Apple: What We Know so

Apple: What We Know So Far

After forming a friendship during high school over a shred interest in electronics and "outsider" statuses, college drop-outs turned Silicon Valley workers Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started working together in 1976 trying to sell Wozniak's newly designed computer, the Apple I (Sanford 2010). Despite a slow start, the introduction of the Apple II in 1977 really let the company take off, and by 1980 Apple Computers had thousands of employees, the fastest and cheapest floppy drive on the market, and was already known for its innovation and its different way of doing things (Sanford 2010). In 1981, however, market saturation led to a drop in sales, Wozniak was in a plane accident and would only briefly return to the company after a leave of absence, and new investors were sitting on the board of directors and steering the company in more traditional business directions (Sanford 2010). This was the atmosphere in which Steve Jobs ascended to the position of chairman.

Steve Jobs, in many analyst, employee, investor, and consumer's views, is Apple (Lashinsky 2008). Minor (and major) issues with Jobs health or disagreements with other executives or board members -- whether these illnesses or spats are real or merely rumors -- have a major impact on Apple's trading price (Lashinsky 2008; Imbimbo 2009). His complete and automatic association with the company he founded makes Steve Jobs sound almost like a charismatic cult leader in some senses, and this comparison is not necessarily far-off when one looks at a certain class of die-hard Apple fanatics (Imbimbo 2009). Apple's identity as a Steve Jobs-centered company has not always persisted, however.

In 1985, following what became the disappointing release of the Macintosh personal computer, Jobs and the relatively new president and CEO of the company, John Sculley (whom Jobs himself had courted away from the position of president at Pepsi-Cola) became embroiled in a battle for control of the company, ending in a heated boardroom argument that ended with a unanimous vote of support for Sculley (Sanford 2010). Jobs resigned his position that day, leaving the company for over a decade (Imbimbo 2009). It was not until 1997, when Apple acquired Jobs' successful education-oriented software company NeXT, that Jobs returned to the company and took the position of president and CEO -- a position from which he has charismatically and strongly helmed the company since, creating both his cult of personality and making the company a true powerhouse (Imbimbo 2009).

Since Jobs' return to the company, Apple's new product launches, retail store endeavor, and overall company operations and design have thrust the computer design and manufacturing entity into the limelight and the world of hugely successful business. The launch of The Apple Store, Apple's online retail center that made it the first major computer manufacturer to sell its products directly to consumers, was the third largest online retailer within a week of its launch, signaling the success of Jobs' new vision (Sanford 2010). Having bought out many of the company's licensing agreements with other manufacturers, Jobs was focusing on making the company entirely contained in its vertical integration, and this has served the company incredibly well ever since (Sanford 2010).

The iPod was released to phenomenal sales, and these sales continue with newer models and with other products like the iPhone and the most recent iPad. No sales strategy could account for all of these products' success, however; obsession with detail is one of Jobs' overriding traits, and the aesthetic and practical design elements of these products are huge factors in their ongoing domination of sales for similar items (Lyons 2010). Innovation is also a key ingredient; under Jobs' direction, Apple is again tackling the same issues as other computer and software producers in very different ways, and in ways the public seems to enjoy (Lyons 2010). Jobs has shown the same level of innovation and independence in his other endeavors, such as his having headed Pixar Studios for years prior to its being bought buy Disney, where Jobs maintains a position on the board of directors (Imbimbo 2009). With Pixar, Jobs ushered in the age of digital animation and again built a hugely successful and profitable company from what began as an uncertain endeavor.