Apple has never simply followed the crowd or created products that fit the norm. Instead, they’ve always focused on creating innovative products that change the market. Even as early as the first Macintosh computer, Apple wanted something different. They didn’t want to make just another computer—they wanted to change how people interacted and used their computers. Much of this innovation was due to Steve Jobs, and it became apparent just how much of Apple was Jobs and his imagination during the twelve years he was away from the company.
In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple. With the help of Mike Markkula, Jr., and his business capital, Apple debuted their first computer, the Apple II, in 1978. This radically different machine became very popular, and even after IBM launched their line of PCs, Apple still held a good share of the market. Their proprietary operating system, which was designed from the ground up, was matched by unique hardware that couldn’t as easily be cloned, but Apple’s simplicity and unique products made them more than a match for IBM at first. However, even after the Macintosh computer was introduced in 1984, Apple was on a downward slope, and it didn’t help matters when Jobs was forced out of the company by the Board of Directors in 1985.
Three CEOs led Apple between 1985 and 1997, when Jobs returned. During that time, each change in leadership brought about a new development strategy. This lack of unified and shifting strategies didn’t help the company. During this time, there were talks of licensing Apple’s proprietary operating system so that it would be easier to clone Macs. While there were some successes like the PowerBook, there were some other failures, such as Apple’s attempt at a PDA.
In August of 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple. He immediately started reversing some questionable decisions, such as the licensing of the operating system. He also brought about major changes to the company, shutting down facilities, eliminating divisions, and putting a stop to more than two-thirds of the company’s current projects. His aim was to bring back the simplified, innovative Apple, and he did. A year later, the iMac hit the shelves, and Apple quickly began moving in an upward direction.
One of the reasons Jobs was so successful with Apple’s products was that he used a platform strategy. This type of strategy focuses on generations of products rather than individual products. The first product in a line is the base platform that every successive generation builds on. Apple was never reinventing the wheel; instead, they were constantly perfecting it. Every successive product fixed issues that affected the generations before it, and customers could actually see how their feedback resulted in tangible changes to the product line.
It’s easy to see how Steve Jobs was the foundation for Apple’s platform. He led the company during its most innovative years with a clear product development strategy and goals. The execution of that strategy took Apple from rags to riches not just once but twice, and many are eager to see if the company’s post-Jobs leadership can continue his tradition for innovative, fun products.