Reading Reflection No.3

Autobiography

Book: Steve Jobs

Author: Walter Isaacson

1).

·      The thing that surprised me the most was where the name Apple came from. Although there were various reasons as to why Steve Jobs chose Apple to be the name of his company, the main reason for it is because Apple came before Atari in the phonebook. Atari Corporation is a company that manufactures computers and was the company that Jobs previously worked for before he decided to start his own company. Jobs did this because he did not want people to see his competitor’s name before his company’s name whenever they would search for computer companies in the phonebook.

·      I admire how resilient and determined Steve Jobs was in accomplishing what people thought to be the impossible. He never took no for an answer and had an ability to push people to perform at their best.

·      The thing that I least admired about Jobs was how manipulative, entitled, and short-tempered he was. He had no problem yelling at employees when they did not execute something the way he wanted it to be done or showing his arrogance to others. Although he was very successful and had a great work ethic, I do not necessarily agree with his leadership approach and think that he could have handled situations in a more collective and motivating manner.

·      Steve Jobs faced a lot of moments of failure even from a young age. For instance, he decided to drop out of college after six months of attending the university because he felt it was pointless and not beneficial to him. Once he dropped out, Jobs felt frustrated and lost because he had no money and was not sure what to do with his life to support himself. When he saved up enough money, Jobs decided to travel to India to find enlightenment. Upon his return, Jobs returned to California and convinced Wozniak to start up their own business.

2. Some of his competencies were his ability to have a vision and not lose sight of his goal, his ability to challenge his employees to get the job done, and his willingness to take risks. Jobs was not afraid of failure and learned from his mistakes so he could better improve his products.

3. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was Steve’s decision to go to India to find enlightenment. I did not think a trip would help him figure out what to do with his life but it apparently helped him decide his next approach in creating his own company.

4. Two questions I would ask are: 1. What advice would you give to people who are trying to create the impossible and are facing multiple obstacles from society? 2. Do you agree with how you handled certain situations in the work place or do you think it was necessary to get the job done?

I would ask these questions because I am curious to know his opinion on how to fight adversity and be successful in one’s goals despite what everybody believes you can accomplish. I would also ask my second question because I would want to see if he really believes that his leadership approach was the most ideal way to handle certain situations to inspire and motivate employees.

5. I think Steve Jobs’ opinion on hard work is to work until you have effectively accomplished your goal or do it again until it’s better. I share this opinion to a certain extent because I do believe in trying things again until one improves, but I do not think they have to be overly worked to make something better. Jobs had no problem overworking his employees or yelling at them if they did not do what he asked. I do not think this is the most effective way to inspire and encourage people to accomplish their goals because then they will not feel that they’re capable enough to reach them. It all depends on the individual and how well they work in such an environment.