Case Studies
Intro: Real stories of attempts, pivots, and second tries. Each case maps what went wrong, what changed, and the takeaways you can use on your next attempt.
The popular story highlights perfection and product magic. The fuller origin is simpler: Apple II and Macintosh reframed computers as personal, useful, and beautiful, teaching audiences that technology could feel human.
Then came the rupture. In 1985 he was pushed out of Apple. He invested roughly 50 million dollars across NeXT and Pixar, endured slow sales and skepticism, and collected hard lessons in platform thinking and patience. On balance sheets it looked like failure. In practice it was an apprenticeship.
Reinvention followed. NeXT hardware struggled, but its software stack was disciplined and future ready, the bones of a modern operating system. Pixar pivoted from hardware to storytelling and refined a production pipeline that would later reset animation standards. Focus tightened, teams got smaller, taste and judgment became hiring criteria.
The return in 1997 turned those lessons into a system. Apple was simplified, iMac restored confidence, iPod with iTunes normalized paid digital music, iPhone with the App Store fused hardware, software, and a developer economy, Apple Stores made retail an experience. One clear narrative connected products and channels.
The takeaway is not only the comeback, it is the messy middle that powered it. Being fired and burning cash functioned as research and development for the second act. Relevance and recall endure because the system of focus, integration, and story outlived any single launch.
The popular story highlights perfection and product magic. The fuller origin is simpler: Apple II and Macintosh reframed computers as personal, useful, and beautiful, teaching audiences that technology could feel human.
Then came the rupture. In 1985 he was pushed out of Apple. He invested roughly 50 million dollars across NeXT and Pixar, endured slow sales and skepticism, and collected hard lessons in platform thinking and patience. On balance sheets it looked like failure. In practice it was an apprenticeship.
Reinvention followed. NeXT hardware struggled, but its software stack was disciplined and future ready, the bones of a modern operating system. Pixar pivoted from hardware to storytelling and refined a production pipeline that would later reset animation standards. Focus tightened, teams got smaller, taste and judgment became hiring criteria.
The return in 1997 turned those lessons into a system. Apple was simplified, iMac restored confidence, iPod with iTunes normalized paid digital music, iPhone with the App Store fused hardware, software, and a developer economy, Apple Stores made retail an experience. One clear narrative connected products and channels.
The takeaway is not only the comeback, it is the messy middle that powered it. Being fired and burning cash functioned as research and development for the second act. Relevance and recall endure because the system of focus, integration, and story outlived any single launch.
