I just got back from vacation, where I finally finished the Steve Jobs biography. WOW. Since so many of you read it and recommended it to me, I had to at least write a quick blurb now that I finished it.

I’m glad that so many people told me I had to read it, because once I got into it, I very much enjoyed the ride. Before reading the book, I knew enough to be incredibly impressed with how much he had accomplished in his lifetime, but I did not know the half of it. Since reading the book, I’m still looking around every day in amazement, wondering what our world would be like if he hadn’t been a part of it. His vision, combined with his persistence, catapulted us forward. Take digital music as one of many examples. Without what he did, personally, to convince the major record labels to get on board with digital music, I don’t know where we’d be today, but I’m pretty sure it would be a cluster.

When I finished the book, as much as I was inspired by what he accomplished, I was not inspired by him as a person. Had the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t have wanted to have met him, let alone worked with him. I do not believe that the way he treated people – employees, colleagues, partners – helped him get ahead. I do not believe that his dictatorial management style would work in other companies, specifically, companies with other leaders. I’m hoping that people don’t take away from the book that his management style or practices can be applied in other places.