasping what exactly concerted cultivation meant. At first I understood it as needing to expose the child to anything and everything that the parent could get their hands on. I thought that it was a contradiction with the 10,000 hours theory proposed earlier in the book. (The author says it as the amount of time it takes to be excellent at a said task) I posed the question: "how it could be possible for a child to get exposure to everything and also get 10,000 hrs into a single task?"

Turns out I just understood the idea while re-reading over the chapter. I believe the important part of concerted cultivation isn't exposing the children. It was to teach the children to exert themselves in the society. This sense of "entitlement" as expressed in the book. Simply put, it's confidence.

The rest would be just compromise then, perhaps there is not a huge overlap between people who are doing everything at once and people who spend 10,000 hrs into a single task. I do believe though, in that overlap, a person would at least be well off, if not immensely successful.


Part Two (titled Legacy) deals with things are mostly not in our control. How each different culture operates and how it affects being an outlier. This is where the programming of each of our cultures affect an individual.

Having an ancestry from hunters in the Scottish regions means people can kill each other in the name of honor 400 years later (1800s) in Southern United States.
Having coming from cultivating the rice paddies in China means the Chinese believe "一份耕耘一份收获" (direct translation to: "one sowing of seeds equals one harvest", or in the current generation "hardwork equals reward")
Being from a culture where seniority structures are deeply enforced means a estranged way of communication with a superior can cause serious problems in a cockpit.

These advantages/disadvantages are things we can't change. What we can do is realize the said advantages and exploit (used here in the nicest of terms) them further, while alleviating the disadvantages.

_____________________________


One thing I would hope that anyone that reads this book not take away from, is that the idea of complacency. Just because you feel you're not born into a "right" family, you're not of the "right" culture, did not get the "right" education, means you can just give up and supposedly "let nature run its course".

Yes I concede that being an outlier means you will be successful in business faster or easier, but what the book also says is that having the right attitude and the right skills will make one better off than its peers.

You won't be too far away from the crowd, but... wouldn't you be an "outlier" as well then?

Steve Jobs

Part 1
Written 15th October 2011 - 6 days after Jobs left

I always respected Steve Jobs, for the way he pursued perfection. How he left, came back and brought a company from the brink of failing back to the current leader of digital entertainment and devices.

That was until I saw "Pirates of the Silicon Valley". My friend who was an Apple diehard showed it to me, he told me to see it for the brilliance of Jobs. It was a great film sure, but one thing caught my eye.

During the development of the Apple Lisa, Steve was seen in the parking lot arguing with a woman, about things relating as I remembered about their daughter. I thought maybe the film amped it up a little, adding this fictional scene just for dramatic effect to show Jobs' persistence and pursue for perfection. But, alas, apparently this did happen. Looking over the Wikipedia page for his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Steve Jobs denied paternity, even going as far as to declare infertile in court. Seriously, how badly does he want to get out of it?

Yes he was a visionary for a generation, the 3rd apple that revolutionized the world, leaving behind his legacy for all to enjoy. I'm not complaining, I certainly felt his vision through all the Apple products I go through.
Yet, what about his personal legacy?
When this wave of mourning passes, who will be there to remember him?
Will the millions of people including me who wrote Facebook posts about him remember him 20 years down the road?
Will the Apple fanboys remember their great spiritual leader/founder or just be concerned about the next product the company is going to push out?
Seriously, how many people are already upset at Apple for the iPhone 4S?

These thoughts has been running through my head for a bit now, even before Jobs passed on. Then I read this article, which the title heading I was... well, just shaking my head: "Steve Jobs agreed to biography so his children could know him better" I asked myself this question, do I have to write a book just so I could pass on my values and views of the world to my own children? That to me, is ridiculous, as a parent, you should be there personally to teach your children, to nurture them, letting them know you through conversations, actions.

Yes in a sense by not being there for his children, he helped create a company, took it to greater heights than ever before. But... at what cost? Was it all worth it?

I'm very interested in this book, and which is why I'm going to write Part 2 after I finished reading the biography.

__________________________________


Part 2
Written 19th - 20th November 2011

I've finished the book.

But let's not talk about the book first, let's talk about this generation of people. This generation is like the internet, the internet as I've learnt in this world, is fast, and unforgiving.

General consensus for people on the internet about Apple right now:
- iPhone 4S does not have great battery life.
- iOS 5 drains a lot of battery.
- Siri doesn't cater to all accents.
- Where is iPhone 5?
- Where is iPad 3?

All of them are so craving for the next in-thing from Apple.
Who still remembers that the Apple founder has passed on?

Now let's get back to the book.

From a structural standpoint, the author splits them into distinct chapters, chapters that deals with the founding of the company, the creation of Apple II, the ousting of Jobs from Apple, the founding of NeXT, the creation of iPod so on and so forth. This is interspersed with chapters about his life, his social life, his relationships with specific people.

The first part of the book mainly deals with his early life at Apple, which, as much as the author tries to keep it in line, constantly deviates from the chapter heading. This seems to stem from the rebellious streak of Jobs at Apple too.

