steven jobs figures heroically in the history of American entrepreneurship

at the age of 22 he founded a company called

apple computer and proceeded to grow it into a two billion dollar business

in the spring of 1985 he lost a power struggle inside Apple

and left the company he had created he spent the summer considering his next move

and resolve to begin again

in September he started a new computer company with his own money

with characteristic flair he called it next incorporated

this morning

at its offices in Silicon Valley California the company is about to get a

first look at its new trademark

the signature it hopes to make familiar around the world the designer

Paul Rand created the logo's for IBM Westinghouse

UPS and many others rand doesn't normally work for infant companies even

if they could afford him

but next isn't an ordinary start up the Paul Rand: The ideas to

please don't open, don't look at the back, first

this is the front and don't get scared this is not the design

( laughter )

I did this to sort of floor Steve when he saw it

you know, think, "Jesus, that's a hundred thousand bucks down the drain"

Jobs is had a sneak preview of the logo and loves it

as he waits for a verdict from his staff he can hardly contain his excitement

assertive as he is, he values consensus

most of these young computer and software designers were on the team that

developed the Macintosh

they left secure jobs at Apple to follow their boss in pursuit of his new vision

Steve's goal is to transform the learning process at the college and

graduate school level with a powerful computer

and a new kind of software, Steve Jobs: and we decided we wanted to start a company

that had a lot to do with education and in particular higher education colleges

and universities so what our vision is, is

that there's a revolution in software going on now

on college and university campuses and it has to do with providing

two types of breakthrough software one is called simulated learning environments

it's where... you can't give

a student in physics a linear accelerator, you can give a student

in biology a five million dollar

recombinant DNA laboratory but you can simulate those things, you can simulate

them on a very powerful computer

and it is it is not possible for students to afford these things

it is not possible for most faculty members to afford these things, so if we can take

what we do best which is to find really great technology

and pull it down to a price point that's affordable to people

if we can do the same thing for this type of computer which is maybe ten

times as powerful as a personal computer

that we did for personal computers then I think we can make

a real difference in the way the learning experience happens,

in the next five years, and that's what we're trying to do

company's common goal at the crest in the way

me no idea how their day way back when they you know

they were at the crest in December 1985 in business for just 90 days

jobs and his eleven employees hold their first retreat company retreats like this

so the continuation of a tradition Steve established at Apple

early on watching him in action at these brainstorming sessions is an opportunity

to observe him at his lucid best as a company builder and motivator

pricing in the future his opening remarks reveal his faith in high

technology and his idealism

your heart an unusual combination that is part of his uniqueness

in effect he is planting the seeds have a new corporate culture

more important

then building a product

we are in the process %uh architecting a company

that will hopefully be much much more incredible

the total will be much more incredible the summer as part and the cumulative

effort

approximately you know twenty thousand decisions that we're all gonna make over

the next two years

are going to define what our company is and one other things that made

Apple great was that in the early days

it was built from the heart not

by somebody who came in and said I double the company here's what you do

that %uh that it wasn't built that way it was built from the heart

now unfortunately we didn't always use our heads and we can do better

in many respects because we are wiser and smarter

no more in those kinds of things but one of the most important things

wanna wanna my largest wishes that we build next from the heart

and the people it are thinking about coming to work force or buying our

products or who want to sell us things

feel that that we're doing this because we have a passion about a

we're doing this because we really care about the higher educational process

not because we want to make a buck not because

you know we just want to do it to do it jobs can be overbearing and impatient

but this team knows what to expect and is not easily intimidated

they are smart and they're focused and their preferred language

his computer use

they actually provided and harness to rehearse the world when you've got this

far

to remind you away drop actually into the sea shell

and her reactions that happen when you don't quite alright I'm

or when you drop something we have to create a product

than water magnitude more powerful then the current generation

he sees for two solid days the group listens to progress reports from each

department

the goal is to arrive at design decisions production deadlines

and a marketing strategy aimed at selling on college campuses

is define the problem the point is that june july and August are taxed people to

work

when they went with when the school's out

and where the people researchers staff to deal with

making computing happened for September that need to work

that is if that's like a bomb run

you don't change your your target when you're on the Palmer

from the sidelines jobs probes and challenges he has a remarkable ability

to identify the conclusions implicit in with the others have to say

so really the next 90 days are important we're gonna make it or break it

based on whether we can provide product to higher education

and services and relationships the higher education

that no one else provides and I think we ought to spend a hundred percent of our

time

thinking about that and if we can't do that that we ought to go pro

there needs to be someone who

is sorta the a.m. keeper and reiterated have the vision

because there's just but I work to do and a lot of times you know you have to

walk a thousand miles

you take the first step it looks like a long ways and it really helps if there's

someone

they're saying well we're one step closer you know the call definitely

exists is not just a mirage other

so in 2001 little and sometimes larger ways

the vision needs to be reiterated do that a lot was

there was the price one

the schedule 1 technology technology yeah

jobs continually interrupts to focus the lens of his vision and priorities

are by the end of the first day the team has established the critical importance

of keeping the price of the computer within the reach of students and

professors

and bring the product to market by spring 1987

a survey of college campuses has indicated that the new computer should

sell for no more than three thousand dollars to be considered affordable

since college buying takes place in the summer jobs is concerned that a failure

to have their product ready by spring 1987 will delay the company

an entire year however this by spring a7 router doesn't know my first priority is

