I've just finished reading Mark Kurlansky's book What?, subtitled Are These Really the Twenty Most Important Questions in Human History? It is a short book of questions - literally, for every sentence (bar the last) takes the form of a question.
Kurlansky's aim is to get people to ask more questions, and I fully support his quest. Too few people ask too few questions. If we lived in a world where more questions were asked, perhaps we would not take so many things for granted. Or perhaps we would be driven mad by the lack of answers. In any case, it is only through questions that we can discover: how much we do or do not know, how much we want to know, what we are, who we are, even why we are. It is an essential part of our development - as individuals, as humans - to ask questions. People who don't question are stagnating. A world that is not being questioned is standing still.
So question. Question everything. Question yourself, and others. How? That is up to you...
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Monday, 9 January 2012
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography - Walter Isaacson
I'm very nearly finished reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, and all I can say is that it is simply one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.
His story is a remarkable one - founding Apple, being kicked out, starting another company which is then purchased by Apple thus returning him to the fold, and then overseeing a spectacular reversal of fortunes to transform Apple from nearly bankrupt to holding a cash reserved of $40bn. All while managing to establish Pixar as the best CGI animation film studio in the world.
Job's persistent, unremitting focus on creating great products rather than making money was the complete opposite approach to every other tech company, and this is why Apple has grown so impressively over the past 10-15 years. And yes, it's true that Apple products are expensive - overpriced, even. But they are lovingly-crafted works of art. Every millimetre of every Apple product has been pored over and carefully considered. And it is art that actually has function, which is no mean feat. So yes, the cost to the purchaser is high - but if something has worth, there must be a price to pay.
It's a relatively balanced book, too. Isaacson is not afraid of highlighting Jobs' flaws - he expected the best and refused to accept anything less than perfection, resulting in an abusive management style that burned many people over the years. There's no excuse for this type of behaviour, no matter what results are obtained. But Jobs also got many things right, and it is these things that we should choose to remember. The book certainly does raise the question of how Apple can maintain its success following Jobs' untimely death, but hopefully he has left them with enough of his spirit.
Why is the book so inspiring? What elevates it above being a simply great biography? Because it successfully relays Jobs' message that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right - no matter how much time it takes, or how much extra it costs. If you cut corners - whether it's designing a tablet computer or entering a marriage - it will never be "right". It will always be a failure. And to shift shoddy products onto the world is nothing short of a sin. You are selling yourself, and everyone else, short. Your potential is unfulfilled, and you are wasting everyone's time, including your own.
Now that Steve Jobs is dead, we are the ones who have to keep his dream of perfection alive. So go and do your best.
His story is a remarkable one - founding Apple, being kicked out, starting another company which is then purchased by Apple thus returning him to the fold, and then overseeing a spectacular reversal of fortunes to transform Apple from nearly bankrupt to holding a cash reserved of $40bn. All while managing to establish Pixar as the best CGI animation film studio in the world.
Job's persistent, unremitting focus on creating great products rather than making money was the complete opposite approach to every other tech company, and this is why Apple has grown so impressively over the past 10-15 years. And yes, it's true that Apple products are expensive - overpriced, even. But they are lovingly-crafted works of art. Every millimetre of every Apple product has been pored over and carefully considered. And it is art that actually has function, which is no mean feat. So yes, the cost to the purchaser is high - but if something has worth, there must be a price to pay.
It's a relatively balanced book, too. Isaacson is not afraid of highlighting Jobs' flaws - he expected the best and refused to accept anything less than perfection, resulting in an abusive management style that burned many people over the years. There's no excuse for this type of behaviour, no matter what results are obtained. But Jobs also got many things right, and it is these things that we should choose to remember. The book certainly does raise the question of how Apple can maintain its success following Jobs' untimely death, but hopefully he has left them with enough of his spirit.
Why is the book so inspiring? What elevates it above being a simply great biography? Because it successfully relays Jobs' message that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right - no matter how much time it takes, or how much extra it costs. If you cut corners - whether it's designing a tablet computer or entering a marriage - it will never be "right". It will always be a failure. And to shift shoddy products onto the world is nothing short of a sin. You are selling yourself, and everyone else, short. Your potential is unfulfilled, and you are wasting everyone's time, including your own.
Now that Steve Jobs is dead, we are the ones who have to keep his dream of perfection alive. So go and do your best.
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