The Failure Pledge

Product and company building

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Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs
Photo: Matthew Yohe, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.

What failed

Three products in a row: the Apple III was recalled, the Lisa shipped at ten thousand dollars and died, and Macintosh revenue came in at a tenth of forecast. He tried to take the company back from its chief executive, lost the board, and resigned — and Apple sued him on the way out. Then NeXT built a factory for ten thousand machines a month and sold hundreds, while Pixar's hardware business collapsed to forty-two staff.

What happened next

Pixar stopped selling computers and made a film instead. Apple, out of options, bought NeXT for four hundred million dollars in December 1996 and he was running the company again within a year.

The point

The twelve years in between were not a detour. The company Apple bought to save itself was the one he built after being thrown out, and the operating system it bought is the one still running underneath every Mac.

The sequence

8 documented failures, shown with the successes in between. Every entry carries its own source — the wins are part of the record, and leaving them out is how these stories get distorted.

  1. 1980

    The Apple III ships with faults bad enough to force a recall of the entire first run.

    failureApple III (Wikipedia)

  2. 1983

    The Lisa launches at nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-five dollars and fails against the IBM PC.

    failureThe Lisa: Apple's Most Influential Failure (Computer History Museum)

  3. 1985

    Macintosh revenue comes in at a tenth of projection, forcing inventory write-offs.

    failureHow the First Apple Era Ended in 1985 (Low End Mac)

  4. 1985

    He tries to take the company back from its chief executive and loses the board.

    failureSteve Jobs attempts a boardroom coup (Cult of Mac)

  5. 1985

    He resigns as chairman. Apple sues him.

    failureSour Apples (TIME archive)

  6. 1988-1992

    NeXT's factory, built for ten thousand machines a month, produces hundreds.

    failureThe NeXT Years (Low End Mac)

  7. 1991

    Pixar's hardware business collapses and the company is cut to forty-two people.

    failurePixar (Wikipedia)

  8. 1993

    NeXT abandons hardware altogether and lays off close to half its staff.

    failureNeXT (Wikipedia)

  9. 1995

    Pixar, having given up on selling computers, releases its first feature film.

    successToy Story (Wikipedia)

  10. 1996

    Apple buys the company he built after being pushed out, and he comes back with it.

    successSteve Jobs (Wikipedia)

  11. 2007

    Twenty-two years after being forced out, he introduces the phone.

    successiPhone (1st generation) (Wikipedia)

Sources

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