13A- Reading Reflection No.1

What surprised you the most? 

I think what surprised me most about Steve Jobs was his childhood. I never knew he was adopted and I thought it was very cool to hear that his birth mom insisted of him going to college which I found ironic since he dropped out. I also thought his Zen lifestyle and the fact he rarely wore shoes or showered was surprising to here because when I thought of Steve Jobs I envisioned a very put together and professional man. I also thought it was surprising that he experimented with LSD and had a very spiritual outlook on life.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I think what I admired most about Steve Job's is his dedication and passion for creating technology that appeals to the masses of people. He never strayed from his vision of sleek and simple design that catches the eye of people and he was very persistent that everything looked clean and modern. His philosophy for design was created around the saying "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". 

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I least admired about Steve Job's was his temperamental and bratty personality that took over time to time. Many people he worked with witnessed him yelling and screaming that their work was crap even when he didn't even know what they were working on. He was known to cry and throw a fit when things didn't go his way. I also least admired his belief that his vegetarian diet was enough to not wear deodorant. His co-workers could barely stand the smell of him and constantly tried to get him to go home and take a shower.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

This company originally started in Job's family garage with only him and his partner Wozniak. They went through a lot of trouble trying to find the funding to buy all the parts for the assembly of making a computer. One thing Job's was great at was being persistent and convincing to potential investors and sometimes refusing to leave them alone until they agreed. They also had trouble figuring out who would be doing what and his partner had a hard time leaving his other job to invest fully in Apple. Both guys also realized they had to hire someone to teach them how to run a business and how to market their product. They definitely went through plenty of trial and error trying to figure out how their product would work and be designed. Job's also had to get over the idea that he would'n't be fully in charge of the company and that he needed help to make it the success he wanted.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

I noticed many competencies that Job's exhibited including his charismatic nature, dedication, intuition, and that he is extremely creative. He does a great job of representing someone who is in between the art and technology spectrum. He also is very manipulative and knows how to bend a situation in his favor. While in school he was always bored in classes and would pull pranks with his friends. Wozniak and him invented the first digital version of Blue Box and would prank call the Vatican as Henry Kissinger trying to reach the Pope. I think Job's creativity and vision is the reason why he became so successful and his playful banter and pranks were just the beginning of his dynasty which is now known as Apple. 

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I think the most confusing part of the reading was the technology vocab and explanations they talked about when building their first computer. I had to reread some paragraphs to identify the different parts they used and how much each of them cost and what type of elements they were going to have to buy in bulk. I never knew how much programming and coding went into this company and that definitely was the hardest part to understand in the reading.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

1) Did you ever imagine that your first invention would turn into a handheld computer that the majority of the world operates on? I ask this because I know that Job's wanted to make something useful and effective with the masses of people. His intentions weren't to be the most profitable industry or the most popular but to create something simple and sleek that would be useful to a great majority of the population.

2) Are you happy with the way your company is today or would you change it? I asked this because Job's always had a vision and was particular with his product and layout of his company. If he was alive today I wonder if he would agree with the way the company is running and the products that are being sold or if he would have changed the design or system of the new products. 

What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Job's really values a hard worker. He was always making something and thinking about what he could be doing next. I think his emphasis on simplicity helped him live a happier life and I also would love to live by this lifestyle as well. I think his ambition comes from doing something he loves which make working seem a lot less like work. I believe that doing what you love would allow yourself to be an even better worker and I want to love the job I do which he obviously did.