It is unusual in the computing industry to get to review a book almost simultaneously with the release of a commercial film [1], an exhibit [2], and other biographies [3,4] on almost the same topic. This book, written by an editor at Fortune magazine, features a subject big enough to make that possible: Apple. But is this easy-to-read and captivating volume really about the company? No; in fact, it is really about Steve Jobs, and is only tangentially about Apple under Steve Jobs. Driven by a deep fascination for Jobs, the author has constructed something quite like a Greek tragedy (or, yes, a movie script).

The book starts with the day in 2011 when Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple--the moment used to recount key facets and illustrations of his management style. The book ends with the day, two months later, when the new CEO, Tim Cook, made his first product launch presentation, even as Jobs lay on his deathbed.

The key principles Jobs espoused are meaningful: rethinking leadership, embracing secrecy, focusing obsessively, staying start-up hungry, hiring disciples, owning your message, overwhelming friends and dominating foes, inspiring imitators, and planning for the future after your exit. Indeed, in typical Apple style, each description of these principles in the book is action driven, and the implementation stories are excellent. Many are drawn from cases or interviews the author conducted with many stakeholders. The writing style employs many instances of superlative language and is not devoid of theatrical elements, probably because of the star status of the subject.

In a fascinating way, the book provides evidence that the traditional business school management and organizational theories can be outstripped and even mocked by the simple, efficient, top-down practices of a functional organization (see, for example, page 71). At Apple under Jobs, employees were required to execute. Rather than being “empowered,” they were expected to follow orders and not offer opinions, and middle management was mostly eradicated while top-level specialists were welcomed. The company focused endlessly on a few products rather than allowing product divisions to drift their own way, and they cared less about financials than product innovation and design. Management was secretive rather than transparent, and used fear and intimidation with suppliers and the competition rather than partnering with them. Instead of building career paths for up-and-comers, managers were allowed to autocratically elevate favorites. But driven by his admiration, the author ignores many other technology companies that have remained under the radar and used the same approaches to achieve technical and financial success long before Jobs arrived on the scene, such as L. M. Ericsson, KONE, Qualcomm, and others.

The book is exceptional as a case study in corporate communications and distribution outlet strategies. The company was organized around mass customized innovation, and aimed at the creation of a cult among customers. This communications strategy was reinforced by case studies written by academics for Apple University and distributed to the press. But the book does not examine this dogma from the perspective of other human values, or other cultures that may wish to reach a similar level of global branding and awareness by other strategies.

Jobs is described as a “productive narcissist” by some, and an “absolute monarch” by others. The author excels in showing how this visionary, with a huge drive for efficiency, turned a niche pioneer into a global leader while living a normal family life. Without looking at other cases, he raises the obvious question of whether the practices and organization at Apple can survive the loss of Jobs. In other words, how fast and in which way will Apple morph into a “regular” company, and will it go back to the demons it faced in the mid-1990s?

Some key issues are not mentioned at all in the book, or are barely touched upon. For example, what about pricing? Has the company applied enough risk hedging when it has concentrated almost all of its physical assembly and testing of products on a few suppliers, mostly in China? What would happen if an industrial product design loses appeal due to sentiment changes in heterogeneous customer segments? While there is no lesson drawn from product failures and the loss of specialists, how could Apple withstand a loss of status as a good place to work combined with a slip in product quality?

All in all, readers will have to act like journalists to unearth the task- and action-oriented key lessons within. The book is not just a thrilling technology tale about one person; it provides useful lessons for top executives, project managers, and entrepreneurs alike. Many will conclude, however, that Steve Jobs was able to create Apple from the beginning in his own image, something one cannot often do in legacy organizations controlled by others. It may also be helpful to read other biographical accounts of Jobs [3,4].