Enter your search terms Submit search form

Book Review�giCon Steve Job�h

Invention of personal computer brought the tremendous impact on the human history. As computer is connected to Internet, it allows the individual to search the information around the world. As a result, infinite numbers of new communication possibilities arose among the users. People can form the basis of understanding other countries by sharing the same information and it can reduce the risk of the war. It can be the instrument which empowers the people and narrow the gap between north and south. It can replace the conventional political and economical system of the U.S. which is democracy based on majority rule and capitalism with the new political and economical system. As information technology accelerate globalization, it is more likely to destroy the concept of the nation-state and people start interacting regardless of nationality or race and form the regional state. Moreover, it is possible to build the ideal country or village where there is no exploitation and everyone is given equal right in the cyber space. The value in which information technology is delivering to us is immeasurable and it could not be happening without the appearance of personal computer. The book talks about how Steve Job had led the computer revolution and is staging so called the greatest second act in the history of business. The information revolution can be divided up into two phases and the personal computer had opened the possibilities that second revolution to happen. It is possible to explain the life of his and Apple computer of the past and now and foresight the market by analyzing the product and the leadership of Steve Job with the axiom that what we create in the material world begins in the mind as an idea.

The principle of Steve Job is reflected in the Apple�fs product and company. The both genetics which is gradually unfolded and environment which stimulate the desire are primary factors which shape the character of the person. What source is accessible and what roles are given is crucial to develop its character. In the case of Steve Job, he was not indispensable from the influence of childhood that he was born as orphan and grew up in Silicon Valley. There is something which does not change throughout for life such as faith and value after they are formed and the one form the habits after the one choose the context and repeat it many times. These belief system or the habits which the person learns without questioning can change if the one face some challenges and does not change if it is not challenged. His value and belief are shaped when he was young. It seems his life path could be explained in the few words such as �gdo what you love.�h However, he delivered the speech at Stanford university graduation ceremony and he gives three stories that he learns the lesson from the experience, dropping out from the college, fired by Apple and suffering a cancer. Such event could shift the view and lead to change his action. He asks many questions to himself and incorporates wisdom by learning from the failure, so gradually developing the character. Being lead by such leader, Apple itself is also improving the process by learning as a whole to generate successful output and gradually approaching toward perfect sustainable company.

Personality analysis of Steve Job Extrovert: He learns by discussing and doing. Intuition: He has been interested in Zen and been practicing meditation. He frequently asking question by looking at the mirror and trust his inner voice. He is good at drawing big picture. Feeling: He is emotional when he makes decision. He cried whenever he could not have his way. For example, he believed his own way without any rational reason even though Jef Raskin who knew more technical knowledge than him had conflict of view on the project with him. He often make unrealistic goal, but his passion influence other and make them believe them can achieve. Judgment: He makes unrealistic goal. He is not open to change and not flexible. Behavioral Styles: He is more driven than analytical since he takes risk, self-directed and action oriented. He is more expressive than amiable since he is cruel when the person is not loyal to him and persuasive that he inspires people.

Mental Model of Steve Job (use more right brain than left brain) Desire: He wants to find out the meaning from his life since he was born as orphan and being different for all the time. He wants to improve the world with technology. Belief: �hLive the day as if it is the last day which you spend on the earth. �gThere is no one to trust, but himself, so do what you believe. He believed in the idea that the quicker you could do something, the better person you were. Ability: He does not have the technological knowledge, but was good at gathering the technological people to create new product. Value: What matter is doing what he loves which is computer and making the new things. Conflict: He has no technological skill to design computer. Moreover, he was having trouble in his private life. Being infant have kept him to explore the truth. The relationship with his divorced parents, his sister, his new born-daughter was the reality which took him long to accept. Getting along with people who does not get his idea was the other difficulties which put him into trouble which led to the change in the view of the world.

Idea analysis of Steve Job Standard(his role model or hero of business and life) a. Thomas Edison, who had kept making effort to strive for innovation, generated the creative idea to implement. By creating the product, he had delivered the value to thousands of people. b. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, who are the entrepreneurs in which Silicon Valley had produced, started the business from the garage with the idea. Foresight �EComputer will change the way of communication dramatically and revolutionize the world. Insight(Vision) �E Create the computer and start own company by selling the computer, so you can relate to the living of many people. Idea a. Keep seeking for the new ideas to start business of the computer. b. Acquire the knowledge, skill, money, human resource to start the business. c. Forming the group which supports mutually to accomplish the great task which cannot be done by him. (5) Target Market a. Excellent engineers who can create thing in which is in the mind of Steve Job. b. The company where he can work and where he can be related to the computer industry c. The investor or venture capitalists who understand his idea and support him by investing money on his company. (6)Unmet Need a. The man who brings the personal computer into the live of the people. b. New business which turn everything into old business. (7) Unique Solution a. Keep asking the question �gWhat is the people�fs need?�h b. Think different and being different from others. (8) Marketing plan Product: Steve Job himself Price: Receive the amount in which he creates the value in material money and emotional reward. Place: Start at Silicon Valley, US and eventually expand to world. Promotion: make people believe him as the founder of the personal computer and icon of the company. (9) Implementation Strategy a. Do it faster than anyone else and create the standard. �gBe pirate!�h b. �gStay foolish! �g Taking risk and being first person. c. Being the dictator who is in charge of everything while listen other well.

