Finding the Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent
, Business, 2013
A short, experience-based guide for examining what to ask beyond credentials and how a workplace responds when a worthwhile attempt fails.
About the book
First published in 2013, the book draws on Bushnell's experience at Atari and with a young Steve Jobs to argue for nontraditional recruiting, autonomy, tolerance for difficult personalities, and rapid action on ideas.
Reading perspective
The book separates the work of identifying and attracting creative people from the work of building a culture that can support them. Its anecdotes function as practical considerations rather than a proven method for predicting hiring success.
What you’ll learn
Ask specifically about interests beyond the résumé
Detailed questions about a candidate’s outside interests can reveal what holds their attention and enthusiasm. Use those answers as one part of a broader conversation, not as a substitute for assessing the skills the role requires.
Make room to discuss good-faith failures
Atari’s Turkey Award was intended to make a significant, well-intentioned mistake less frightening to acknowledge.
Editorial sources
Book guidance draws on these sources; Founders evidence determines the ranking.
Why it ranks here
Reading rank #68. First covered in Episode #36. 24 scored evidence components. 12 Founders episodes. Coverage Score 175. Praise on record: David curates the book's standout advice for the episode, describing multiple ideas as particularly valuable.
Explore evidence and score breakdownOpen timeline
How the Coverage Score works
Reviewed Founders evidence adds points: a dedicated episode, a qualifying reread, explicit praise, or a reference in a later episode. Repeats of the same kind in one independently recorded discussion count once, including reviewed reused passages. Genuinely new qualifying discussion adds points. The score measures coverage, not quality.
Sources: official Founders episodes — #36, #52, #89, #108, #111, #195, #208, #214, #221, #233, #257, #388
The largest contribution to this Coverage Score is Dedicated episode · Primary coverage (45 points).
Original Founders sources
- Finding The Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent — Dedicated episode covering Nolan Bushnell's book on finding, keeping, and nurturing creative talent.
- The Republic of Tea: The Story of the Creation of a Business, as Told Through the Personal Letters of Its Founders — David names Nolan Bushnell, Founders #36, and the book while returning to its execution lesson.
- David Ogilvy (Confessions of an Advertising Man) — David identifies Bushnell's aphoristic book and its Steve Jobs material.
- Jim Simons (Money Printer) — David cites a Nolan Bushnell quote on creative arrogance from Bushnell's book, which he previously covered on the podcast.
- David Geffen — David points listeners to Founders #36 and explains the book's origin.
- Sid Meier (Computer game designer) — David names Finding the Next Steve Jobs while connecting Atari's role in Sid Meier's story to prior Founders #36 coverage.