Reading Reflection No. 1

Week 7 Reading Reflection
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

1.     What surprised you the most?

Something that definitely surprised me was learning that Steve Jobs was adopted. It’s hard to imagine the world today without iPhones or any of the other Apple products that are now a major part of our day to day lives, and had Steve Jobs not been adopted Apple may not have ever even existed.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admired Steve Jobs’ ingenuity and vision for the company. He was an extremely determined individual and that drive led him to create new products and sell them to a market that barely even existed at the time. He perfected the art of pitching ideas and new products to investors and consumers, and in the process set the standard for many pieces of technology.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I least admired his personality and the way that he treated his employees. He was very manipulative and cruel to a lot of the people around him.

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

When Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in 1985, he went on to create the company NeXT, but it ultimately failed because it was considered too costly. It was eventually turned into a software company and was bought out by the now struggling Apple in 1997, which brought Steve Jobs back on as an advisor and eventually saved the struggling company.

2.     What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Steve jobs was a very futuristic person. He could clearly envision his next big idea in his head long before they became reality.

3.     Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
There wasn’t really a particular part of the book that I found confusing, however I found some Steve Jobs’ actions, such as him choosing not to furnish his house beyond the bare essentials, confusing because I could relate to doing them.

4.     If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything, and if so what?
I’d be interested to see if he would change the way he acted towards people and the way he treated the people around him.
In one sentence, what you say is the ultimate purpose of life?
I’m honestly just curious about this one. Would he say money? Success? Happiness? Family? Everybody views the world and life differently, and I’d love to hear what he’d say to this one.

5.     For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I think Steve Jobs viewed hard work to be the constant pursuit of perfection. The point of this being that nothing will ever be absolutely 100% perfect, but to make that your goal means to continually look for improvements not only in your own work but in the world around you. I definitely do agree with this opinion. There is always room for improvement, whether that be in work, in already existing products, or improvements on things we don’t even realize are a problem yet. Having this kind of mindset can open your eyes to so many different possibilities and opportunities in the world.