The Steve Jobs Way

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)

a man who actually worked with Jobs

Unlike most other books about Steve Jobs (I have read or listened to most of them), this one is written by someone who has actually worked with him. Bringing out a more human side of Jobs. Prior to this book, from movies like Pirates of Silicon Valley and other biographies (like iCon and the 2nd coming of SJ), I've always thought of Jobs as an egotistic monster in the early days of Apple, this book painted a different kind of young Jobs, filled with good intentions and high minded ideas, and states that it was actually Jobs himself who decided to leave Apple instead of being fired by the Apple board. I find Mr. Elliot's approach of tying Steve's action with his iLeadership best practices points slightly distracting. Still overall, I highly enjoyed this book, and recommend it to all who is really fascinated about Steve Job.

28 of 28 people found this review helpful

In the presence of greatness

There is no substitute for working with a genius on a daily basis. Everything I have read about Steve Jobs is from the outside - from somebody who has done interviews and research. This book is from a man who observed the daily working habits and decision making process of one of the most creative and brilliant men of our generation. Until the authorized biography of Jobs is released in 2012 - this is the best book about the man himself.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

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!

29 of 30 people found this review helpful

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!

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

ILeadership will help your leadership

This was my first audio book in years, I started a 45 minute commute to work and needed something other then endless drone of the radio. I picked this book because of the reviews and because I wanted to learn something of Jobs and Apple. What I gained was an insight into the way Jobs thinks and his leadership style, his attention to detail and his unique understanding of the customer. I am self employed and have been the opposite of a detailed person for most of my business life, but after listening to this book I realize
that I need to get more detailed, for the details are what make a product good or just mediocre.
Hurt was a good narrator, I enjoyed his style but the book seemed to jump around sometimes, wondering off if different directions but I was sorry to come to the end of it, as I am with any good book and I will listen to it again.
I would recommend this to anyone who is in business, or just has an interest
in Apple. In fact, I am typing this on an iPad that I just got after listening to the book. I had wanted the iPad since it first came out but after listening to this book I wanted to visit the Apple store and see how they did things, how they
merchandise the store and how the whole thing integrated with the customer. I felt I could learn from what they did.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A must for entrepenuers

This a very well written book, and awesomely read by Mr. Hurt. Every chapter is a learning experience for your business. I've been entertained by anecdotes and been applying them for my business every day.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

This is an Excellent Book!

I felt that this was a very good depiction of Steve Jobs and on how his way of thinking! I felt like I got a inside look of the Man behind Apple!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Very inspiriting and informative

you really get a sense of who Steve Jobs is and how much details he puts into his products. Made me want to purchase an Apple product!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Worth Hearing It

Being a novice enterprenuer, I have listened to every bit of this audio book. It has changed my present attitude towards approaching a task. Steve's comments like "pirates not navy" have really thrilled me. His detail-oriented style has resulted in fantasitc 'i' products . His "Blue Fish" dinner with Sony chief was exciting!. Current management style needs a re-vist by following Stevian approach. Thanks to Jay Elliot such a marvelous book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good read, nothing new, somewhat inaccurate

What did you like best about The Steve Jobs Way? What did you like least?

The best part was the new facts that haven't been revealed before, which (in the era after the official biography) are few and far between. The worst part was that there's a lot of factual statements in this book that is contradicted by either Steve Jobs himself, other authors or witnesses which brings into question the earlier novel facts. All in all, it's a decent introduction but pales in comparison to it's more recent competition.

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

I would recommend it to everyone interested in Steve Jobs or Apple, and perhaps even "The Steve Jobs Way", but *not* to anyone looking for "lessons" about this way, because there's very little insight or analysis. That part of the books name seems to have been tacked on after it was written.

Do you think The Steve Jobs Way needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think there's ample way to both update this book to bring it up to par with it's own name (there's not many leadership lessons to be learned here) but first and foremost, Apple is now in the post-Jobs era, and the company he co-founded are entering it's most interesting period ever. Now is the time to write a book about life after Jobs.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Unique and inspiring leader of our generation

Steve leads his industry with creativity, energy and courage. He keeps creating new products and generating new ideas, eventhough he is already very wealthy and probably doesn't need the additional income. Computing and telecommunication is so much more fun with his company Apple intensifying competition with new products such as i-tune, touch phone and tablets.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book which gives a good insight about the roller coaster career of Steve Jobs.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Inspirational

Being an Apple product user as well as being aware of Jobs' status as an inspirational leader, I thought I would use one of my Audible credits on this and was not disappointed. New to management and leadership, I found the insights into Jobs from someone who knew him well and worked with him closely fascinating. Despite not being in a product-producing company (I work in Education), I was made to re-evaluate my approach to my role, its significance and my attitude towards it. The performance of the book was excellent too, making it a great purchase.

Worth a read for brand managers/ entrepreneurs

The title obviously suggest that there will be "Steve worshipping" (so not for those allergic to Steve) but there are some valuable lessons to be learnt here, which I think can benefit everyone who manages a brand/ product, even if it is open source..
I disagree with author's minor android and windows bashing though.

Inspirational Man

Any additional comments?

I only knew the headlines about Steve Jobs - but wanted to know more about how he came to be so successful - one of the best non-fiction audiobooks I have listened to.
thoroughly recommended !!

Good and Inspring book

This book has very good content. It gives you good overview how Steve Jobs build Apple and become a market leader. Ups and down of Apple….I really enjoy listening this audio.

Good content but a little sickening

This book has great content. It is very interesting to see the intensity and attention to details that Jobs put into his work and how that affected the outcome of his product. His unrelenting drive to deliver a product that he himself and his customers would love is what has made Apple the success it is.

The downside of this book is that it is a worship book about Steve Jobs. Several times while listening I almost gave up and stopped listening because it made me sick to keep hearing this man praised over and over. He does deserve a lot of credit for persevering but to go on and on over how wonderful he is was way over the top. Have a listen to this book but be sure to keep a bucket nearby!

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

A history to learn from

Because this book is an overview of how Steve Jobs build Apple to be one of the largest companies in the world it is interesting for the entire book. I find books about leadership principles can get very repetitive very quickly.

Jay Elliot, a former Apple executive, takes us along on the intriguing journey of Apple's growth. We learn from observing Steve Jobs' charismatic leadership style, his successes and his failures along the way. Definitely worth a read/listen for some inspiration on how you will "make a dent in the universe" (as Steve Jobs would say).