Did some research and found out that almost no company does annual “top 100” retreats like Steve Jobs used to during his time at Apple, which indeed, is so surprising to me. But I think there are a couple reasons why Jobs was able to do it, and why companies today (and even Cook) aren’t. 

First is talent. You may know that Jobs was a big believer in bringing in top talent and working with them as “closely” as possible. This doesn’t mean Apple suddenly stopped having great people post-Jobs. But I think how people are perceived today at the company has changed. 

Second is vision. It would be fair to say that Job had a clear vision for the company. What he wanted to do in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years. He had clarity. And the thing he did was, he made his team believe in his vision, more so in his mission and conviction. 

And third is leadership. The way Jobs operated Apple during his time at the company was completely different than how Apple is now operated and managed. He was one of the early founders who followed the path to Founder Mode, rather than following the conventional approach. 

This created a strong culture at the company, and people at Apple weren’t primarily driven by money. They cared about the company, built products they thought were cool, and pushed the company forward caring too little about salary or equity. 

Once that culture perished, the “Think Different” was gone.