The Steve Jobs Way

iLeadership for a New Generation

By: Jay Elliot, William L. Simon

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In iLeadership, Jay Elliot gives the listener the opportunity of seeing Steve Jobs as only his closest associates have ever seen him, and to learn what has made him - and the mystique of his management style - capable of creating tools so extraordinary that they have remade three industries and have transformed the way we create, consume, and communicate with each other.

Jay Elliot worked side by side with Steve as Senior Vice President of Apple and brings us his deep insider perspective of Steve's singular iLeadership style - which encompasses four major principles: product, talent, organization, and marketing.

Jay shares the lessons that come out of Steve's intuitive approach to show how the creative and technological brilliance of iLeadership can be utilized to drive breakthroughs in any organization, irrespective of size.

©2011 Jay Elliot and William L. Simon (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“There have been so many books about Steve Jobs but none that have the vantage point of an insider like this one. The narrative is very engaging and I could not stop reading.... Jay has done a fantastic job to provide insights that we all can use from the man who has inspired two generations of entrepreneurs.” (Naeem Zafar, Lecturer, Entrepreneurship, University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business)

"Steve Jobs is a revolutionary leader and thinker who has been written about by many people. But for the first time, in The Steve Jobs Way, Jay Elliot brings a deep, insider perspective of Steve Jobs' unique leadership style, which has forever changed our everyday lives and the world around us.” (Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks Coffee International and author of It's Not About the Coffee)

“Christopher Hurt gives an outstanding narration of this insider’s analysis of Steve Jobs’s one-of-a-kind leadership at Apple. Hurt’s casual gravitas is perfect for an analytic business biography; he’s superb at using his vocal tone and phrasing to emphasize crucial points.” ( AudioFile)

More of an Autobiography

I really enjoyed this book, but I kinda felt mislead. I thought that this was going to be more of a leadership book, but it turned out it was more biographical about the Steve Jobs at Apple. It was good, but not what I was expecting.

Good Inspiring book

Would you listen to The Steve Jobs Way again? Why?

No. I rarely listen to the same thing twice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author who played himself. He was Steve's righ hand man for several years and he gave good insite into how Steve Job's ran things and what he expected out of people.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Hurt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. He was good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. It was expected.

Great insight and observations

This will help you break out of your box and make you never want for a comfort zone again.

Learn from the best

Get inside Steve Jobs head and you will see how his thought process differed from the norm. Very insightful and compelling food-for-thought.

Excellent book about an icon

This is an excellent book about an icon in the technology and consumer products world. I have watched Apple and Steve Jobs since I bought my first Apple product in the 80's (Apple IIC & Macintosh). A few of the items discussed in the book clarified misconceptions and questions not only about Steve Jobs but about Apple and its products and services. Overall, not only was it enjoyable but it was enlightening. In addition, I learned different key points about entrepreneurship and leadership.

It is written from the perspective of a friend, employee, and co-worker. Much different than other books and articles that were written from a media perspective only.

The book held my interest to the end and I highly recommend it!

A Great Audiobook on Leadership

This is my favorite audiobook so far as it brings us up close and personal on how Apple runs its business and particularly how Steve Jobs waves his baton as the ultimate conductor of Apple.

The details & lessons one can pick up from The Steve Jobs Way is helpful to aspiring entrepreneurs of all races and ages.

The Steve Jobs Way has great insights on leadership, the value of the customer, human relations and the importance of a business vision to name a few and is definitely a must listen and a must read.

Most of us aspire to have an organization of Apple's caliber and quality and this is the measuring stick we should level up to.

I will definitely be listening to this over and over again as a reference.

Great job Jay Eliot!

An inspiring man. An uninspired book.

I was intrigued by this title because of the author's early connection with Jobs at Apple. I hoped for some new and seldom-before-heard information. There is some of that here, but hardly what one would wish for and often frustratingly short of details. The book seems dashed off with little to no editorial oversight and is consequently rife with errors that even the most cursory fact-checking would have brought to light. Steve Jobs gave the Commencement Address at Stanford University in 2005, yet the author repeatedly refers to this event as having taken place in 2009. Video of that address was uploaded to YouTube by the 'StanfordUniversity' account on March 7, 2008, so draw your own conclusions. Just one example, but it seriously undermines the author's credibility. If he can't get this right, what else is just plain wrong? I had to keep fighting off the feeling that this was just an opportunistic exercise intended to cash-in on the well-deserved fame of Mr. Jobs by way of a long-ago association. Had it been released subsequent to his death, my distaste at this would have kept me away. As it was, it nagged at me throughout. Also, worth noting that the book is fawning toward Mr. Jobs in the extreme. It borders on the saccharine throughout.

Finally, worth noting that the narration is only adequate. Sometimes I felt the reader's intonation or cadence was jarringly different than what I perceived the writer's tone to be.

All-in-all, a mediocre affair and a slight disappointment.

Jay Elliot lets us know he is really important

It seems the main point of the book is to let the reader know that Jay Elliot is very important. After you are able to get past the constant name dropping you will find a nice collection of stories written by a person that worked closely with Jobs.

I would not recommend this book to someone looking for leadership skills. But if you are wanting a concise history of Apple and some insight into Steve Jobs you could do worse.

Very inspiring read and listen at the same time.

I got the essence and the feeling of the author of his real experiences working with Steve Jobs. The stories and examples are so touching and inspiring. I am grateful for this incredible Audio Book and the hard copy.

Well worth the read/listen

Would you recommend The Steve Jobs Way to your friends? Why or why not?

Great book and nicely performed. It gives great insight into the Steve Jobs the author knew. My only negative comments are related to the author's presumption as to why/how/etc. Steve did what he did. Suffice is to say that Steve would have been the only one to shed light on many of the amazing things he did.