Apple's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Apple — each one explained and grounded in the record.
Cannibalization Choice · Growth & Portfolio
Apple Killed Its Own Cash Cow on Purpose: The iPod, the iPhone, and the Courage to Cannibalize
By 2006, the iPod was a juggernaut - around 40% of Apple's revenue. So Apple built a product designed to destroy it. The decision looked reckless and was actually the most disciplined move in the company's history, governed by a single rule: if you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will.
7 min
The Distribution Rebellion · Boundaries of the Firm
Everyone Said the Apple Store Would Fail. It Became the Most Productive Retail on Earth.
In 2001, the experts agreed: a computer company opening its own glass-walled stores in expensive malls was a vanity project destined to fail. Apple did it anyway - because the real goal was never retail. It was taking back control of how its products met the world.
8 min