What 12 Years of Failure Taught Steve Jobs About Success

We all know the Steve Jobs who came back in the late 1990s and saved Apple from becoming a footnote. And we've all heard the story of how, in 1985, he was pushed out of the company he'd created. What we don't know is what happened in between. Geoffrey Cain spent years reconstructing the decade Jobs spent outside Apple. NeXT spent years losing money. His co-founders left. His investors lost faith. His fortune nearly disappeared. At one point, he was a weekend away from shutting the company down. Somewhere in those failures, Jobs learned how to become the leader Apple would eventually need. This is Steve Jobs before he became Steve Jobs. ------ Chapters: (0:51) Why Steve Jobs Was Pushed Out of Apple (3:04) Steve Jobs' Failed Coup Attempt to Oust CEO (4:33) The Failure of Macintosh II (8:27) Starting NeXT Computers (9:34) The Story Behind NeXT's Iconic Logo (11:38) A Perfect Cube: The Impossible Design of NeXTcube (13:50) What Movies Get Wrong About Steve Jobs (14:02) The Ultimate Trait Steve Jobs Looked For in Hiring (14:59) Decision Making By Intellectual Combat (16:40) Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field (17:25) The Flaw that Almost Destroyed Steve Jobs (21:25) How NeXT Software Changed Computing Forever (24:44) Steve Jobs' Self-Sabotages at NeXT (25:02) Ross Perot and Steve Jobs (28:48) How Pixar Saved Steve Jobs from Bankruptcy (29:19) The Realization Steve Jobs Had at Rock Bottom (31:49) The Last Ditch Effort to Save NeXT Computers (38:55) Steve Jobs Gets His Revenge (43:09) Larry Ellison's Friendship with Steve Jobs (45:05) How Steve Jobs Brought Out the Best in His Employees (48:08) The Lessons Steve Jobs Learned From Failure (50:08) Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Rivalry (51:44) The Funniest Steve Jobs/Bill Gates Moment (53:43) Steve Jobs Takes Over As Apple CEO (57:08) How Meeting Laurene Changed Everything (59:01) Rapid Fire Questions (59:21) How Steve Jobs Inspired His Team (1:00:31) Steve Jobs Medical Treatment (1:01:42) What We Can Learn from Steve Jobs ------ Follow Geoffrey Cain: X: https://x.com/geoffrey_cain ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish: X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish⁠ Insta: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/⁠ ----- Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: +Applovin: Launch your first AppLovin campaign and grow your business: https://applovin.com/shane +HeyGen is a message-first AI video platform that helps people and AI agents turn ideas into professional video in minutes. Try for free at https://www.heygen.com/tkp +Matic: the robot vacuum that does it all—grab yourself a year of free bags here. http://maticrobots.com/shaneparrish +LMNT: My go-to zero sugar electrolytes — get a free LMNT Sample Pack here: https://DrinkLMNT.com/TKP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices