Apple Leaders Strengths of Each

Apple Leaders

Strengths of Each Apple Leader:

Apple has gone through a series of CEOs over the years, each with their own unique strengths that they brought to the position. John Sculley was CEO from 1985 to 1993, following a period of economic decline for the organization, as PC-clones continued to dominate the market and the newly introduced Mac was slow and Mac-compatible software very limited.

Sculley became CEO following Apple's board removal of co-founder Steve Jobs. Sculley had been recruited from Pepsi-Cola, and not only had an MBA, but also had experience helping Pepsi compete against its archrival, Coke. It was Sculley's strength in leadership during times of intense competition, as well as his marketing savvy that allowed Apple eventually control approximately 8% of the global market share (Yoffie & Wang). This was exactly the type of leadership Apple needed to pull them out of the marketplace doldrums.

In 1991, pricing pressure drove Apple's gross margin down and helped inspire board members to 'promote' Sculley to chairman, in 1993. Michael Spindler was then appointed the new CEO.

Spindler's strengths laid in his ability to look beyond marketing and see that Apple needed to differentiate itself if it were to survive. He chose to advance Apple technology and refocus on their core markets to reassert themselves in the industry. Splinder was also gutsy enough to pursue the strongest growing market in the world - China (Yoffie & Wang).

Gil Amelio was CEO between 1996 and 1997. This short-lived CEO was able to improve on the operational challenges Apple was having, through his organizational strength. He also understood that Apple needed to differentiate itself again by providing higher priced computing options (Yoffie & Wang).

When Jobs rejoined the Apple team, he brought with him the strength of his original vision of an exclusive product line as well as new vision and continued innovation that would lead the company into a new era of success, with such moves as a partnership with long-time rival Microsoft to develop Office applications for Apple.

Major Elements of Each Leader's Strategy:

As Yoffie and Wang note, the major elements of Sculley's strategy was to bring Apple into the corporate world by combining superior software, with high quality peripherals, and the Macintosh's unmatched capabilities in desktop publishing.

His other primary strategy included driving down costs, to be more price competitive in the industry.

In contrast, Spindler's strategy focused on reorienting the organization back to it's core markets - the kindergarten through high school market and the desktop publishing market.

Spindler also worked to promote Apple as a technology leader, and made a commitment that Apple would never be competitively overpriced again.

Amelio's strategy was to reorganize operational procedures and create efficiencies and efficacies.

His strategy on pricing was completely contrary to Spindler's, and he purposely positioned Apple as a premium priced brand.

Jobs' strategy was even more ambitious with a historic partnership with Microsoft and bringing an end to Apple's licensing program (Yoffie & Wang).

Did the Leader's Personal Strengths Influence Their Choice in Strategy?

Sculley's personal strengths definitely influenced his choice in strategy when he took the reins of Apple. His personal strength was the ability to compete in an intensely competitive environment. and, he decided not only to enter a new market segment - that of corporate computing - but also to become more price competitive to compete head-to-head with PCs and PC-clones.

Spindler's strengths were complementary to his strategies as well. Spindler was a visionary, looking beyond simple marketing and price competitiveness. For this reason, his strategy followed this line of thinking and brought forth a plan to become a technological leader as well as refocusing on their core competencies where they were able to offer superior value to their customers.