Reading Reflection

1) I read up on Steve Jobs, and what surprised me was that he was a pretty laid-back guy. I'm not saying his mind wasn't spectacularly innovative, I'm just saying he was a normal dude. Which, I know, sounds weird--of course he's human, what else was he supposed to be? But for some reason I pegged all these tech-gurus to have nothing else in their lives to revolve around except breaking calculators and putting them back together and engineering stuff like that. The way he acts doesn't strike me as a 'billionaire nerd-type' at all. Good for him, breaking stereotypes. I admire his creativity when it comes to his brand and design and just how he operates his company as a unit. You've seen the hardware design--sleek, classy, iconic. He had people working under him who he gave free creative leeway to be open and just create things that didn't seem make-able, and just went for it. The logo, a regular apple, was chosen due to it being a staple household object, which is what he wanted his computers to be as common as. He wanted them to become a necessity, something everyone would need in the home. That takes some degree of vision living in a time that outdated back then. However, the downside I believe would be his poor attitude. Bosses can't be throwing temper tantrums when those working under them are a little slower at crafting perfection--that's why they are employees and not mastermind bosses themselves. He seemed to have a bad attitude with results sometimes. But hey, maybe that's just what the books say. He did face the challenge of a single competitive rival in the industry, Microsoft, which pitted the companies and the entrepreneurs behind them against each other. It's hard when two big powers are fighting for one slot of dominance.

2) Throughout the whole time, he stuck to his original vision for his products and branding. He wanted simple, elegant, and something scarce yet common--a symbol of class. From the consistency of the designing to the basic logo, he kept that through and through.

3) What was confusing to me was these early aspects of his life that kept getting divulged into. I'd understand if it helped explain his source of inspiration or perhaps reveal some motive behind his business decisions later on. But then again I know this is a biography and not everything in a person's life has to be related to just one thing. It wasn't just a chronicle of the company he started.

4) How did he make the connections he made without getting rejected over and over? Meaning, there has to be some kind of charm factor used in climbing up the social ladder and making a big name for yourself, because he did start off small. Once reaching his success, how did he continue to maintain it in a way that kept his company relevant in the market but stayed true to his original vision for it? I know it's hard with people always trying to change up your style and presentation.

5) I don't think he put hard work above staying hopeful and persevering. I read so many quotes from him that dwell around the same topic along the lines of any seemingly ordinary person can get up one day and decide to make enormous progress in the world with the first step being that they believe they can.