Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

These are my notes from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Each one contains a core idea from the book that stood out. The goal of writing my notes this way is that each could be it's own independent idea with the need for the specific context within the book.

Top of Mind Timing

Steve Jobs would often bet the company on big moments. When Pixar was working on their breakthrough film Toy Story, Jobs prepared to roll the dice. He was gambling on Toy Story being successful. Pixar was going to go public a week after the release. It was going to take advantage of the momentum it gained from being on the top of everyone's minds. The IPO was the biggest of the year with the top of mind timing. Trading was delayed because there were too many buy orders, their stock maxed out at $49. Closing at $39 that day, which was up from their original $22 a share. The successful IPO made Pixar no longer dependent on Disney to finance their movies.

Inventors Are a Strange Combination

Steve Jobs was a poet and he was cold. He played guitar and was rude. He was enlightened but cruel. Parts of his personality make for a strange combination. A vegetarian and Zen Buddhist bought into the enlightenment-seeking culture of 1972. Yet Steve Jobs had a part of his soul that was an edginess, even if he didn’t express it during his time at Reed. Jobs found solace. Equally as much he found the peaceful, unavoidably subtle things science couldn't capture. Both were fascinating. His curiosities positioned himself at the intersection of the arts and technology. They combined in a strange way marrying great design, human touch, romance, and cutting-edge technology.

The Reality Distortion Field

The original Macintosh team formed reality to its will around Steve Jobs. He believed he could impart his feeling to others and push them to do things they hadn't thought possible. Robert Friedland, one of the few people that mesmerized Jobs, taught him how to turn charm into a force and distort reality with his personality. Bud Tribble compared it to the aliens in Star Trek that create their own world through sheer mental force. Tribble said it was dangerous to get caught in Steve's distortion field, but it was what led him to actually be able to change reality. The reality distortion field was built out of charismatic rhetoric – an unmovable will – and bending facts to fit the purpose. Jobs was so effective at using it because he didn't believe the rules applied to him. When he decided something should happen he made it happen.

Motivate With the Bigger Picture

One day Steve Jobs began complaining that the Macintosh took 10 seconds too long to boot up. Larry Kenyon began to explain why, but Jobs cut him off. He asked if he could do it if someone’s life was at stake. Giving over to the whiteboard he started writing 5 million down. If there were 5 million people using the Mac, and everyday it lost them 10 extra seconds, that collectively added up to 300 million hours per year. All the time would be wasted. Jobs continued on explaining 300 million hours would save at least 100 lifetimes per year. A few weeks later Kenyon came back and it booted up 28 seconds faster. Sometimes individual contributors lose sight of the bigger picture and it can be used to reignite motivation in them when to push what they thought was possible.

Great Artists Steal

The biggest heist in the history of the computer industry came from Xerox PARC. The Xerox executives failed to see what their scientists created. They didn't execute on it. They created the modern graphical interface. It would have let them own the whole computer industry had they capitalized correctly. Steve Jobs twisted about this moment was pride. He would quote Picasso saying "good artists copy, great artists steal." After seeing the interface he knew Xerox didn't do it right. It was still clunky. The mouse control and windows could not be easily moved around. Apple could do it better. Jobs and his engineers did do it better. It's what made the Macintosh such a hit. Good execution isn’t just as important as a good idea. Xerox launched the first one and Apple stole the credit.

Caring About Craftsmanship

True craftsmanship is a drive for perfection. When you care about your craftsmanship even the unseen parts matter. Steve Jobs father taught him that craftsmanship matters above all else, when they were building cabinets even the parts that faced the wall needed to be beautiful. Not because people would see it, but because you will know it’s a work of art. Jobs applied this lesson to everything. The initial designs for the Apple II circuit board were rejected. The lines were not straight enough. They didn’t just learn craftsmanship in art school. The level of attention makes it already seem magical to them. Craftsmanship is about satisfying the standards you have for yourself.

Modeled By Metaphors

Simple design is not enough to assume ease of use from a simple design may not always be intuitively obvious to the people that use it. Simple can still be intimidating. When Steve Jobs was building the Macintosh he used a desktop metaphor (which wasn't a computer at the time). He said people knew how to deal with a desktop intuitively. If you walk into an office there are papers on the desk. The one on the top is the most important. People know how to switch priorities. Part of the reason we model our computers on metaphors like a desktop is that we can leverage this experience people already have. Paying attention to behaviors is important to designing intuitive and useful products. Metaphors provide great models for designing the experience someone should have based on what experiences they already have.

Be Well-Positioned to Provide

The biggest debate in tech during the 1980s was open versus closed systems. There was a unanimous agreement. Open systems were better and if you needed proof of that look at how Microsoft business was doing. Microsoft was dominating. Steve Jobs only believed in tightly integrated systems. "I became even more of a believer in providing end-to-end solutions," he said. Once consumers started using mass devices there was only one company uniquely positioned to take advantage of this. Dell and HP made hardware. Sony produced devices. Adobe and Microsoft developed software. Apple did all of the above (and better). They had full control of the user experience. "We can do things the other guys can't do" Jobs proclaimed. Finding a strong position you can uniquely provide from takes time to develop. It requires long-term thinking most don't have.

Dynamics of A-Players at Work

The difference between average and best performers is modest in most places. In the service industry it's maybe a 30% increase. In goods it might be something like 20%. However, in creative places good and great have a wide range. Steve Jobs built teams of "A players," the people whose performance exceeded 50:1. Jobs attributed much of his success to finding these exceptional individuals. "By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things." That's how the original Mac team was A players and the environment became self-sustaining. This is how the original Mac team works. An environment with high pressure without a player would put a player members considered to be some of the most fulfilling times were in their careers. A leader's job in a team of A players is balancing high performance and burn out among their members.

