Walter Isaacson spoke to a packed McFarlin Auditoirum in part of the Tate Lecture Series last night. Isaacson spoke heavily on deceased Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Curiosity, innovation, perfectionism and drive are all elements that made Steve Jobs special.

Walter Isaacson, a former Rhodes scholar and bestselling author, was tasked with the life of the now deceased Apple CEO.

His book “Steve Jobs” is currently on top of the New York Times best-seller list. He described his findings and his book at the SMU Tate Lecture Series on Tuesday night.

“Steve called me a day after he was diagnosed with cancer,” Isaacson said. “Steve revolutionized industry after industry starting with the Apple desktop and it was great to be able to understand someone who was so complex and innovative.”

Jobs is credited with innovations in fields ranging from journalism to animation to music to writing.

“His mind was a place where the arts and the sciences and the humanities and engineering came together just like how they do at [Southern Methodist University],” Isaacson said.

Isaacson summarized what he thought made Jobs an innovator.

“The book is doing very well in China so I joke that Jobs is teaching a whole generation of Chinese how to succeed: drop out of college, invest all your money in something and be a jerk,” Isaacson said.

However, despite his personality deficiencies and aggressive leadership style, Jobs was able to take advantage of a characteristic lost among many in the business community: thinking outside the box.

“Steve quickly realized that you have to combine fields in order to be creative,” Isaacson said.

After dropping out of college, Jobs audited a calligraphy class, which later influenced graphic fonts on programs like Microsoft Word.

The Apple CEO was obsessed with the intricacies of his product.

As a seven year old, he and his father had painted the family’s backyard fence. Jobs only wanted to paint the outside of the fence but his father told him to care about the entire product.

“Jobs knew that the real artist cares as much about the seen as the unseen,” Isaacson said.

His passion for the entire product led to his passion for perfection.

“The thing that made Apple so successful was they Jobs realized that when you have a passion for profit instead of a passion for product, you will not make profits,” Isaacson said.

Jobs’ passion for led him to push the envelope amongst his employees and business partners.

After employing Corning to make the now-famous gorilla glass for iPhones and iPads.

Jobs gave the company nine months to produce the material.

“It was an impossible task. Corning had no factories that were producing the product,” Isaacson said. “But, he had a way to bend reality. He told the CEO of Corning, ‘Don’t be afraid. You can do it.'”

Jobs’ experiences with Buddhism and his travels in India taught him to use his extensive knowledge and simplify it for the average consumer.

When designing the original iPod, Jobs demanded his engineers to simplify the user interface.

“He wanted people to get anywhere they want with three clicks,” Jobs said.

But, Isaacson concluded that Jobs’ greatest gift was his intuition – something other famous technology giants like Bill Gates did not have.

“He understood what the consumer wanted. And he was always willing to explore and discover different fields,” Isaacson said when comparing Steve Jobs to Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.

His ability to impress global consumers with creativity and innovation has led Apple to become the world’s largest and most successful company.

Isaacson said that Jobs’ last advice for him were simple.

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”