AOL Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong has studied the turnaround of Apple Inc to chart his own course for the revival of the once powerful Internet company, according to a report from BusinessWeek.

Armstrong has told his employees to read a 1996 BusinessWeek article titled “The Fall of an American Idol” which describes the misfortunes Apple suffered at a time when current CEO Steve Jobs had not yet returned to the company.

Armstrong, a former Google Inc executive, has used Apple’s experience to create his own plan for a turnaround which he sums up in the report as: “New Products and services that people find necessary.”

AOL Inc., which dominated the online experience for many computer users in the mid to late 1990s, suffered as customers migrated from its dial-up online service to Internet service providers.

The company is set to become independent from parent Time Warner on December 10. AOL’s main focus is now on various websites catering to niche audiences.

“This is a challenge, I know that, Armstrong said in the report. “We have to create a company that doesn’t settle for mediocrity.”

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