Make Something Wonderful

"Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words" is a curated collection of speeches, interviews, emails, and reflections by Steve Jobs, released in 2023 by the Steve Jobs Archive. It offers a deeply personal and inspiring look at Jobs' thoughts on creativity, leadership, innovation, and life, told largely in his own voice.

As someone who works at the intersection of first-party data, CRM strategy, and digital transformation, I found this book not only moving, but incredibly relevant. Jobs’ clarity of thought around product excellence, user-centric design, and focus on velocity over complexity mirrors many of the challenges and ambitions we face in modern marketing and tech. There’s power in getting the right data and experiences into people’s hands, fast, and Jobs intuitively understood that.

Key Themes:

Creativity & Simplicity: Jobs emphasized that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. As someone who believes the best consumer journeys are frictionless, just one or two meaningful clicks, this principle hits home. Real creativity isn’t about adding complexity; it’s about reducing friction.

Product Philosophy: He believed in building products people didn’t know they needed, but couldn’t live without once they had them. This end-to-end ownership of the experience is something I advocate for in CRM and media systems: own the stack, own the outcome.

Life & Mortality: Jobs often spoke about death as a motivator, a call to cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. In high-velocity environments, it’s a grounding reminder: urgency isn’t just about business speed, it’s about using time meaningfully.

Reinvention & Resilience: From being ousted at Apple to launching NeXT and acquiring Pixar, Jobs reframed failure as fuel. That mindset resonates for anyone who's worked to build new systems or lead change inside large, complex organizations.

Mentorship & Vision: He drew inspiration from figures like Edwin Land (Polaroid) and spiritual ideas rooted in Buddhism. It’s a reminder that vision isn’t just about the roadmap, it’s about the why, and the depth of belief behind what we build.s, team building, and the intersection of art and technology

The best part? You can read it for free online here: https://stevejobsarchive.com/book