Home Notifications Newsletters Next Share

This is why Steve Jobs got fired from Apple - and how he came back to save the companyhttps://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-why-steve-jobs-got-fired-from-apple-and-how-he-came-back-to-save-the-company/so-when-modern-tech-execs-like-ex-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-say-that-theyre-steve-jobs-ing-it-and-plan-to-return-to-companies-from-which-they-were-fired-just-know-that-its-harder-than-it-might-seem-/slidelist/59853161.cms2017-07-31T23:55:11+05:30

This is why Steve Jobs got fired from Apple - and how he came back to save the company

Jul 31, 2017, 23:55 IST

So when modern tech execs like ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick say that they're "Steve Jobs-ing" it and plan to return to companies from which they were fired, just know that it's harder than it might seem.

In 1998, Apple introduced the iMac, its smash-hit all-in-one computer, reinforcing the company's turnaround. In 2000, Apple officially dropped the "interim" from Steve Jobs' title. He was now officially the full-fledged CEO. And the rest, as they say, is history.

By that August, Jobs had already started to shake things up. He brought in a new board, and made peace with long-time rival Bill Gates: The Microsoft chairman made a live-streamed appearance at the Macworld conference to announce a $150 million investment in Apple, to boos from the audience.

Not long after, Jobs confessed that it was he who had sold all that Apple stock. It's generally understood that Jobs' move made Apple's board far more receptive to the idea of firing Amelio. Ultimately, Amelio resigned from Apple.

In June of 1997, an anonymous party sold 1.5 million Apple shares in a single transaction. The move caused Apple shares to dip to a 12-year low. Over that July 4th weekend, Jobs had convinced the board to name him interim CEO and fire Amelio.

Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio in 1996. Amelio's longest-lasting legacy is his idea to acquire NeXT for $429 million in early 1997. The move would bring Jobs back to Apple to give the company a much-needed shot in the arm. It would also turn out to be Amelio's undoing.

Sculley was replaced by long-time Apple employee Michael Spindler. Spindler only lasted about three years; Apple's board ousted him, too, after acquisition talks by IBM, Philips, and Sun Microsystems all fell through.

Sculley's biggest mistake, though, was betting Apple's future on a new kind of processor called PowerPC. It cost Apple a fortune to shift its designs over to the new standard, and kept Mac prices high. Meanwhile, Intel x86-based processors were way more popular and getting cheaper all the time. It became an albatross around Apple's neck, and after an earnings miss, Sculley was shown the door.

Before too long, though, Apple began to lose focus. Under Sculley, Apple experienced flops like the Newton MessagePad personal assistant, an ahead-of-its-time handwriting recognition device that just didn't work so well.

Meanwhile, back at Apple, Sculley got off to a hot start in the post-Jobs era. By 1991, Apple had introduced the System 7 operating system, which brought color to the Mac for the first time. Apple also introduced the PowerBook laptop.

Jobs would go on to form NeXT, a company creating what he hyped as the next evolution of the PC. While the machines were technically impressive, the prices were high and sales were slow.

This is where stories differ. Jobs would publicly proclaim he was fired from Apple after that incident; Sculley has said that Jobs voluntarily left Apple after a showdown over the price of the Macintosh.

Sculley moved to reassign Jobs away from the Macintosh product group, essentially putting reins on the founder and his influence at Apple. In response, Jobs went straight to Apple's board of directors — who sided with Sculley.

Things came to a head in 1985. Under Jobs' guidance, Apple had released the Lisa, the first-ever computer with a graphical user interface (GUI). It was a technical marvel, but a total flop sales-wise. His follow-up project, the Macintosh, sold better — but still not well enough to make a sizable dent in IBM's control of the PC market.

The problem was that Steve Jobs had quickly earned himself a reputation for being difficult to work with. He sweated the details, often at the expense of his team's feelings (and their deadlines).

In 1983, Jobs himself recruited then-PepsiCo CEO John Sculley with the now-legendary pitch: "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?" At this point, Jobs wanted to be CEO, but Apple's board didn't think he was ready for it.

But Mike Markkula, one of Apple's earliest investors and employees, didn't think that either Wozniak or Jobs had the discipline for the job. And so, Markkula brought in his friend Michael Scott, an experienced executive, as Apple's first CEO. When Scott left in 1981 following Apple's IPO, Markkula himself stepped in as replacement.

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs was the ideas guy and handled the business side of things; Wozniak was the engineering expert. Neither young man had any experience running a company, though.

Next Story Sustainable Transportation Alternatives

View All Latest