Product Analysis (Apple I, Apple II, Lisa, Macintosh, Newton, iMac) Standard a. IBM has been dominating the market for 15 years and there was no innovation occurring. b. The people in the computer industry view that computer is utilitarian business tool. c. Microsoft had been dominating the computer market as it offers the operation system. Foresight The number of transistor doubles every year, so the size of computer became smaller and the price lowers. As a result, there is the possibility that every individual own the personal computer. The way to transfer files will be over the Internet and trough e-mail. Floppy disk become old. Insight(Vision) They can change the world by selling computers to homes and offices. When he had discovered Xerox Palo Alto at Xerox PARC, he saw that the computer with graphical user interface is going to be the proto type of the personal computer. Idea( combining Steve Wozniak�fs technical knowledge and Steve Job�fs business skill) Apple I: Build printed circuit boards that a hobbyist could buy and then load up with components to create a computer. Establish the company and call it Apple in 1976. The experience of selling Blue Box helped to create the company. . Apple II: Without being hardware hobbyist, people can use it. Send color signals to television set and provide plenty of extra expansion slots that would enable users to add cards to increase the functionality of the machine. Provide a language that would be free to the user and would be stored on a chip on the circuit board. Make start up much easier by loading its operating system automatically. Having no fun, it is quiet. Macintosh: Create the personal computer with the concept of user interface and start selling it. The computer which has a display on which the user made selections, not by typing out cryptic command, but by moving pointer to designate the desired onscreen object and individual window for different documents. iMac: Taking the best idea of the Macintosh and reapplied it into new era. Create a consumer- computing appliance in one unit, so you can open the box, plug it in, and get surfing easily. Target Market People who has no technological knowledge Unmet need a. increase social capital by enhancing individual productivity. b. People had never imagined the computer with the user interface. �gPeople don�ft know what they want until you show it to them. �g Unique Solution a. They lacked the capital, so Wozniack sold his HP 65 electronic calculator of and Jobs sold Volkswagen bus and look for the funding all over the Valley. Assemble the computer at the garage, bring it to the shop and receive the check, so they could buy parts of the computer to build next. b. hire John Sculley who was marketer at Pepsi to strengthen marketing. Marketing Plan Product: the experience of using the stylish computer with simple operation Price�Fhigh quality, but low price. Promotion: 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Place: Implementation strategy: everything is under control of Steve Job. Result :Failure and Success with profitable growth

Product Analysis ( Toy Story, iTunes, iPod) Standard a. Disney was dominating the animation market with 2-D traditional animation. b. People buy CDs at a shop and rip into the computer. MP3 players were not convenient to use because of its functions. Foresight a. it will become easier and faster to produce the animation With the computer graphics. Expression of image will become more real. b. People download music to play on their computer and loaded on portable device like a Walkman. Insight( vision) a. the production of the movie with computer graphics will be the standard. b. The digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go. Idea a. Create 3-D computer-based digital animation. Make the movie with computer graphics. b. Make the experience of listening music different. Change the way music is sold and distributed. Target All the people who loves music Unmet Need a. Emotional attachment to the character in which computer graphic produces. b. MP3 player which is fashionable and easy to use, convenient to user that user does not need to do anything more than plug the device into the computer because the software and the hardware is integrated. iTunes offers the music to download and the use can load the song automatically on iPod. Unique Solution a. Partner with Disney. Sell Paxar to Apple. b. Contract with the artists such as Dr. Dre which allow to have the right to download the song on the Internet. Cooperate with five music companies such as Sony, Warner, Universal, EMI and BMG. c. In order to deter piracy and protect the intellectual property of the artist, build the protection into the iPod and developed a music file format called AC. Design a product distinctive enough and intuitive enough to use. Marketing Plan Product: the content which entertain people. Price: high quality, but low price. Place: Apple retail store, the desk at home. Promotion: testimony of the artist. Implementation Strategy Set up the various contents. Fit in the culture. Prepare for the lawsuit violating the intellectual property. Result : Success with Profitable Growth a. Toy Story became the highest-grossing release of the year. It brought 350 million worldwide and $100 million in video rental. b. iPod sales skyrocketed that they sold 8 million and iPod store had sold 85 million songs in 2004. Apple experienced the best quarter with the revenue $3.49 billion In contrast, the music business had suffered a loss of revenue because of illegal download over the Internet.

The story in the book shows the continuous improvement of the product and Steve Job�fs excellent ability to make decision. He might have the formula which creates the vision that he puts the elements into the mind and experiment by combining them in different arrangement while transcending the time. It allowed him to foresight the market by recognize the inflection point which will eventually transform the landscape. If the company makes mistake to recognize the inflection point and foresight the market, it will make the wrong decision and their business decline rapidly. He had changed the landscape of three industries which are computer, movie and music industry. Most of the products such as Macintosh, Toy Story and iPod were developed at the inflection point and they had changed the landscape of each industry. The harmony of hardware, software and content will be the key for the success of the information technology industry in the next decade. Steve Job had learned that the content was what matter to the user when he was dismissed from Apple and created the company Pixar which had produced the first computer animated film. His entry in music industry and in movie industry had united the separated field with computers. More companies such as Microsoft and Google enter the market of the content business recently and they will encounter the inflection point where it will condition the position in the market. With the knowledge of hardware, software and the content, Steve Job might be seeking for the new idea such as customizing iMac, entering electrical appliance, cell phone, robot or game industry which makes Apple unique and brings value to people.