Brain Rules (John Medina, 2008) 8.0/10
How We Decide (Jonah Lehrer, 2009) 8.2/10
How The Mighty Fall (Jim Collins, 2009) 6.7/10
World Wide Rave (David Meerman Scott, 2009) 7.2/10
The Element (Sir Ken Robinson, 2009) 8.2/10
Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way (David Magee, 2009) 5.0/10
The Talent Code (Daniel Coyle, 2009) 6.5/10
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert B. Cialdini, 2007) 7.0/10
The Ten Commandments for Business Failure (Donald R. Keough, 2008) 7.3/10
The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets (Peter D. Schiff, 2008) 5.2/10
The Brand Bubble (John Gerzema and Ed Lebar, 2008) 6.0/10
A Sense Of Urgency (John P. Kotter, 2008) 6.5/10
Who (Geoff Smart and Randy Street, 2008) 6.8/10
Reality Check (Guy Kawasaki, 2008) 7.2/10
Tribes (Seth Godin, 2008) 4.7/10
Talent (Edward E. Lawler III, 2008) 5.8/10
Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson, 2008) 7.8/10
Call Me Ted (Ted Turner with Bill Burke, 2008)
Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell, 2008) 6.0/10
Winning (Jack Welch with Suzy Welch, 2005) 8.0/10
Tuned In (Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott, 2008) 7.2/10
Yes! (Robert Cialdini, et al, 2008) 6.7/10
The Answer (John Assaraf & Murray Smith, 2008) 7.2/10
Six Disciplines Execution Revolution (Gary Harpst, 2008) 4.0/10
The Future of Management (Gary Hamel and Bill Breen, 2008) 7.3/10
Meatball Sundae (Seth Godin, 2007) 7.0/10
“I want to put a ding in the universe.”
“Inside Steve’s Brain” by Leander Kahney is one of a very few books on Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. The author wrote about the life of Steve Jobs and his role in Apple and how he started a company, got boot out of the company, got in again, and changed the world’s lifestyle.
Content
1. Focus: How Saying “No” Saved Apple
2. Despotism: Apple’s One-Man Focus Group
3. Perfectionism: Product Design and the Pursuit of Excellence
4. Elitism: Hire Only A Players, Fire the Bozos
5. Passion: Putting a Ding in the Universe
6. Inventive Spirit: Where Does the Innovation Come From?
7. Case Study: How It All Came Together with the iPod
8. Total Control: The Whole Widget
This book is apparently not the typical business book but let’s compare it with the ideal business book; a book that is “easy to understand, distinct, practical, credible, insightful, and provides great reading experience.”
Ease of Understanding: 7/10: Being a news editor for WIRED, Leander Kahney made it very easy to understand the life of Steve Jobs and Apple. However, the bad point of this book is that stories are repetitive. The story of “Apple II” is in most chapters as well as stories of iMac, iPod, etc. By trying to tie those stories with characteristics of Steve Jobs (as in the title of each chapter), stories of different products and people are scattered all over the book.
Distinction: 5/10: The business biography of successful businessmen is anything but new. However, there are very few options of the stories of Steve Jobs.
Practicality: 4/10: This book is not practical in a sense that not everyone can be Steve Jobs. The author also did not give us ideas that readers could apply to our lives. The “Lessons from Steve” at the end of each chapter are just what Steve Jobs did and succeed; they are not what you can and should do.
Credibility: 6/10: The title of the book “Inside Steve’s Brain” is misleading. The book is obviously not written by Steve Jobs himself. Analyses, interpretations, thoughts, and assumptions by the author are sound but they are still unconvincing. It is doubtedful and inevident that how accurate they actually resonate Steve’s thoughts.
Insightful: 8/10: This is the best aspect of this book; the author had a long list of researches, interviews, findings on Steve Jobs and Apple. It might be an overstatement but you can find interesting facts or interviews in almost every page of the book. That is truly remarkable and Steve Jobs himself might not be able to put together these pieces of information like Leander Kahney.
Reading Experience: 6/10: Well, this book is not like listening to Steve Jobs in Macworld. It was more like having a conversation with a vivid and passionate Steve Jobs and Apple fan who kept saying “Apple is a magic, the rest are rubbish.”
Overall: 6/10: If you want to know more about Steve Jobs or you love your Apple products; buy “Inside Steve’s Brain”. There is no other recent option.
