Steve Jobs

According to Isaacson, “by the mid-1990s Jobs was finding some pleasure in his new family life and his astonishing triumph in the movie business, but he despaired about the personal computer industry” (294). Meanwhile, at Apple, stock prices were declining. After John Sculley left the company amid the drop in performance, Jobs came back to Apple in an advisory role, an invitation made by Gil Amelio, Apple’s new CEO, in an attempt to breathe new life into the company. Eleven years after his dramatic departure in 1985, Steve Jobs was appointed advisor to the chairman. NeXT was also acquired by Apple in this move.

Jobs started bringing many of his most trusted colleagues from NeXT into senior positions at Apple. During this time, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, explicitly told Jobs that he was prepared to buy Apple and install Jobs as CEO whenever he wanted. Jobs refused the offer, and even refused to take over as CEO after Apple invited him to replace Amelio. As Jobs exerted his influence at Apple through his special advisory role, he eventually made a pact with Microsoft. To incentivize their ongoing collaboration, Microsoft would continue developing software for the Mac while receiving non-voting shares. This pact ended a litigation battle and instantaneously increased Apple’s value as a company.

As the de facto leader of Apple, Jobs decided it was time to reignite the company through a daring ad campaign once more. The result was the now legendary “Think Different” ad campaign, with copy voiced by actor Richard Dreyfuss, that once again positioned Apple as a company for rebels and misfits just as they had messaged in the “1984” ad. Jobs prioritized making fewer projects, with a sharper focus on making truly great products. According to Isaacson, “this ability to focus saved Apple” (339). By adopting this higher level of dedication, Jobs was shifting the momentum back in Apple’s favor, as the company gradually started regaining its value.

Isaacson focuses on the aesthetic principles that drove much of Jobs’s ideology at Apple. After hiring Jony Ive, a talented designer with whom he would collaborate for many years, they worked together to ensure that Apple products reflected the product’s essence. Obsessing over the value of a perfect, simple design, they eventually developed various design patents for Apple products, even on things like product packaging.

The renaissance of Apple, combined with the enthusiastic collaboration between Jobs and Jony Ive, resulted in the creation of the iMac, which had a blue translucent case that gave the computer its signature look. Priced at around $1,200 and designed for everyday users, they reimagined the notion of what a computer could look like. Jobs obsessed over every detail of the design, including whether or not the computer would have a CD tray or simply a slot; the product had to be perfect. Upon its release in 1998, the iMac became the fastest-selling computer in all of Apple’s history up to that point.

After the success of both the iMac and the “Think Different” ad campaigns, Jobs proved that he could be both a business visionary and a creative genius simultaneously. Eventually, Jobs accepted the CEO position, much to the delight of the Apple faithful. After taking only a symbolic salary of $1 since his return, Jobs now took 20 million stock options as compensation.