Reinvent to Endure

In his return to Apple, Steve Jobs focused on creating a resilient company that was capable of enduring challenges. The formula to build a company that lasts was to reinvent yourself. Mike Markkula told Jobs Hewlett-Packard repeatedly did this. That's why it was still around. HP started as an instruments company, it evolved into a calculator company and finally a computer company. Markkula pointed out "Apple has been stalked by Microsoft in the PC business. You've got to reinvent the company to do some other thing, like other consumer products or devices. You've got to be just as revolutionary and have a metamorphosis." This would echo in Jobs's mind for more than 4 years, until the iPod was released.

Teams Need an Identity

A team must be inspired by their leader to struggle for a common cause. The spirit of a team, it’s adherence to struggle, to depend on the identity they have as a collective. One of Steve Jobs maxims was it's better to be a pirate than join the navy: "A pirate being a rebel. Pirates take pride in being outlaws deemed of rules, unwilling to fall without a fight for their vessel.” Jobs instilled this identity in his team. It became a part of their culture. On its 28th birthday the team bought a billboard that said 'Happy 28th Steve. The journey is the reward. The Pirates.' They even went as far as climbing on the roof of the Apple building to hoist a flag they had painted up. Their identity, and team spirit, waved high for everyone to see.

Craftsmanship Comes From Hidden Beauty

Deep inside the Macintosh the painted circuit board held chips and other components. "That part's really pretty, but look at the memory chips. That's ugly. The lines are too close together" Steve Jobs critiqued. One of the engineers on the team interpreted by saying the only thing that's important is how well it works. No body is going to see the PC board. For the Macintosh to be the work of a craftsman the hidden parts had to be beautiful too. A guiding principle Jobs picked up from his father, who believed craftsmanship was about maintaining quality and aesthetics if the underlying structure. A cabinet is to be beautiful, the space cannot be plywood. You know it's there. You know it's not the work of a craftsman. Your level of craftsmanship is set by this standard.

Focus Comes From What You Don't Do

Steve Jobs would say "deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. That's true for companies and it's true for products, & it's true for people." That's true. For companies add it's true for products, & it's true for people. That's true. For companies and it's true for products, & it's true for people. That's why you have to say no to the 80% of things you could do so that the small 20% you can do exceptionally well. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple he slashed 70% of their products. He drew a four-squared chart & one of their product strategy sessions. The columns were “Consumer" and “Pro". The rows were “Desktop” and “Portable”. They would only make 4 products (one for each). Everything else was a no. This created new opportunities and forced them to excel at a few things.

What Makes a Great Brand Name?

When Jobs and Wozniak started their business they needed a name. At first they tried typical tech words and straightforward boring names. Finally they landed on Apple Computers. It sounded fun had spirit and made computers less intimidating. Plus it put them ahead of tech companies in the phone book. A great brand name is simple and friendly. It’s slightly off-beat but normal. It creates an amazing disjunction that doesn’t quite make sense so you have to dwell on it. The words make sense but not together. It makes the brand sticky. Awareness grows because of it.

Stick to the Brand Voice

Different and new isn't always the best option. You never want to stray too far from what you consider your brand voice to be. A brand voice has distinctive qualities. Some brand voices are simple, declarative, or else. Different styles may grow on you but if you lose your brand voice everything else is lost with it. Deviate too fast and the quality of your brand will waver. People want consistency above all else. Your voice is used to set that tone.

Create Compounding Culture

Ideas and culture compound when you create the culture your business compounds with it. When Toy Story was released it was a hit. The movie led to sequels. It was spun off into a Disney on Ice show, a Toy Story musical, a new Buzz Lightyear film, two video games, a computer storyboard, toys selling 25 million units, a clothing line, and 9 different rides. One idea expanded into millions of additional dollars all because the intellectual property became a cultural icon. Creating culture ripples down to every part of your business.

What Makes a Pioneer?

A profession itself does not make someone a pioneer. It’s a spirit people have. Pioneers tend to be creative people, but they aren’t always. At their core pioneers are people that take risks, defy failure, and bet their careers on doing things in a different way. Pioneers are people who think different and shape the world in the process.

Develop New Concepts, Develop a Vision

Entrepreneurs are made successful by one thing: their vision. A vision is not something someone else can grant to you. Vision only comes from developing new concepts for how things work. Steve Jobs began developing a new concept for the personal computer around the turn of the century. The computer would be a hub for all your digital activity. A place to play your videos or store your photos, read your books and magazines, listen to your music. The computer, rather than being on the sidelines, would coordinate all your devices. Linked and synced to this new digital hub. Jobs disrupted the concept of a digital lifestyle where a computer managed all aspects of it. This vision led him to develop the iPad, iPhone, iPad, and iCloud. Bringing the concept to life. This concept took Apple from being a high-end niche computer company to the most valuable consumer tech company in the world.

A Crutch for Shallow Thinking

Steve Jobs had a deep-seated aversion to PowerPoint presentations. He believed they substituted for genuine engagement and critical thinking. "People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint," Jobs said. Instead of relying on slides, he encouraged his team to hash out problems through direct discussion and debate. Jobs saw presentations as a crutch that allowed people to avoid confronting issues head-on. His philosophy? True problem-solving and innovation happen when minds clash at the table, not when eyes glaze over at the screen.

Reading Suggestions

These books were mentioned in Steve Jobs:

1. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
2. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
3. Be Here Now by Ram Dass
4. Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé
5. The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
6. King Lear by William Shakespeare‍
7. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville