Tough economic times and
startups have at least one
thing in common - you need character and determination to survive.
Character is what it takes to win,
to believe and to persuade others. It's a mix of passion, determination,
sleepless hours,
hard work.
Character is about crossing the finish line, about achieving dreams and
goals.
While there are inborn traits that help to develop character, often character comes from inspiration. Ask any enterprenuer about who set the bar for them and you will hear the name of another enterprenuer, a historical figure, a writer, even a fictional character. So in this post, we look at five very different books that share a common theme - remarkable people.
Reading them, you will be inspired to strive for perfection, to innovate, to cross the finish line, to fight hard for your idea and for your business.
There's probably no one in the tech industry who doesn't know or
admire Steve Jobs.
Tireless innovator and one of the fathers of computer technology, Steve
has had a hand in many modern marvels. His first famous
'child' was Macintosh, and the latest is iPhone.
Steve also revolutionized the music industry by taking music online, and
helped
push computer animation by funding Pixar.
How has he done it? By being relentless, passionate and focused. Steve in the early days was reputed to be impossible to work with. Yet, he is widely admired and recognized as a great leader. The bottom line is that Steve gets the job done.
Kahney's book, which Richard recently reviewed here, is a compact edition that gives insight into Steve's character. You will learn how Steve utilizes creativity, focus, and at times the stick, to drive Apple's team to build amazing products.
Haruki Murakami is one of the best modern Japanese writers. His
books are creative and
unique, his writing is an inspiration. Murakami, not only a gifted
writer, is also a
remarkable character. In this book he describes his journey as a runner.
At age 30 he quit smoking and started running.
Training tirelessly he readied himself for his first marathon. He flew to Athens and, retracing the original route, ran to the town of Marathon.
Since then, Murakami has competed in at least one marathon and triathlon a year. He trains with the same discipline with which he iterates to perfect his writing. This short book reveals simple yet powerful truths. Reading these pages, Murakami emerges as an incredible force of focus and will.
To learn more, read our companion post: What Startups Can Learn From Haruki Murakami.
Lance Armstrong is one of the most impressive athletes in modern
sport. The stamina and character needed to win the Tour De France
are impressive, but Lance's most impressive race was not on the bike.
Shortly after winning his first world
championship
at age 25 Lance confronted testicular cancer. He fought it for a year
and won. This book focuses on this fight
and connects the dots in his life.
Written in a simple yet profound way, the book inspires on every page. Armstrong reveals that cancer made him a different, better person. It reshaped his character from boyish, feisty, more physical rider to a wiser, patient and more tactical cyclist. Ultimately he argues that if it wasn't for cancer he could never have become great.
The book relates an inspiring journey, the crux of which is: never quit and never back down.
Today IBM might not be the most inspirational company around, but
its story is full of innovation and character.
IBM owes its status to the pair of Thomas J. Watson, Snr and Jnr, two
different
men passionate about business and
computing. The book is a biography of IBM from its inception as CTR
(Computing Tabulating Recording)
Company
to the defining player in modern computing.
Watson Snr's style was a mix of carrot and stick. He demanded a lot from employees and focused on corporate culture. He planted roots of growth and scale that were leveraged by his son, Thomas J. Watson Jnr, who succeeded his father as CEO. Watson Jnr took the company to the next level, pushing it into the mainframe business.
The father and son blend in a single narrative and what emerges is IBM's character of strength, passion, focus and success. Even though the skills that created IBM differ from those needed to build a successful startup, the book is a great read for every enterprenuer.
All five books on our list are full of strong characters, but the Pixar
team had to
endure plenty to realise their computer animation dream. For two decades
the team had to
work odd tangential jobs to stay alive. Remarkably the group stayed
together and survived
thanks to Steve Jobs, who bought Pixar for $5M from Lucas Digital and
(reluctantly) kept the company going through the years until its
triumphant launch of Toy Story and
the later multi-billion dollar exit to Disney.
What help the Pixar team win was an obsession to make computer animation happen. Even while Disney and Lucas Digital were dismissing the promise of making movies using computer graphics, the team stuck together. They continued to build and enhance their software and algorithms, ultimately leading to a set of solutions that enabled hits like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. The Pixar story is an inspirational lesson on how enterpreneurs can succeed in business and life.
And now tell us about people and books that have inspired you and helped build your character.
Top image: Daniel Y. Go
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what book?
great character!
Posted by: guangzhou | October 7, 2008 8:35 PM
All of these seem like good reads, but the first for me will be Inside Steve's Brain. Sometimes I wish I had much more time for reading; why did I get into retail management?!?
Jesse W.
http://www.churchofcowherd.com/
Posted by: Jesse | October 7, 2008 8:39 PM
Great post, but I have to disagree with the foundation of this article... I'd personally argue that Character isn't defined by what it takes in "crossing the finish line," rather about how you run the race in the first place. Character and winning are not interchangeable terms.