The second part deals with after the ousting and subsequent return to Apple. These chapters are I assume people would find most interesting about. The creation of the new Macs, the iPod, the iTunes store, the iPhone then the iPad, iCloud and so on and so forth.

It was as if the author was caught in the reality distortion field in the first place. No, not during the composition of the book, but I certainly felt he was compelled by Jobs' charm to write a book about him. This, along with the fact that the author has written biographies of Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, makes Jobs feel like he's reached a plateau of greats.

This pattern is repeated throughout the book, the desire of not for money, but more for the fame, for the recognition (or what the lay-man calls "ego boost"). Requesting more stock options at Apple, Disney/Pixar, Sony with the iTunes store etc.

You will notice that what saved Jobs after being ousted by Apple was not NeXT, but Pixar. Pixar essentially helped to calm Jobs' attitude and nature down to an "accepted" level. The way he dealt with Disney with Pixar, how he envisioned Pixar as a brand that should exist outside Disney. He applied the same principles after he was back at Apple.

Frankly, I think it would suck to work with/under/above the guy. But I admire what he's done, or what he had to do to get what he wanted through. I liked more of the other ancillary characters, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Lee Clow, Jonathan Ive, Ron Johnson. Other than Gates, theses are people who Jobs handpicked, people who are able to do what he wanted them to do well. That's what's special about Jobs, instead of having the skills, his skill was able to find the right people with the right skills. With those people, he was able to successfully start and later, turn Apple around.

The chapters on iPhone and iPad are short, mostly talking about facts one Google search away, and not a lot of the technical details. I bet Apple has things under their sleeves that the author was not allowed to write. Personality takes a back seat here, and focuses on the product.

Problems with App store guidelines are briefly mentioned, the antenna problem with the iPhone (dubbed "Antenna-gate") is an interesting look at what happens when the design takes a misstep, and how arrogant Apple (or more accurately Jobs) had become at that period.

_______________

Of course, while all the above was interesting. I wasn't particularly interested in them. I came for something else, I wanted to know how he handled his personal life.

Truth is, to me, he didn't. As with his skills in running the company, he picked a great wife (Laurene Powell).
Excerpt from the book:

"I'm very lucky, because you just don't know what you're getting into when you get married," he said. "You just have an intuitive feeling about things. I couldn't have done better, because not only is Laurene smart and beautiful, she's turned out to be a really good person." ... ... He also reflected on how selfish and demanding he could be. "Laurene had to deal with all that, and also with me being sick," he said. "I know that living with me is not a bowl of cherries."

While tensions with his first daughter Lisa is very much intact, he made good with the rest of his kids. He was especially proud of his (and only) son, Reed. Reading the book you can see it, the pride he felt of his son succeeding in school, helping with Jobs' cancer treatments. The other two younger daughters had their mom for support. Lisa however, was much older, missed much of that boat unfortunately, having to grow up under the early, more violatile Jobs.

By the end though, and nearing his passing, he realized that family was important enough to reconcile with. That was possibly the time where he realized he didn't have time to share his stories with his kids, and commissioned the author to write this book.

Its easy to see I was taken aback, if not outright angered, by the comment back in Part 1 about how this book "was going to let his kids know him better". Over the course of reading this book, I realized he knew he didn't have much time left. Somehow I also felt that maybe he was more comfortable  acknowledging his weaknesses to a stranger than telling it to his kids directly.
Well, something about his ego. That quote, presented in its entirety here, means much more:

"I wanted my kids to know me," he said. "I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did. Also, when I got sick, I realized other people would write about me if I died, and they wouldn't know anything. They'd get it all wrong. So I wanted to make sure someone heard what I had to say."

This book would be special, and the only "Apple" product that Jobs did not actively participate in (during his tenure at Apple of course).

He had never, in two years, asked anything about what I was putting into the book or what conclusions I had drawn. But now he looked at me and said, "I know there will be a lot in your book I won't like." It was more a question than a statement, and when he stared at me for a response, I nodded, smiled, and said I was sure that would be true. "That's good," he said. "Then it won't seem like an in-house book. I won't read it for a while, because I don't want to get mad. Maybe I will read it in a year-if I'm still around." By then, his eyes were closed and his energy gone, so I quietly took my leave.

The last chapter was well... aptly titled: "Legacy". I would read it just for the author's own opinion on Jobs. At the same time, the author fits in some material that wasn't applicable in the other chapters.

There are two things that represented Jobs and why I think he is so successful (edit: success in work). First is his innate ability to focus on whatever he's doing at that current time and (unfortunately sometimes) defocus everything else. Second is his intuition for everything design related, what worked and what didn't. He left much if not all of his legacy to Apple, new campus, new CEO, a booming mobile market. This also meant that he didn't leave much for his kids, which I believe is what this book was meant to do.

At the heart of it all, Jobs was a extremely successful entrepreneur, but he was a crappy relationship handler. He realizes it at the tailgate of his time, and tries his best to redeem himself, repairing burnt bridges in the best way he can.

And hey, everyone could use a little redemption sometimes.