to make sure that everything is not answering a sigh I think spring

can basically push out the summer but I also hear that that is number one

right i guess i disagree with

price being the second bank because

unless we had unless we have this technology that allows people

I'm we're not going to have a firm foundation that people are gonna buy

from

I think people are going to be a lot more flexible thanks well Jesus runs

three times faster seven times faster than

you know want you to hire week ago over

guard well we can make this 5,000 I think we're all ratings every medical

three-test best with a four thousand they didn't say that here I i str eight

thousand dollars it's a hot rod

they were they said you're 3,000 forget that that's the magic number they've

also called

that nobody else as they do that they think that's a really big number now

whether it is or not in reality

who knows whether it is or not true to their commitment yes to push

us we've established that for

if we really do believe that we have to ship this by summer a7 then

how are you going to do that I don't think prices going to change the

schedule out much I think

the real risk is in the technology is not only cost rock

go to the Sprint yea yeah

we could but the problem is if we do that

vehement down for far away I no that's not the worst thing worse thing is

every the world is standing still so by the spring you 88 well we want caller

know the technology windows or two passes by all the work we've done with

right on a toilet we start over in

you know says we prove we can do something great in eighteen months why

should we believe we can do it you know your later

I don't care what you said. Reality distortion is reality distortion, and it

has its motivational value and that's fine and I think it has a very strong point

very important about however when it comes to that

when it comes to that date affecting the design of the product

that's when we get into n a lot

real deep shit because if we are unrealistic about this day

we make design decisions that we didn't have to go all our

reiterate know I'll start all regular

and you told as yesterday we have happened unfortunately

so much can't get rid of that past and I remember past where we put

out list this long about the software that was going to ship with our product

as you recall

the list was formidable and with all

thought we could do it in 12-month and 15 packages

so maybe we ought to do though is say CIA think we have to drive a stake in

the ground somewhere

and I think if we miss this window then

a whole series of events come into play we can't sauna units in 87

the paper operating costs okay you know word gets out that we're not doing that

well %ah the credibility start to a row

out that a I don't know you know you can make a police an issue

we've got to have stay on the ground problem I've got those one will

everybody believe that the state is in fact in the ground

and secondly once offer comes back and says what they can do my summer or

spring Ave 7 will it be telling us the truth

that's what I worry about reviled

well yeah I'm that's exactly my way we've got a person you're listening to a

word processor in six months has taken three years

well George I can change world you know what I do

what's the solution yeah I mean I want here

just as we blew last time we're gonna blow this time let's see what we can

learn is by what I want this probably relevant

meaner certain realities here both psychological

and and market that

that are gonna come into play in my own personal judgment

and I think this is a window that we've got we've been given it thank god we've

been doing it nobody else's is done is it's a wonderful winter we have 18

months

so I don't think we have a company if we don't do this no matter what I say

or anybody else says that is my deepest bullied if we don't do this

we will not be able to attract great people we will not be able to retain the

ones

some other ones we have and me know it just won't be us

and I find myself making with the things we don't know them

I remember that our companies ninety days all

the many and I look back to all things we do know

it's really phenomenal form in nine days

pi forgot how much work it actually is to start coming

get a lot of work and you gonna do everything you gotta come up with the

name you've got to come up with a local

you naming in addition to designing the product you gotta figure out what to

design you gotta figure out how you gonna get to the marketplace you going

to a part number system you got a good bank account you gotta set up charts

general ledgers

get a management information system get a little kitchen set up get a coffee

maker

all the stuff where we going for you three months later the company returns

to Pebble Beach to hold its second retreat

progress has been made the first mock up of the new computers in the trunk steve

is Carrie

we have the flush with excitement that animated the first days of start-up

has given way to the pressure of solving actual problems in time to meet critical

deadlines

which the minute steve begins to deliver his traditional sayings of chairman jobs

it becomes clear that the mood at this retreat will be different from the first

supplement for saying to the honeymoon is over

up all those wonderful things

that we got purges be are now

sorta just all-news we are like every other start-up