The passing of Steve Jobs has brought to mind my favorite memory of him. Summer of 1997. I was living in Silicon Valley where this was front page news. Yes, we still read newspapers back then. Apple was in serious decline. Steve Jobs had just come back to Apple after his years “in the wilderness” (Side note: I can only hope that if I have “wilderness” years in my career that they will include starting one of the most successful movie production companies of all time like Pixar). Microsoft was king of the world. They were on the brink of canning Office for Mac which would have been a huge hit to Apple’s already feeble ability to compete with the PC. However, Apple had a number of lawsuits against Microsoft for copying their technology. Jobs chose to settle the lawsuits in a “partnership agreement” with Microsoft in which Microsoft invested a much needed $150 million dollars in Apple and agreed to continue supporting Office for Mac for at least 5 years.
Even though he was in an incredibly humbling position, this was a great leadership moment for Jobs. He was effectively turning the page in Apple’s history and letting go of the old rift with Microsoft over Windows. This allowed the company to focus on the future of Apple. There are lots of great quotes, great drama, and great lessons in leadership in this video of Jobs presenting the Microsoft Partnership at MacWorld 1997 in Boston. Bill Gates even appears on a giant screen much to the chagrin of the MacWorld attendees. The best part of the video for me is just after Gates finishes his spiel when Jobs challenges the Apple community to take responsibility for its own future. Here are some of his quotes:
“We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft must lose.”
“We have to embrace the notion that for Apple to win, Apple must do a really good job.”
“If we screw up and don’t do a good job, it’s not somebody else’s fault, it’s our fault.”
“The era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I’m concerned. This about getting Apple healthy. This about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.”
It’s really amazing that in less than 15 years Apple would go from needing an investment from its bitter rival to briefly becoming the most valuable company in the world.
