Reality Distortion Field:

This reality distortion field was empowering. Bud Tribble in the early 1980s said that “Steve has a reality distortion field. In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything. […] The reality distortion field was a confounding melange of a charismatic rhetorical style, an indomitable will, and an eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand.” It was self-fulfilling, you do the impossible because you would believe it. Jobs could deceive even himself which allowed him to con other people. Jobs used this tactic which helps to make irrational goals real. The rules didn’t apply to him. He was a liar, and the Reality Distortion Field is a creative way of saying that he was a liar. As a child, Jobs had been rebellious, and this plays into his special, abandoned, unique self. If you trust Jobs, he will make it happen.

That is the great part about the reality distortion field. If you pretend to be completely in control, people will believe you are, and will be empowered. Jobs was so passionate about Apple and NExT devices, and his force of personality allowed him to change peoples minds as a salesman. Steve Jobs was able to change reality by using charismatic rhetoric, and bend facts. The reality distortion field was never acutely apparent. Jobs was lying quite a lot during team meetings.

As a result, it was difficult to have a realistic deadline since bending facts has its downsides (Think wasteful factory decorations, missing product dates at NExT etc). Jobs did not like manuals, and told Gates in 1984 that they should not have any manuals, but Gates did not bother mentioning that they had an entire team working on manuals for Mac. Bill Gates was completely immune to Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field. When reality hit, Jobs had a difficult time dealing with it.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

More from Steve Job’s Life	by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for Entrepeurship	Childhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the Courage	Education Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die Young	Go To India
Pranking People Requires Creative Thinking	Starting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel Engineer	Meetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to Do	Exclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and Mind	Picking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??	Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples Throats	Xerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents House	Mike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style Worked	Don’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For Households	Your Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85	A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard child	Being Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal	Surround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion Field	Be At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product Control	Market Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big Picture	Unhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always Win	Eras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-Head	The Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does Matter	A Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To Sell	Being Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral Wrong	Bringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad Sales	Fall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be Good	Eras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a Company	Never Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You Grow	Design Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business Partners	Get Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning Opportunity	Avoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business Partners	Rivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEO	Do Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed System	How To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take Over	Targeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful Roots	How to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s Been	The Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For Music	Brand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to Cannibalize	Create Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 Songs	Google’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A Castle	Don’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That Works	Converge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses	Make Peace With Your Old Enemies