Instead of studying leadership, why not spend some time studying leaders and strategies in the wild? You can learn a lot from leadership experts, but you always see the leader and what he or she does through the expert’s personal lens. Supplement that learning with studying real leaders in real life situations and draw your own conclusions. The posts in this series will help you.

Every week I’ll point you to articles by and about real leaders in real situations and to articles about how real companies are faring in the marketplace. Read them. Think about them. Draw your own lessons and conclusions from them. Then try to apply those lessons in your own real life.

This week I’m pointing you to articles about Apple.

From the Economist: Apple succumbs to the smartphone malaise

“LAST SUMMER the market value of Apple passed $1trn, a first for any publicly traded Western company. It did not stay there for long. In November it passed the $1trn mark again, travelling in the other direction. Last week Tim Cook, the smartphone maker’s boss, cut revenue forecasts for the first time in over a decade. Apple’s shares plunged a further 10% on the news, dragging the world’s jittery stockmarkets down with them.”

From Ben Thompson: Apple’s Errors

“As rare as last week’s Apple revenue warning from CEO Tim Cook may have been — the company last issued a revenue warning in June 2002 — the company has had other bad quarters in the iPhone era.”

From Kara Swisher: Is This the End of the Age of Apple?

“Now stick with me here, because what’s happening across what are considered fast-forward industries like cannabis and tech is worrisome. Where is the next great boom of innovation going to come from, when even the strongest brands and products might not be sure things anymore?”

From Yves Doz: Will Apple Be the Next Nokia?

“Amid a stunning slowdown in smartphone sales, what does the future hold for Apple and its global tech rivals?”

From Panos Mourdoukoutas: Apple’s Biggest Problem Isn’t ChinaApple’s Biggest Problem Isn’t China

“Apple’s biggest problem isn’t a slow-down in the Chinese economy or the US-China trade war, which has been blamed for a big downward revision in sales. Its biggest problem is taking consumers for granted at home and abroad.”

For some ideas about how to get more from this series of posts, check out “Studying Leaders in the Wild.“