Steve Jobs
Jobs eliminated 70% of product lines on return
Authorized biography documenting Apple's 1997-2011 turnaround including the elimination of 70% of product lines and return to profitability. Provides detailed account of organizational succession from crisis to dominance.
The book documents how Jobs practiced creative destruction - shutting down profitable but distracting product lines to focus resources on breakthrough products. This exemplifies the 'Mature to Renewal' transition requiring closure of existing businesses to enable new ones.
Key Findings from Isaacson (2011)
- Jobs eliminated 70% of product lines on return
- Focus enabled breakthrough products
- Creative destruction preceded innovation
- Organizational transformation required leadership change
- Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy in 1997
- Microsoft's $150M investment provided emergency liquidity
- Jobs killed 70% of products to focus resources
- Strategic pivot from computers to consumer electronics enabled survival
Used in 2 chapters
See how this research informs the book's frameworks:
Documents Apple's 1997-2011 turnaround including elimination of 70% of product lines - organizational succession from crisis to dominance.
See organizational succession →Documents Apple's 1997 near-extinction (90 days from bankruptcy) and turnaround through product pruning and strategic pivot.
See near-extinction survival →