50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I stayed up all night reading this book..., January 25, 2012
...which is saying something. I haven't done that since I was a teenager and I'm in my forties. To compare this book to Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, which is arguably the best biography I've ever read, would not be fair; although everyone is going to do that. I struggled with the comparison myself.
Bottom Line: These are two very different books, and this is a great compliment to Job's biography.
Did I learn anything ground breaking? I had hoped to, but I'm not sure I did. (Especially in the "Secrecy chapter - I wanted more!) Still, I did learn a LOT of small things that, added together, made the book feel groundbreaking. I've highlighted several passages in my kindle edition, but I feel like it would be cheating to share more than one with you. My personal favorite has to do with Apple's seeming lack of career paths for their employees; it goes like this:
"...what if it turns out that all that thinking is wrong? What if companies encouraged employees to be satisfied where they are, because they're good at what they do, not to mention because that might be what's best for shareholders?" Well, what if? The Peter Principle is hard to fight against; even more difficult to compete with are the ambitions of people. Adam mentions a saying that I've heard before, "Everyone inside Apple is trying to get out, and everyone outside is trying to get in."
Well, I'm both of those. After reading this book, I still would love to work for Apple; and I'd hate it too. What an exquisite company!
Most revealing to me is that while employees who are entrepreneurs "typically don't stick around for more than a couple of years," the company still manages to thrive in an oddly entrepreneurial way. At the same time, these entrepreneurs had "rich, productive experiences at Apple, where there ... was room for only one..."
Last, there is some speculation and discussion about the struggles Apple will have in keeping it's culture. The consequences of Steve Job's intense involvement followed by his rapid second departure will only really be understood over time - a _lot_ of time. Yet, I found this discussion to be better than any I've read on the web. At the same time, what human could possibly read all that has been written about Apple since late last year?
Despite my desire not to succumb to comparing this book with Isaacson's, I'll end with that comparison: The biography was bigger and the best in its class, and while this book is a quick, easy read, it is the first _real_ book in its class. I probably won't read the biography again, except for reference; I see myself reading Lashinsky's book again and again, cogitating on the philosophies and learning more during each read.
If I could, I'd give the book 4.8 stars, but since I have to round, I don't begrudge it the five stars that I expect most will give. You did a decent job with this book, Mr. Lashinsky, and I'm happy to recommend it.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, but nothing new, February 2, 2012
This marks the third incarnation of Mr. Lashinsky's "inside" look at the workings of Apple. The Fortune Magazine article was quite good, considering the format limitations. However, as he expanded the story, first in to a short ebook and now the full length version, cracks began to show in the material. What was informative and precise, in short form, began to read as rehashed and bloated, in longer form. Simply put, "Inside Apple" is merely a magazine article which has been padded in to a book.
Now, that's not to say it's a bad read, by any means. Mr. Lashinsky has compiled a commendable briefing on the basics of how Apple operates. He has also added a great deal of analysis and varied opinions, which raise some valid concerns. However, if you have read just about any of the books previously written on Apple/Jobs, you've unquestionably encountered the same stories, concepts, and "inside" information before. What you really have here is a summary of key points from all that has been written about the subject before.
So, a good read, if you want a quick run through of the basic ideology, with some critical analysis thrown in. Just don't expect to find anything particularly new or shocking.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great shoe-leather reporting, January 20, 2012
Adam Lashinsky's Inside Apple is likely to be closely read inside and outside the company. Scheduled to be released this week, it's the most important Apple book since Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs and is, in many ways, the perfect companion to the Jobs biography.
If Isaacson's was the Time Magazine or People Weekly version of the Apple story, what Lashinsky delivers -- appropriately enough, given the magazine he works for -- is the Fortune version.
Lashinsky's goal was to understand the company Jobs built as a business. But unlike, Isaacson, Lashinsky didn't have Jobs' cooperation. Nor did the company make any Apple executives or employees available. So like a correspondent debriefing refugees at the border of a war zone, Lashinsky interviewed scores of collaborators, competitors and former employees after they left the confines of Apple's closely guarded Cupertino campus.
The result is a deep dive into an extraordinary enterprise that has disrupted one industry after another while ignoring -- if not deliberately breaking -- most of the rules of modern business management.
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