Inside Apple

How America's Most Admired - and Secretive - Company Really Works

By: Adam Lashinsky

Narrated by: Adam Lashinsky

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Business and Educational, 2013

Inside Apple reveals the secret systems, tactics, and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to churn out hit after hit and inspire a cult-like following for Apple products.

If Apple is Silicon Valley's answer to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides listeners with a golden ticket to step inside. In this primer on leadership and innovation, the author introduces concepts like the "DRI" (Apple's practice of assigning a Directly Responsible Individual to every task) and the Top 100 (an annual ritual in which 100 up-and-coming executives were tapped, à la Skull Bones, for a secret retreat with company founder Steve Jobs).

Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers, and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era. Lashinsky, a senior editor-at-large for Fortune, knows the subject cold: In a 2008 cover story for the magazine, entitled "The Genius Behind Steve: Could Operations Whiz Tim Cook Run The Company Someday?" he predicted that Tim Cook, then an unknown, would eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO.

While Inside Apple is ostensibly a deep dive into one, unique company (and its ecosystem of suppliers, investors, employees and competitors), the lessons about Jobs, leadership, product design and marketing are universal. They should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.

©2012 Adam Lashinsky (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Worthwhile glimpse into an iconic global company.

This book provides an interesting peak behind the current of Apple. I enjoyed the book and efforts the author made to help illustrate the magic of Apple, Inc.

Great tidbits about the maker of all iThings.

What did you love best about Inside Apple?

I enjoyed it more knowing the author was reading it. The book has lots of little nuggets - not the least of which is the author repeatedly reminding us that he is not an

What did you like best about this story?

It offered more of a business management vantage of Apple - rather than the storybook or biography format of other books. That's not to say it was boring. I burned through the entire book very quickly.

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

I haven't listened to anything else from Mr. Lashinsky.

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

I was on the treadmill at the time - so maybe a bit lightheaded - but I do recall some

Any additional comments?

There are a ton of Apple/Steve Jobs books out there. This one helps business-people to learn the good - and the bad - of how Apple functions. It also has insight into how well Apple will cope with the loss of Jobs.

Great follow up to Steve's biography

Inside Apple shows the other side of Steve's story and it's an excellent companion to that book. It deeply describes how the company works, what drives its employees and what makes Apple the company with the best products in the market.

An interesting analysis of Apple

This was a really excellent follow up to Job's biography. Proposes answers to questions such as:

What is it like to work at Apple?
What specifically makes Apple different from its competitors?
How will Apple fair after Job's departure?
What is it like to work with Apple as another company (supplier, reseller, partner)?

The answers to these questions weren't quite what I was expecting and degree to which Apple truly does march to its own beat was what really kept me hooked.

Definitely recommend.

not alot of news

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

after ready steve jobs biography, this book does not add much.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

almost none

Do you think Inside Apple needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no, does not new anything.

Nothing new. Written like a BS'd college essay.

What would have made Inside Apple better?

More information that's actually new, rather than repeating oft-stated Apple lore.

Would you ever listen to anything by Adam Lashinsky again?

Probably not.

Which character – as performed by Adam Lashinsky – was your favorite?

NA

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Good narration.

Any additional comments?

Rather than conducting interviews, collecting common knowledge about a topic, and seeing what you get, please write books with a purpose.