Tag Archives: Steve Jobs

From Steve Jobs’ Life: THe Original Macintosh Had Bad Sales

The Original Macintosh Had Bad Sales:

During the planning for the release of Macintosh, the marketing costs needed to be factored into the price according to then CEO John Scully. Scully said $1,999 price was too low because the marketing budget required to spend more in order to sell Apple to the masses. As a result, they set the price to $2,499 for the Macintosh. Steve Jobs argues that this price was the reason that the Macintosh did not sell well in 1984. After the 2nd quarter of 1984, Macintosh started to slump in sales. It was slow, dazzling but not powerful enough. In addition, Macintosh had only 2 applications so there was a major software development gap. It was beautiful but Macintosh used a lot of memory. Lisa functioned on 1000K of Ram. Macintosh had 128K of Ram. There was lack of an internal hard-disk drive.

Jobs wanted to have a floppy disk drive. Macintosh did not have a fan so it over heated easily. When people became aware of flaws, reality hit. By the end of 1984, Jobs made a strange decision, he took unsold Lisa’s grafted on a Macintosh emulation program, and sold them as a new product. Jobs was producing something that wasn’t real, it sold well, and then it had to be discontinued within the company once the extra LISA’s were sold.

People attend the annual Apple Expo at the CNIT center at La Defense in Paris September 15. Apple p..

The distribution system did not respond to demand effectively, and there was an inventory backlog which was unintended by Apple Inc. Macintosh very simply did not sell well enough for the production level of building a copy of the computer every 23 seconds. This would later help Jobs realise that a Just-In-Time inventory strategy would be better suited. This was Dell computer’s competitive advantage.

On balance, Jobs’ marketing from 77 to 85 was brilliant but there were some patchy points. Not everything that Apple did on a marketing level had been genius under Jobs’ influence in the 1977-1985 era. We always talk about the 1984 commercial but check out the worst Apple ad ever from 1985 which reads: “you corporate hacks are buying IBM computers without really thinking.”

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to Do Exclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies

From Steve Job’s Life: Meet A Brilliant & Noble Engineer

Meet A Brilliant & Noble Engineer:

Jobs was fortunate to meet Steve Wozniak who believed in engineering as the highest, and most noble activity. ‘Woz’ did not believe in marketing, and did not aspire to be in the lime light. Their meeting was truly fortunate. Wozniak’s father taught his son how to build circuits at an early age. His father also taught ‘Woz’ to never lie, accept in the service of a good practical joke. Wozniak had an easier time making eye contact with a circuit than a girl, built a transistor to allow 6 kids to communicate with eachother, read about new computers in his spare time, and focused on designing circuits. Wozniak was socially shut out in high school. Wozniak worked on designing computers with half the number of chips the company had designed in his blue prints. Jobs had inferior tech-skills but had other advantages like charisma and persuasiveness.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to Do Exclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies

From Steve Jobs’ Life: How To Save A Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally

How To Save A Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally:

Do not race to the bottom on prices. Get your user to have an emotional connection with the product. Amelio’s approach was to build a cheap product based on sketches of bolder ideas. Jobs believed in digging into the depth of what a product should do. You need to understand the essence of a product in order to get rid of the parts that are not fundamental. Can you get 1 part to do 4 times as much work? Design was not about surface but design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation. A good design can be ruined by a bad factory production. Products should be pure and seamless. Do not let the engineers drive design. Apple worked the other way. Jobs found Jonathan Ive to produce the core designs at Apple going forward.

There is an Apple office that Ive’s runs which is built around models for future design to see where the products are heading, and to get a sense of the whole company on one desk. Apple has patented hundreds of devices. They built the modern Apple company around the assumption that design and product trump profits. Together Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive produced the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, PowerMac 5, iBook.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to DoExclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies

From Steve Jobs’ Life: Merge your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take Over

Steve Jobs 1997 Insult ResponseMerge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take Over:

NeXT was failing and idea of being bought by Apple in 1996 was a tantalizing prospect for Steve Jobs. He wanted to get back into Apple while Larry Ellison of Oracle wanted to get more money by buying Apple outright. However, Jobs wanted the moral high ground by not making money in the process of transitioning back into Apple. In 1996, Steve Jobs negotiated with Gil Amelio the purchase starting with Apple Computer buying $12 per share for $500 million valuation of NeXT. Amelio countered with $10 per share for $400 million valuation of NeXT, and Jobs agreed as long as he received a payout in cash.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

From Steve Jobs’ Life: Do Not Chase Profits, Chase Value

  Do Not Chase Profits, Chase Value:

By 1996, Apple had a 4% share of the market from a high of 16% in the late 1980s. Apple had expanded into every technology sector with a wide variety of products over the decade + that Jobs had been outcasted. John Scully did not think that high-tech could be sold to mass markets. According to Jobs, in the 1990s, Scully brought in corrupt people that wanted to make money only for themselves rather than create new ideas through Apple. Scully’s drive for profits at the cost of market share reduced Apple’s value. Apple’s decline was due to its inability to innovate in any area. The Macintosh hardly improved after Jobs had left. In one instance, Jobs was asked to autograph a late-1980s model of the Macintosh keyboard but first he insisted that the arrow keys be removed. Jobs hated the arrows on the keyboard and viewed it as an example of bad decision-making within Apple. Apple was almost sold to Sun and HP in 1996, Apple’s stock fell to $14 in 1996. In 1994, Gil Amelio became the CEO of Apple and wanted to integrate the Apple with Windows NT which would have corrupted Apple further. Amelio did not like Jobs much, and thought Jobs was trying the reality distortion field at every point of interaction.
tion. Amelio was probably right.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to DoExclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies