What Would Steve Jobs Do? How the Steve Jobs Way Can Inspire Anyone to Think Differently and Win [Hardcover]

Steve Jobs had a significant impact on all of our lives. As is often the case, we will not truly understand the total impact until we gain some historical perspective. But just a surface look at his major accomplishments will let you know he truly was a remarkable visionary. He took two different companies to the top of their field - Apple Computer with the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad and Pixar Studios best known for Toy Story.

While this book is not a biography of Steve Jobs, you cannot begin to understand how he accomplished all he did without knowing and understanding at least a brief history of the man. So the first reason is to gain a better understanding of Steve Jobs and his accomplishments. Peter Sanders, the author, does an excellent job of providing a brief history of Steve Jobs and what he accomplished in his relatively short life.

The main purpose of this book is to try to capture the genius of Steve Jobs in such a way that mere mortals will be able to understand how he did what he did and incorporate some of his genius in their own journey.

In Mr. Sanders view, there are six parts to the Steve Jobs' leadership model. The six parts each represent excellent reasons to read this book. Taken together they form the basis for a unique leadership model.

The first part is Customer. Steve Jobs had an uncanny insight into the customer's wants/needs. He did not focus on incremental improvements. His focus was on what would change the customer's life. There is a great leadership lesson here for anyone in business.

The second part is Vision. He had the vision of what could be and sold the vision first internally and then externally. He let the vision be the driver of decisions. This is extremely vital for anyone running a business. You will only get engaged employees and customers if you have the right vision and get everyone on board.

Culture is the third segment of the Steve Jobs Leadership model. All companies develop a culture, either by plan or by default. If you want to develop a company capable of doing great work, you must take great care to develop a culture that fosters it. Again, some great insights into how culture impacts the results of any company.

Product is the fourth part of the equation. For Apple the product had to be game changing. Instead of following the crowd in simply adding more features onto an existing product, they made the product simple. Cool is the word most often associated with Apple products. Most business people think their product can't be made cool, Jobs showed that almost any product can be cool. If you want game changing products, you must take this approach to your product.

There was probably no one better at delivering a launch message than Steve Jobs. The message is so important but unfortunately one most CEOs delegate to ad agencies or others in the company. Steve was a master at crafting and delivering messages - the fifth segment in the model.

The last segment was brand. When we think of brand, we often think of big name consumer products. But as Mr. Sanders points out, any company or any body has a brand. Most people choose not to consciously manage their brand. Steve Jobs was a master at managing the Apple brand. There are some great lessons for all in brand management here.

This book will give you some great insights into the life of Steve Jobs. He never seemed to focus on money. He did not flaunt his wealth. His focus was on the customer, their wants/needs and how he could change their world. At times he was abrasive but it was generally to protect the brand/product. He would not settle for less than what the company was capable of delivering.

If you love Apple and/or its products, you will gain a lot of insight into what made the company so special in the customer's heart. You will also gain a lot of insight into how you can follow his lead to improve your own company/products.

Excellent book, easy to read and extremely insightful.

The insight presented in this book, is both practical and useful. We know what Steven Jobs did. Look into his practices and vision and apply those strategies to your own business. You will come away with a new appreciation of Steven Jobs and some inspirational lessons for yourself. I was "surprised and delighted" with this book.

Finally, a timely business strategy book that is a fast, easy, fun, and valuable read. While Sander provides a very good short history of Jobs and Apple, this book is not just another biography.

There are/were very few people in the world that have the attributes of Steve Jobs and fewer still that are in positions and who have the power to exploit them. Most of us will agree that multiple leadership styles can be very effective, but every once in awhile a leader (business, political, religious, etc.) comes along that simply dwarfs the rest of us. Steve was one of those rare leaders.

I lived and worked in Silicon Valley in the early 80's, played games on an Apple II, and knew people working at Apple and some who left because of Jobs. His mix of passion, skills, shortcomings, and complexity will prevent any of us from successfully copying his leadership persona (or any other giant for that matter).

What I like about this book is that it simplifies the mystique behind Apple and Jobs into 6 basic principles that we might consider in our own endeavors. Many of these principles relate to traditional business strategies, but Sander shows how Jobs' unique focus can yield vastly better results. Best of all, the principles he has identified can be implemented unaccompanied by an outsized personality. There are a number of small business `gems' sprinkled throughout the book as well. Virtually any book about Steve Jobs will be very entertaining and this one is no exception. Beyond that, though, this is one of the very few business books I am recommending to my business colleagues.

Russ Buschert