The Chaos That Defined Steve Jobs’s Departure from Apple in 1985
Steve Jobs’s departure from Apple in 1985 sent shockwaves through the tech world. The cofounder of the company, known for his innovative ideas and strong leadership, was forced out in a power struggle with another executive, John Sculley. This dramatic exit echoed the OpenAI saga, where Sam Altman, the chief executive, was removed and eventually hired by Microsoft, further bringing a sense of chaos and unpredictability to the situation.
For Jobs, who founded Apple as a college dropout in 1976, the fallout was not only a professional setback but also a personal blow. His contentious relationship with the powerful executive, Sculley, led to a gradual stripping of his power and authority within the company. As Apple experienced financial and operational challenges, the board eventually sided with Sculley and significantly reduced Jobs’s role, leaving him as mere chairman.
This marked a turning point for Jobs, who felt isolated and disillusioned. He later described the board’s decision as taking a “hostile” posture toward him, contributing to his decision to sell $20 million worth of Apple stock and launch his new company, Next. Jobs’s tumultuous departure, marked by resignations and a lawsuit from Apple, reflected a bitter separation that seemed irreparable at the time.
However, Jobs’s departure also set the stage for his entrepreneurial ventures, such as the acquisition of Pixar, which laid the groundwork for the creation of the world’s first fully computer-animated feature film, “Toy Story.” Concurrently, his company, Next, continued to influence the future of software and played a pivotal role in Jobs’s return to Apple.
Nearly a decade after his ousting, Jobs made a triumphant comeback to Apple, which was struggling with market share and profits. In 1997, he took over as CEO, sparking a turnaround that would transform Apple into the iconic cultural and technological force it is today and setting the stage for the revolutionary impact of future products like the iPhone.
In hindsight, Jobs’s 1985 departure was characterized by chaos and uncertainty, but it ultimately paved the way for his rebirth as a visionary leader, reinforcing his words in a later address: “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.”
