Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography (2011) by Walter Isaacson – A

Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography (2011) by Walter Isaacson – A leadership review by Tavalea Feagaiga October 5th 2011 was the first time I heard the name Steve Jobs, the CEO and co-founder of Apple. It was the day of his death. I was so intrigued by this character as for days news reports were dominated by his passing, and his life. News reports constantly referred to him as one of the most visionary leader of his generation. My quest to find out more about Steve led me to read his biography by Walter Isaacson. What most intrigued me was the great contradictions that this leader faced within him – living and practicing the Zen lifestyle he was accustomed to growing up as a teenager whilst being ruthless and volatile in his approach to dealing with people who worked for him. He was a man who pined for greatness and perfection, and stopped at nothing to ensure that everything he touched was created with pure simplicity and utter perfection. Jobs’ ideal of perfection was difficult for some who worked for him to live up to and he was commonly thought of as unrealistic in his expectations. As a leadership style this is interesting, as on the one hand it could be argued that he didn’t allow people to show or reach their true potential but on the other he pushed people to brilliance, and the evidence of this is in the success and growth of the company and the phenomenal impact Apple has had on the industry. It could also be argued that Steve Jobs path to this this was immoral and brutal, but it made him a very powerful leader who created a very powerful corporation. The biography takes you through an emotional roller coaster of the actions of this powerful man. You live through his vision, you grow to hate him but fall in love with him and his ideologies at the same time. It shows his great strength as an inspirational leader and man that one can easily relate to but at the same time couldn’t possibly feel more far removed from.