Wendell Weeks: How Steve Jobs Challenged Corning's Limits

Jobs' Challenge to Corning's CEO

In 2007, when the visionary Steve Jobs was on the hunt for glass screens for the first iPhone, he didn’t simply send a request to Corning. Instead, he pushed the company’s CEO to face his own apprehensions regarding production capacity.

Wendell Weeks Reflects on a Defining Moment

Wendell Weeks, the CEO of the esteemed 175-year-old glass and materials science firm, recently shared insights about this transformative encounter during an appearance on Fortune’s “Leadership Next” podcast with hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller. He recounted how Jobs adeptly maneuvered him into accepting what appeared to be an overwhelmingly daunting challenge.

From a Rejected Pitch to a Major Opportunity

The journey began when Weeks initially proposed a different innovation to Jobs—a synthetic green laser designed to project images from smartphones. However, Jobs was not impressed, bluntly declaring, “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever effing heard in my life,” according to Weeks. Nonetheless, Jobs recognized the potential within Corning’s technological prowess and later reached out to Weeks to discuss the creation of a durable glass screen for the iPhone.

Racing Against Time

The stakes were high. Jobs demanded a mass production of scratch-resistant glass within a tight six-month window leading up to the iPhone’s launch in June 2007. Weeks informed him that while Corning had developed a suitable material—Gorilla Glass—the company lacked the capacity to manufacture it on the required scale.

Facing Internal Doubts

In response to this challenge, Weeks’ board of directors urged him to suggest another supplier to Jobs, fearing that Corning wouldn’t be able to fulfill Apple’s needs on its own. “Steve and I are sitting alone, and he says, ‘No, you’re going to do all of it,’” Weeks recounted, recalling his own doubts, “And I’m going, ‘What I’m telling you is like, I really can’t.’”

Jobs' Provocative Challenge

That’s when Jobs posed a provocative question: “Do you know what your problem is?” When Weeks admitted he didn’t know, Jobs continued, “You’re afraid. You know, you’re afraid I’m going to launch the biggest product in history, and I’m not going to be able to do it because you failed, and I’m going to eviscerate you.”

Jobs acknowledged that this concern was valid. “Now the truth is, I will, that’s true. If you fail, I will,” Weeks recalled, but then he shifted the narrative entirely.

Reframing the Stakes

“But look what you’re doing,” Jobs told Weeks. “You are putting your reputation first. You’re worried about you looking bad, and you’re keeping your people from greatness. Imagine how they’re going to feel—the folks that are working in that plant in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, all your investors … you’re putting yourself above them and your company.”

This assertion resonated deeply with Weeks. “And I said to them, you’re right. I’m afraid. And I’ll go fix that,” Weeks later shared with Fortune. “And we went away, and we said, ‘Yes.’”

The Rewarding Gamble

The risk taken by Corning yielded extraordinary results. The company reconfigured its Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility—originally established in the 1950s for Cold War-related products—to produce the first glass screens for the iPhone. This plant has since remained integral to Apple’s supply chain.

In August 2025, Apple announced a $2.5 billion investment to enhance production capabilities at the same site, solidifying the collaboration between Apple and Corning for years to come.