Whether you are putting all of your energy into finding a good job or you are trying to make your career into something more successful than it is right now, you can learn a lot by learning how to fail like Steve Jobs.
So, here it the time line of how Steve Jobs took Apple into the millennium:
- 2000 – Jobs is appointed permanent CEO of Apple, but the company has its most unprofitable quarter in three years. Apple releases the G4, which cost millions to create and was a complete failure.
- 2001 – The first Apple Store opens and shortly thereafter, the first iPod is released along with the unveiling of iTunes. The release of iTunes came about at the same time that music piracy was reaching epic proportions and record companies were trying to find a way to stop people from illegally downloading music. iTunes was marketed as a solution and as a workable compromise for the people who wanted instant access to music and the record companies who wanted to get paid.
- 2004 – iTunes reports that they are receiving a 70% market share and the iPod mini is released.
- 2007 – The iPhone is released and it revolutionized the idea of what smart phones were capable of . It was the company's first attempt at creating a cell phone, and it was certainly a home-run. People embraced the idea of combining a video iPod with a smart phone. It was clear very early on that this all-in-one mobile device had completely changed the way that consumers looked at mobile technology.
- 2008 – The App Store opens for business. Apple created trackpads with multi-touch technology. This new technology allowed them to offer touchpad based controls on their devices and made the famous finger gestures of pinching and scrolling possible.
- 2009 – Steve Jobs gets sick and takes a break from the company to undergo a liver transplant.
- 2010 – The iPad changes everything, all over again. The Apple tablet combined the things that were excellent about the Mac with the best of the iPod. It is designed to offer the abilities of an e-book reader, an iPod Touch and a netbook. Most of the critics and customers agreed that the iPad was a smashing success and Apple's stock hits an all time high.
- 2011 – Steve Jobs takes a health related leave. No details are being released in regards to the nature or severity of his illness.
Even though there were many times that any sane person would have thrown up their hands and given up, Steve Jobs kept working through adversity and demonstrated the same tenacity that helped him co-create Apple Computers. The biggest lesson, i think, that we can learn from this company's success is that the trouble with being an innovator is that you have to be willing to take a risk and put it out there. Sometimes, you will fail spectacularly, but when you succeed, the power of the idea will be worth more than the finished product. Apple has always been a technology innovator, and they don't do focus groups to find out what their customers want. It is their job to create what their customers want before they even knew it was possible.
What do you think about Apple's Success? Let me know in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy-Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for RealEstateJobSiteBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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