Leadership lessons from Apple's legendary second act

What can we learn from Apple's incredible run over the second half of the company’s history?

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Thirty years ago at Apple $AAPL, the vibe was in shambles.

The company began 1996 by posting a $69 million loss, announcing 1,300 layoffs, and replacing the CEO in the first fiscal quarter.

Things seemed worse in 1997. An unexpected $120 million loss in the first quarter. There were 2,700 more workers laid off in March 1997. Another CEO was forced out in the summer.

In the middle of all of that, Apple announced plans to acquire Next Software for $400 million, Steve Jobs’ company, reuniting Apple with its co-founder.

The board named Jobs interim CEO in September 1997, then they let the man cook.

The pivot was fast and intense. Under Jobs’ leadership, Apple cancelled 70% of its products with a less-is-more strategy, secured a long-term partnership with Microsoft $MSFT to ensure Office products for Mac would continue to develop, introduced the iconic iMac in 1998, and launched the famous “Think Different” marketing campaign which forever shifted the Apple brand story away from technical specs and toward one about lifestyle and creative innovation.  

The company changed the world with its iPhone in 2007. Today, about 60% of mobile users in the U.S. own an iPhone, and about 30% of users worldwide do. Despite having less than a third of the global smartphone market, Apple generates $85 billion in revenue from its App Store, which is 67% of app spending globally.

Apple is currently the second-most-valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of $3.7 trillion, as of late March 2026.

So, it’s fair to say the company turned things around. What can we learn from Apple's incredible run over the second half of the company’s history?

Most companies scale by adding. Apple scaled by removing

“Subtraction scales better than addition,” said Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey, a leadership strategist, executive coach, and author. “Apple’s story offers some of the most powerful lessons about how subtraction, not addition, creates competitive........

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