Posted by: David | October 7, 2008 9:14 PM
I agree, I don't know that any of these but the marathon book sound like they have anything to do with character. The Steve Jobs one in particular is a joke. People I know that have worked at Apple consider Jobs a psycho unstable, not a great leader.
Posted by: Dan | October 7, 2008 9:31 PM
I finished Lance Armstrong last week. I think it's one of the best books ever.
His character is just amazing. Being able to stand straight and fight against the cancer when his chance of survival was remarkably low (doctor eventually confessed somewhere below 5% if I wasn't mistaken). It's a must read!
Posted by: Hendro | October 7, 2008 10:11 PM
Yes, Lance Armstrong. "How to cheat everyone using EPO". What a character!
Posted by: Edo | October 8, 2008 12:10 AM
Have read Inside Steves Brain and can second that it is a good read.
I'd also recommend The Pixar Story and The Google Story as other excellent reads in this category.
Posted by: Craig Bovis | October 8, 2008 1:13 AM
thanks, I will buy some of them to read.
Posted by: gowers | October 8, 2008 3:26 AM
I thought character building was perhaps one of the few areas that reading books wouldn't help you with - surely character comes from first-hand experience?
Posted by: Nick C | October 8, 2008 4:28 AM
Good list with one exception: Lance! Take him of the list.
He's been tested positive for EPO six times. What a character!
Posted by: mark | October 8, 2008 5:20 AM
Mark, Your statement on Lance Armstrong is completely false. You have no way to defend your statement as there have always been accusations but never proven. Lance is an amazing inspiration to Cancer survivors and your comments are offensive to who everyone who suffers from the disease and use Lance's success and life to provide hope.
Please, do some research to avoid spreading lies.
Posted by: Chris | October 8, 2008 6:07 AM
Do you really want to mention Lance as an impressive character? Maybe you should check the facts about his use of EPO. Think about listing him..
Posted by: Stefan | October 8, 2008 10:06 AM
I found The Pixar Touch a bit dull and uninspiring. First half of the book is an overview of all the people who were involved, and all the years that the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Perhaps a realistic description, a lot of the stuff in the movie industry depends on dumb luck, but don't expect to gain too much insight into what powers the company.
Posted by: Alex Moskalyuk | October 8, 2008 10:28 AM
nice list, though I have to agree, I think character comes from within. these might be books to give you inspiration to work on your character, though. The Pixar Story, in particular, is pretty great... hard to believe they worked on t.v. commercials and other junk for so long, pretty much just waiting for the technology to get to the point that a feature was possible.
best,
Eric
http://flashlightworthybooks.com
Books so good, they'll keep you up past your bedtime :-)
Posted by: eric | October 8, 2008 12:49 PM
How about The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. He's no entrepreneur but he's a great human being with as great a character as Lance Armstrong. Randy Pausch the person didn't survive his battle but his character did. Great list by the way, looking forward to adding some of these to my wish list.
Posted by: Jorge Barba
|
October 8, 2008 12:58 PM
@ Stefan, Mark and Edo, do you realize that Lance Armstrong has NEVER ONCE tested positive for any drug except those used in his chemotherapy treatments? He will be riding again in the Tour de France this year, and has been asked by the Tour de France oversight committee to give over his 1999 blood sample. That, mind you, is the only sample that anyone suggests could be positive. Where do you get "six times," Mark? Do you have any clue how often he got tested when competing? Everywhere and whenever the authorities wanted. And he had to pee in that cup no questions asked.
I think you should remind yourselves that we live in a country where you are presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. In the same vein as science, the proof is in the empirical pudding. And even if, hypothetically-speaking, he tests positive, champions of the Tour de France, the world over, have used stimulants of different varieties. Can these champions still be inspirational? I don't know, can they? Without condoning drug use, be reminded, when you are riding 2.500 miles through some of the steepest mountains in the world, there is something to be said for commitment, passion and mind over matter. EPO or any other drug doesn't simply lift you to the top of a mountain at the end of a six-hour stage. Success is all about how you deal with varieties of pain, and that is inspiration for us all, and truly reflective of character. Pain needs to become bearable, and the ensuring strength pushes the body beyond its limits.
Posted by: Todd Gailun | October 8, 2008 1:06 PM
you pick good books
Posted by: Toba Rasoli | October 8, 2008 1:19 PM
I think this selection is very poor (very geeky-easy-reading stuff, not much character into it), provocative title though "great books to build character"... sounds enticing!
My selection of -very diverse- real character building books:
1)War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
2)Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3)The Outsider - Albert Camus
4)Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski
5)King Lear - William Shakespeare
Posted by: Juan Gonzalez | October 8, 2008 1:39 PM
Before you consider the IBM book, consider reading "IBM and the Holocaust", which in great detail, with amazing research, shows how Watson and Co. aided the Nazis in very deliberate ways.
http://www.ibmandtheholocaust.com/
Posted by: Naf | October 8, 2008 1:55 PM
5 Great Books to Build Your Character
Posted by: website designs | October 17, 2008 3:26 AM