[rating:2]
(New York: Portfolio, 2008; expanded ed., 2009)
310 pgs
Leander Kahney has written this book on Steve Jobs to try and analyze how he has been able to develop the enormously innovative and successful Apple Computer company. Like many books of this genre, countless numbers of business leaders want to learn from those who have been wildly successful. We seem to never tire of reading about others’ success in the hope that we might pick up some tidbit that could turn our own career and business around. And, like most books of this ilk, there are some things that the successful CEO did that are unique to that individual and would bring calamitous results if copied by a lesser mortal, and then there are business principles that, if followed, can produce similarly positive results.
Some leaders appear to be larger than life. Steve Jobs is one of those people. He was born in San Francisco in 1955 to a pair of unmarried college students and immediately put up for adoption (5). He grew up constantly on the verge of delinquency and dropped out of college after only one semester (5). He went lived with friends, eat free meals at the Hare Krishna temple, and attempted to live on an all-apple diet (6). Such was the making of greatness!
Jobs’ story is now legend. At age 26 he was considered too young to administer his rapidly growing company so he enlisted John Sculley of Pepsico as the CEO. In 1985 Jobs was forced out of his own company and did not return for 11 years (8). Gil Amelio, the last CEO before Jobs returned, saw Apple lose 1.6 billion dollars. He laid off thousands of employees while earning 7 million in salary, had 26 million in stock, was lavishly refurbishing the executive offices, and negotiating a seven million dollar severance package for himself (17). By the time Jobs returned, the company was only six months from bankruptcy.
With the development of such products as the I-pod, I-phone, Apple Stores, I-pads etc., Jobs has turned a moribund company into one of the most dynamic businesses in the world. But how did he do it?
For one, Jobs brought focus to the company. He discontinued many of their product lines and determined to focus on what they could be good at (25, 29). Jobs’ favorite mantra was: “Focus means saying ‘no.’” (38). He also chose not to compete for price with other companies like Dell, but instead branded his computers with a reputation for quality and dependability (31). Jobs also excelled at innovation. However, he believed that innovation does not come from asking people what they want. He notes Henry Ford’s comment that if Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse! (62). Jobs demonstrates a certain patronizing attitude when he notes that people don’t know what they want until he shows it to them (63). Of course this has been the hallmark of many of the greatest businesses: they drove the market rather than being driven by it.
Jobs is also a perfectionist who refuses to settle for less than the best (85). He is a “control freak” who insists that his highest standards are met by his employees. Jobs earned the reputation for being an extremely difficult boss who is subject to angry tantrums and instant firings (105). Many people who work for him live in constant fear of being fired (151). Nevertheless, he has managed to attract highly talented people who are loyal to him and, while many people may worry about being fired; few quit (151).
What Jobs has done well is to instill a sense of mission in his company 146). He has developed a powerful brand, identified in such slogans as, “Think different” (124). Jobs has also maintained a small executive team of only ten people who clearly understand his values and standards and help ensure they permeate the company (165). Jobs also develops numerous prototypes and continually improves a product until he is satisfied it is the best they can make it. Kahney suggests that Jobs’ personality traits, “obsessiveness, narcissism, perfectionism” have been transformed into the hallmarks of his career (11).
The pressing question for Apple, of course, is whether the company can thrive when it no longer has Steve Jobs at the helm. Kahney talks about the “routinization of charisma” made popular by Max Weber (273). This is where the personality traits of the charismatic leader become ingrained into the institution so it continues to uphold the leader’s values long after a new generation of leaders emerges. If a leader is not able to accomplish this, then his or her accomplishments will not survive them. It is extremely doubtful that another Steve Jobs can be hired when the original one retires. It is also unlikely that other CEOs could get away with many of the unusual ways Jobs led his company back to profitability. Shouting at employees, immediately firing people who underperform and the like could get lesser CEOs in hot water from their board. It is therefore difficult to study Jobs to see how other CEOs can model their behavior after him. Unless you have the creative powers of Jobs and the charisma to attract the finest talent on the planet, you must apply his leadership style with caution.
What one can take from Jobs is his passion, his sense of mission to change the world and the determination to do things to the best of his ability. These are qualities that seem to be characteristic of most great leaders.
Jobs has been fighting a well known battle with cancer. In a commencement speech in 2005, Jobs said: “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.” (285).
I found this book interesting. Certainly Jobs is a fascinating character who has accomplished a herculean task. As far as takeaways, I was interested in how Jobs branded his company and product. In so doing, he was able to charge more for his product and to earn a fierce loyalty from his customers. One has to look past some of his personality traits and administrative styles, but the fact is that many companies, including Microsoft, are adjusting their styles to match that of Apple. Clearly Jobs’ leadership is worth studying. Because this is focused on a particular leader, and because there are several characteristics of Jobs’ style that are less than commendable, I only rate this book a 2. However, for Apple lovers as well as those interested in major corporate turnarounds, this book may be of great interest to you.