Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

Thinking of Everything

One of the most remarkable things about Steve Jobs is that he had his hand in every aspect of every project. Every aspect. When the Macintosh came out and wasn’t doing very well, he decided he needed to find someone who could launch a Mac magazine that would offer the support Mac owners needed to address their concerns, keep them up with the latest developments, provide stories about new applications, and in the process, pique the interest and enthusiasm of people who were getting ready to buy a new computer and wanted some independent views on whether they should consider a Macintosh.

Steve saw the IBM PC, on the market three years ahead of the Mac, as the big competition. IBM was such a high-profile, highly respected company, carrying an aura of can-do-no-wrong, that its PC aimed at the consumer was looked on as the gold standard, even though the Mac was technologically superior by virtually every measure. There was already a magazine, PC World. Once Steve got the idea in his mind, nothing would do but find a way to launch a comparable magazine for the Mac.

I helped Steve in the search for a technology writer who had some knowledge of magazine publishing. The name that came up at the top of the list was David Bunnell. I set up an appointment and accompanied Steve, driving into San Francisco to meet with David.

Steve explained what he wanted and offered David a million dollars, with no strings and no voice in the content by Apple, if he would take on the ...