In 1997, Steve Jobs walked back onto the Apple campus in Cupertino, California. This was the first time that Apple had seen him since he was ousted from the company over a decade prior. To say that the state of the company was fragile would be an understatement. In the years that Jobs was gone, Apple had floundered and was on the brink of failure.

Jobs In-Between Apple

While Apple struggled, Jobs went on to lead another startup which Apple desperately decided to buy in the ultimate race against Microsoft, the NeXT company (via Business Insider). It was during this time that Jobs’ genius truly shone. He also started a new company, Pixar, which would go on to become a major player in the industry.

His accomplishments outside of Apple would force the company to see how valuable he was for the company---a fact that the original board members and Sculley failed to recognize.

By 1997, Apple’s business was bleeding money and the company was in desperate need of direction. While Jobs was still not the CEO of Apple, he became the face of the whole company during this period. He had revolutionized that computer industry---a fact which most of his detractors conveniently forget. But what Apple desperately needed was someone to turn the company around, and return it to its former glory. Sculley had failed in this task, and for Apple, it was time for Jobs to return.

The Return to Apple

Jobs made his first appearance back at Apple in January 1997. By then, the company was hemorrhaging money quickly. One of Jobs’ first agendas was to bolster a deal with Microsoft---which he successfully landed. A deal that yielded $150 million to invest back into the company, Jobs was hell-bent to fix what was broken (via Entrepreneur.com).

Fresh from a multi-million dollar injection, Jobs quickly noticed that the company was losing money quickly because of its diverse product line. During his 12-year absence, the company had released several versions of the Macintosh to meet merchant demands.

Unfortunately, this also meant that the market was overly saturated with Macintosh products that no one wanted to buy. So Jobs initiated a “boots to the ground” initiative to streamline the product line in a more logical fashion. This resulted in a purging of around 70% of the inventory. Unfortunately, this also meant that some 3,000 employees were laid off.

Moving forward, Jobs made it his mission to focus on four core products for Apple which targeted professionals and consumers. This led to the unveiling of the G3 desktop, Powerbook G3 portable computer, iMac desktop, and iBook portable computer.

The After-Effects

By 1997, Apple was saved and returned to profitability thanks to Jobs’ return. Eventually, his focus on core products would result in the iMac which would become one of the most iconic computers in history.

Today, Apple is worth $2.08 Trillion (via Investopedia), and has revolutionized the smartphone and tablet markets. Many of these accomplishments all started from Jobs’ return to Apple, which may have very well saved the company from going bankrupt. The Macintosh computer line may never have become what it was without his vision behind it.

If Steve had more time, board trust, and control over his company, Apple’s first tenure may have been even more successful than the second, but who knows? Jobs’ time away from Apple, if anything, helped mold him into the great leader and creator he would become upon his return, but that’s a story for another day.

For now, we can look back at the amazing products that Steve Jobs’ return to Apple created. It’s a testament to his brilliance that many of these products he brought back from the brink of failure are still in production today---a testament to their greatness.