Now I'm a bit more than halfway through what is clearly the best I've ever read. And it's not an advice book per se. It's a biography. But it is loaded with advice. It's the best-selling biography of Steve Jobs by Isaacson.
If a young person was to ask me for a reference book on how to manage a company in a major industry, I would give him or her this book with the advice to study it. Jobs clearly had character flaws. He clearly made mistakes - which he readily admitted. But, on the bottom line, his understanding of how to bridge technology and creativity, how to build and manage a team of some of the brightest and most creative people in the world, and how to harness passion for products was unsurpassed.
What really intrigues me about this book is Isaacson's capturing of Job's passion for Apple and the products it produced. The attention to detail, the ongoing brutal task of building an "A" team, and the dealing with clueless board members are fascinating to anyone who has been part of this type of environment.
There is a lot to be learned in this book by anyone in the business world or anyone thinking about entering the business world. The book isn't, for sure, going to make someone into a Steve Jobs - after all his was a very rare, charismatic personality combined with a particular genius ability to present a vision of which he could convince people to do what they felt was impossible. But this book can teach the value of passion, team building, and understanding the importance of seeing products from the customer's point of view.
Here are a few YouTubes worth watching if you enjoy the book:
And ...if you have tissue nearby:
