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Apple's Hiring of an Outsider is Out of Character
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Papermaster was "warm, patient, and willing to listen--just not the right qualities for Apple."
This does not reflect well on the rest of the team, as it certainly implies they are not willing to listen and act like mature adults.
I'm just guessing, mind you, but I think he means that the executive team is not willing to listen and does not act like mature adults.
I also think he means that being warm, patient, and willing to listen are not valued qualities in Apple executives.
I'm just guessing, mind you. It's a stab in the dark.
I am also guessing that you would say that the valued qualities (not listening, not acting like mature adults) is good - look at the end product of that behavior. Also those qualities must be good, because they are qualities valued at Apple.
Another blind stab in the dark.
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I think every company needs to have some diversity brought into the mix. When you home-grow everyone in a culture, it can blow up in your face after time. (Look at Microsoft... and look at Apple round 1).
I think people miss a big point with this though. Johnson was an outsider too... Apple is a lot of things, but a retailer wasn't one of them. I'm sure they've home grown some great talent in their retail division, but it's only 10 years old. More interesting is that Steve Jobs really managed the design of the stores... eventually, Apple is going to need to re-image their retail operations to keep it fresh and interesting, and that's where recruiting outside talent is key.
Retail is a very different beast than technology. Retail execs change companies often and not because they were bad in their roles, but because companies and people often need change. Looking at Johnson's vision for JC Penny is really of interest, because you can see where he's taken parts of Target and Apple with him, while fostering things of JC Penny into the fold. It might even work... though I don't know what people will do without sales at a department store...
"Papermaster is a really nice guy, proverbially the guy you'd want to have a beer with," said someone who interacted with him during his time at Apple. "He is warm, patient, and willing to listen--just not the right qualities for Apple. It was so painfully obvious to everyone." It was said that when he came back to work, Jobs paid little attention to Papermaster, meaning the new executive had achieved "bozo" status in the founder's exacting judgement."
This is sad.
"Cook is hiring Browett for his enthusiasm for amazing customer service"
and this is hilarious.
Jonny Ive looks like he's straining on the toilet in that photo.
This is sad.
"Cook is hiring Browett for his enthusiasm for amazing customer service"
and this is hilarious.
Jonny Ive looks like he's straining on the toilet in that photo.
re pics of top managers
if all the head honchos shaved their head like jonny ive - i think we may have something "insanely great"
"be like mike..."
if all the head honchos shaved their head like jonny ive - i think we may have something "insanely great"
"be like mike..."
How can Browett, a man for years in charge of a big retail chain, renowned for it’s dire customer service, be labelled as having enthusiasm for amazing customer service??? This does not compute.
And yes… Kudos on the write-up Jordan! A good read.
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Lol Dixons, Currys and PC World are over priced and shoddily run.
The stores look stuck in the early 90's and they're all dirty and look like someone just threw everything together with no regard to organising sections.
The customer service is also crap. They know nothing about the products on sale besides what is written in the cards next to it.
I was in a PC World store the other day passing some time and one of their sales team was advising a woman not to buy a mac. His reasons were they're hard to use and they don't have a right click on the mouse!
Lol Dixons, Currys and PC World are over priced and shoddily run.
The stores look stuck in the early 90's and they're all dirty and look like someone just threw everything together with no regard to organising sections.
The customer service is also crap. They know nothing about the products on sale besides what is written in the cards next to it.
I was in a PC World store the other day passing some time and one of their sales team was advising a woman not to buy a mac. His reasons were they're hard to use and they don't have a right click on the mouse!
When I first heard Johnson was leaving then followed by the tragic news of Jobs' passing, I couldn't help but feel a bit weary of Apple's corp future. Having lived in the U.K. and knowing Dixons, et al too well, replacing Johnson with Browett I thought I was reading "The Onion." These two could not be more further apart. I sincerely hope I am wrong, very, very, very wrong about Browett as Johnson's replacement. One of Apple's strongest points is its front end retail division. If it becomes anything like "Dixons"...
(and the irony in that last statement...)
Papermaster was "warm, patient, and willing to listen--just not the right qualities for Apple."
This does not reflect well on the rest of the team, as it certainly implies they are not willing to listen and act like mature adults.
I took it as Papermaster thought and moved like sloth on downers when he needed to be more like a squirrel on Speed.
As for John Browett: "Here's your red wig and zinc oxide face paint, welcome to the circus. You're on in three... two... one..."
Anyone who's worked for Apple and been passed over for promotion in favour of someone from the outside with no idea of the culture will tell you the basic premise of this article is incorrect.
From Apple Retail to Corporate, hard working employees who bust their asses are kept in their position because higher positions are given to external candidates who don't know the pay grades and thus accept generally less than they'd have to pay the existing employee with a promotion.
The "Apple Store Leader" program is a good example of this at the retail level. Basically you're given 2 years at manager pay to learn to be a manager, and get given a Senior Manager (one below Store Leader) position regardless of the tenure or viability of the candidates that are already managers. Not only that, but over the initial round in 2010, only 3 in 10 candidates chosen for the program were internal Apple candidates.
From Apple Retail to Corporate, hard working employees who bust their asses are kept in their position because higher positions are given to external candidates who don't know the pay grades and thus accept generally less than they'd have to pay the existing employee with a promotion.
The "Apple Store Leader" program is a good example of this at the retail level. Basically you're given 2 years at manager pay to learn to be a manager, and get given a Senior Manager (one below Store Leader) position regardless of the tenure or viability of the candidates that are already managers. Not only that, but over the initial round in 2010, only 3 in 10 candidates chosen for the program were internal Apple candidates.
WOW. So Apple intentionally hires outside when it can in order to keep from paying its current employees who know Apple's pay grade, retail or corporate, from earning the same salary as their counterparts/colleagues/et al? In essence, it doesn't matter if you work hard, you most likely will not see a promotion in order to keep from paying out more but you will be let go if you don't adapt to Apple's seemingly diehard attitude.
I've been a loyal Apple user for over a decade, but that's just ... sad... (and this may not be just AAPL, but the corporate world in general, I'm not hating on AAPL)
Considering the Apple retail experience is the WOAT, from the salespeople ignoring customers with money to hang out with their teenybopper friends, the struggle to actually find someone to help with a purchase, the catering to people who come in just to surf the web, etc., the hiring of an outsider is welcome.
Yep, hit the nail on the head. Somehow, this Macrumors piece about the outsider hired to replace Ron Johnson overlooks the fact Ron Johnson was an outside hired from Target. But hey, don't get facts get in the way of a faulty premise, Macrumors writer Jordan Golson!
This is just demonstrably not true. Marketing head Phil Schiller? Worked at Macromedia. CEO Tim Cook? Came from Compaq. Mac hardware head Bob Mansfield? SGI and Raycer Graphics. Designer Jonathan Ive? Cofounder of the design firm Tangerine. CFO Peter Oppenheimer? CFO at ADP, the payroll servicer. And on and on and on.
The only thing this article demonstrates is that senior executives at Apple have been there for a while.
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Lies. Not true. Everyone knows it. Apple will hire the best person for the job. It just happens to be that a large number in the past came from within. But if someone from outside Apple is who Apple are after, Apple will hire them.
So I take this article by MacRumors with a grain of salt. Cause those of us with a brain actually know better.
Yeah, some guy on the Internet said it. It must be true.
Well, very true, very true... then again, based on some of the comments posted, there are doubts about the veracity of the article in general... no one will no the exact truth I suppose, but some very strong statements have been made. Makes one wonder what the truth really is...
People equating a poor shopping experience at a UK retailer with an individual executive's skills, qualifications, or personal characteristics are making a mistake. (This is probably why you're typing comments on internet boards, as opposed to running multibillion dollar tech companies.)
I'll let you into a little secret: Modern high-tech executive recruitment is a highly specialized field. Recruiters and HR execs look for a polished resume, technical training, an impressive record of achievement and growth. They go through lengthy rounds of in-depth interviews with everyone from industrial psychologists to potential corporate peers. And still they hire the wrong person at least half the time.
I've seen hard-charging executives hired from top-notch, world-class firms crash and burn within a few months. And I've seen low-key guys, hired from money-losing laggards, soar once they found themselves in the right environment.
One thing I can tell you: It takes a lot more personal integrity and strength to work in a company that is struggling: Struggling with low profits, poor employee morale, or simply bad PR. You try hiring someone who works for an industry and press darling, and they think everything that comes out of their mouth was handed down by God himself.
So, Tim Cook and the top people at Apple think they've got the right guy. Maybe they are right, and maybe they made a mistake. But trust me, they aren't looking to re-create the Brent Cross Dixon's at the Apple Store near you.
I'll let you into a little secret: Modern high-tech executive recruitment is a highly specialized field. Recruiters and HR execs look for a polished resume, technical training, an impressive record of achievement and growth. They go through lengthy rounds of in-depth interviews with everyone from industrial psychologists to potential corporate peers. And still they hire the wrong person at least half the time.
I've seen hard-charging executives hired from top-notch, world-class firms crash and burn within a few months. And I've seen low-key guys, hired from money-losing laggards, soar once they found themselves in the right environment.
One thing I can tell you: It takes a lot more personal integrity and strength to work in a company that is struggling: Struggling with low profits, poor employee morale, or simply bad PR. You try hiring someone who works for an industry and press darling, and they think everything that comes out of their mouth was handed down by God himself.
So, Tim Cook and the top people at Apple think they've got the right guy. Maybe they are right, and maybe they made a mistake. But trust me, they aren't looking to re-create the Brent Cross Dixon's at the Apple Store near you.
"Outsiders"?. How cultish to even think that.
We can only hope that Cook realizes that Apple will do better with an end to inbreeding.
We can only hope that Cook realizes that Apple will do better with an end to inbreeding.
Customer service
'Instead, Cook is hiring Browett for his enthusiasm for amazing customer service -- something Apple puts a lot of stock in -- as well as his international expertise.'
- per 'MacRumors'
Speaking of 'amazing customer service' at Apple, I'll add something.
Recently I had occasion to visit an Apple store, and in listening to my complaint they opted to install an entirely new top, keyboard and all, to an older MacBook -- and gratis, at no cost to me.
They didn't have to, and I was willing to pay for the repair. But such little things are also noticeably large when some problems arise. When and if, it is nice to know there is someone to go to who are not only courteous, but expeditious in the repair, and even (perhaps) willing to cover the cost themselves. That goes a long way towards making Apple what it is, and as highly valued by many (like me).
Not to mention I just love the OS and their computers in general.
'Instead, Cook is hiring Browett for his enthusiasm for amazing customer service -- something Apple puts a lot of stock in -- as well as his international expertise.'
- per 'MacRumors'
Speaking of 'amazing customer service' at Apple, I'll add something.Recently I had occasion to visit an Apple store, and in listening to my complaint they opted to install an entirely new top, keyboard and all, to an older MacBook -- and gratis, at no cost to me.
They didn't have to, and I was willing to pay for the repair. But such little things are also noticeably large when some problems arise. When and if, it is nice to know there is someone to go to who are not only courteous, but expeditious in the repair, and even (perhaps) willing to cover the cost themselves. That goes a long way towards making Apple what it is, and as highly valued by many (like me).
Not to mention I just love the OS and their computers in general.
So this article is telling us that Apple is always ready for replacement even if someone so special like John Ive left the company.
I may be confused, but all of those folks you named were "promoted from within" to their current positions rather than being hired directly into them.