I have to agree with this. He does not sound in any way shape or form like a model of good management. In fact, in many respects he's quite the opposite. This might be blasphemous to say, but he could've just been in the right place at the right time. That's not to say that he wasn't brilliant and that his vision didn't influence the company's path significantly. But, Apple in the late 90s was the perfect place for a guy with his temperament and inclinations.
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Apple's Former Safari Chief Don Melton Reflects on Steve Jobs
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I have to agree with this. He does not sound in any way shape or form like a model of good management. In fact, in many respects he's quite the opposite. This might be blasphemous to say, but he could've just been in the right place at the right time. That's not to say that he wasn't brilliant and that his vision didn't influence the company's path significantly. But, Apple in the late 90s was the perfect place for a guy with his temperament and inclinations.
Yeah, its a honor when the boss knows your name in any big company. Its not arrogance. I personaly know only the names of few people in the office, because we are hundreds. And having a first meeting with the big boss is always stresful, because you know what they say about the first impression, right? At the end, Steve had a multi-bilion dollar company to manage and its a great great responsability. Every single minute of his time worthed thousands of dollars. But for me, it was priceless.
I hate that pic!
I signed up just so that I could voice my displeasure at the constant use of THAT picture of SJ. Can we please see a more realistic one, such as him frothing at the mouth as he screams at someone? Okay, I'm done here.
I signed up just so that I could voice my displeasure at the constant use of THAT picture of SJ. Can we please see a more realistic one, such as him frothing at the mouth as he screams at someone? Okay, I'm done here.
You mean the next big thing? [sarcasm]
Whenever a company succeeds for reasons they don't entirely understand, some people will always credit it to "marketing."
You can give feedback and convey expectations of excellence without demeaning and humiliating your employees.
I recall hearing Steve mention somewhere that they had a 20-year roadmap for OSX. This was about 10 years ago. Not sure about product roadmaps, but their computer section seems safe at least.
I hope so. I still don't buy into the nonsense that he Forstall had a cloven hoof, horns and a tail. Talented software engineer. I wish he was still at Apple.
And yes, until green felt and leather stitching crashes I'm ok with it.
Still at Apple doing what? What exactly was his vision for Apple? One could argue that Apple has fallen behind in the mobile software space because of a Forstall (and Jobs). Just as an example, on last weeks MacBreakWeekly webcast Rene Ritchie said it was Forstall and Jobs that kept putting the kibosh on AirDrop because they felt it was too complex. Could that also be the reason we didn't have Control Center prior to iOS 7? I can tell you right now I'd never go back to a version of iOS that didn't have it. Same with multitasking. The way it's implemented now is so much better IMO. If I want to close out of an app I just flick it off the screen rather than having to long press the app icon, wait for it to jiggle and then tap the tiny little x in the corner. Personally I think iOS stagnated under Forstall's watch and I don't think that will happen now that Federighi is in charge.
I prefer honesty. He respected people by expecting the best from them versus being complacent/politically correct.
He was the polar opposite of passive aggressive. You always knew where you stood with Steve.
I'll take anyone who is frank and honest versus someone that's always trying to please everyone (a yes man, politically correct, doormat, someone who always keeps a professional demeanor etc...)
Tim Cook may not have a background in art and design but I think he's a very focused man. He's a master of efficiency, something that requires someone to be extremely focused. In his former job, he took steps to improve and simplify Apple's ability to get their products made, shipped, stored, and become available on the day a new product is officially announced. This allowed Apple to keep a product a secret until the minute it's available at an Apple Store. While handling distribution of products and supply chains aren't the same as design, some of the same thinking goes into it. When Jobs and Ive design a product, they think of what they no longer need and can get rid of and sophisticated, yet simple ways of having their products manufactured.
So I think in that sense, Cook has a very good understanding into hoy Jony Ive thinks, which is why he seemingly trusts him a lot more than some of Jobs' other longtime employees.
He mentions it in his book. He says Tim isn't exactly a product person and visibly shows some disappointment when he says that. Still, he personally picked Tim Cook to be his successor, meaning that he probably trusted him and the team as a whole at Apple.
Though he might have liked to think he did, Steve Jobs didn't have a background in art and design, either. In fact it's arguable that he didn't have any background to do any of the things that he accomplished in his lifetime. What he did have was a strong and very personal sense of aesthetics, which isn't even nearly the same thing. Many of his ideas about how things should look obviously had a more general appeal, but even some of those were highly idiosyncratic (such as his mania for rounded corners). He also had the ability to believe totally in what he believed at any given moment -- then change what he totally believed to something different, even contradictory, the next day. I don't care how smart you are, that's a high wire act. Steve died before he fell off, but it was bound to happen if he'd continued on for many more years. Cook is a more traditional businessperson, but I don't see that as necessarily being a bad thing for Apple at this stage of their growth.
Except that Cook started off by putting a stake through the heart of the team when he got rid of Forstall and changed the dynamic that Jobs had put together.
Sounds like the Safari guy had the little boy's awe of the big boys. A phase we all went through. A bit cringeworthy in a mature man, however, who should be able to comment on it, with hindsight, with the voice of a fully adult male. Instead, he still couches things in terms of physical distance between him and the Sun God.