Steve Jobs in Exile

Everyone knows the legend of Steve Jobs, the visionary who showed us the future. But as Ben Thompson and Shane Parrish discuss in this episode, few people are familiar with the period where Jobs walked through the wilderness, failing repeatedly after his ousting from Apple. This era, from 1985 to 1997, was a crucible that transformed Jobs from an arrogant, difficult co-founder into the more mature leader who would eventually return to Apple and lead it to unprecedented success.

The Ousting from Apple: A Coup and a Crisis

Steve Jobs, a brilliant young man and co-founder of Apple, released the Macintosh computer in 1984. This was a game-changer, making personal computing accessible. However, despite its cultural success, the Macintosh was not a commercial success. Sales were weak, leading Apple into a crisis in 1985. John Sculley, the CEO Jobs had brought in to provide "adult supervision," found Jobs increasingly difficult to manage. Jobs was known for storming into meetings, yelling at people, and telling them they weren't doing their jobs right, even though he only ran the Macintosh division and wasn't their direct boss. Apple received numerous complaints about Jobs, and Sculley, tired of his behavior, decided Jobs had to "do something else for a while."

Jobs, however, had other plans. He attempted a coup against Sculley in early 1985. His plot involved getting a speaking gig in China and then convincing Sculley to join him, while Jobs would secretly walk into the boardroom and tell them Sculley had to be ousted, with Jobs taking over as CEO. The plot was foiled when Jobs confided in Jean-Louis Gassée, the head of Apple France, who immediately reported the plan to Sculley. This led to Jobs being pushed out of the company, a moment Ben describes as hitting "rock bottom" for Jobs.