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Former Apple CEO John Sculley Reflects on Steve Jobs
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It’s interesting that Sculley was extremely kind to Jobs in this interview. Whereas, Jobs has pretty much lambasted him every chance he’s gotten (his interview for “Triumph of the Nerds” was pretty direct).
You can tell it’s personal with Sculley compared to Jobs’ relationship with other past Apple CEOs like Gil Amelio (who in reality should get a little more credit — unlike Sculley — he did seek Jobs out and bring him back to Apple).
You can tell it’s personal with Sculley compared to Jobs’ relationship with other past Apple CEOs like Gil Amelio (who in reality should get a little more credit — unlike Sculley — he did seek Jobs out and bring him back to Apple).
They say bellicose men wear bow ties... the stereotype holds true.
Those braces are horrid. On jeans? Those were dire days.
It also gave him time to contemplate what he had done up to the disconnect.
His basic ideas were intact before being fired tho. Look at what he was doing, the path Apple went after he left, and where it returned to when Jobs came back.
Those braces are horrid. On jeans? Those were dire days.
In every great career comes one stunning horrid failure/defeat. His made him stronger as he focused on his family and started a giant motion picture animation company.
It also gave him time to contemplate what he had done up to the disconnect.
His basic ideas were intact before being fired tho. Look at what he was doing, the path Apple went after he left, and where it returned to when Jobs came back.
Exactly. Right place right time for Mr Jobs. I'm sure those people at Xerox who created the GUI but didn't know what to do with it at the time must be kicking themselves these days.
He wasn't saying people were idiots, he was saying his vision was beyond what the average person could conceive at the time. Maybe you weren't around at that time when all you had was a command line interface.
Besides... he was right. Like it or not, the computer and now consumer electronics would be a lot less than what it is today if it wasn't for Steve Jobs. He's defined a new level of form, functionality and quality that other companies are scrambling to copy.
There is a photo in that article where Steve actually looks a lot like Keanu Reeves.
If you get a chance, read Sculley's book, "Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple...a Journey of Adventure, Ideas & the Future". It was written when he was still at Apple I think but after Jobs was forced out. In the book he credits himself for saving Apple (remember, this was before the company's collapse).
What is interesting is the start of the book where he writes about meeting and eventually working with Jobs. Sculley always writes about Jobs in glowing terms, so much so, at times it almost sounds like hero worship or a love affair (perhaps "bromance" would be more apt). Even when he wrote about Jobs being forced out, Sculley was never really critical of him.
You rather get the feeling that Sculley's time with Jobs was the highlight of his career. Far more so that his time at PepsiCo.
What is interesting is the start of the book where he writes about meeting and eventually working with Jobs. Sculley always writes about Jobs in glowing terms, so much so, at times it almost sounds like hero worship or a love affair (perhaps "bromance" would be more apt). Even when he wrote about Jobs being forced out, Sculley was never really critical of him.
You rather get the feeling that Sculley's time with Jobs was the highlight of his career. Far more so that his time at PepsiCo.
Great insight. I wish I have his strong believes.
A single person's vision is what greatest come from, not from focus groups. Group thinking creates average thinking.
A single person's vision is what greatest come from, not from focus groups. Group thinking creates average thinking.
I'm thankful Steve did what he did and stuck to his principles. If not we'd all most likely be stuck with the Windows OS. 
Xerox sold a lot of these machines. The Xerox Star was a very popular business and Research machine. I worked on a Xerox Dandelion 1108 and later a Xerox Daybreak 1186. (Both were D series machines.). I was doing some cognitive science research work in Pittsburgh at the time.
Working on those machines was like sitting in front of a piece of science fiction everyday. I would describe them to my computer literate friends, and they would just stare at me... Most of them had never seen a bitmapped screen or mouse in person, let alone work on them.
The Dandelion I had was about the size of a two drawer file cabinet. It had a CRT monitor with about the same resolution screen as the iPad I'm typing this on now. It was an expensive machine, I think mine cost $30 grand or so. I still have a bunch of InterLisp D code on a box of 8" floppy disks.
I would sit in front of the Dandelion, and as I worked, slowly it became clear to me that computers were about to change. (This was in the early 80's). The future was here, it just wasn't evenly distributed.
For the most part, they are. Let's face it, most people have no idea what they want. If you work with people on design and stuff then you'd know. Leaving a lot of decisions up to the masses is a spell for disaster.
I loved the read. Steve is such a fascinating person. His ability to see those things that no one can see if mind boggling.
I am not sure if English is your first language. If it's not, try to read the quote again, and again, and try to factor the time it was said. Or you must be a young student in journalism.
That particular machine was never meant to be a consumer product, hence why it was only sold to research facilities and universities.
Also I highly doubt that machine had the same resolution screen as the iPad.
All I can say is I am glad I was alive to experience all that Apple had to offer. I brought home our first Apple computer in 1986, or something like that, and sat my 2 y/o one side of me and my 6 y/o on my other side and I showed them how folders on a virtual desktop looked.
I never understood the "backslash" pathway -- that's what we were using on Microsoft PCs at work -- until I saw the folders on the Apple desktop. Then it all made sense.
Getting rid of the 5 1/4 inch floppy disks; getting rid of disks entirely; getting rid of fans to cool the computers; the aesthetics.
Yes, Steve Jobs is a genius. And I'm not. But I bet he enjoys the huge smile on my face every time I use one of his magical devices.
The most interesting thing about the Apple Corporation is how "clean" they keep things. Two versions of the iPad (wi-fi with/without 3G; two iPhones (white / black); two laptops (MacBook and MacPro); so on and so. Not a bit difficult to understand when walking into an Apple store.
It's been a great ride for almost 30 years, my entire work-life.
I never understood the "backslash" pathway -- that's what we were using on Microsoft PCs at work -- until I saw the folders on the Apple desktop. Then it all made sense.
Getting rid of the 5 1/4 inch floppy disks; getting rid of disks entirely; getting rid of fans to cool the computers; the aesthetics.
Yes, Steve Jobs is a genius. And I'm not. But I bet he enjoys the huge smile on my face every time I use one of his magical devices.
The most interesting thing about the Apple Corporation is how "clean" they keep things. Two versions of the iPad (wi-fi with/without 3G; two iPhones (white / black); two laptops (MacBook and MacPro); so on and so. Not a bit difficult to understand when walking into an Apple store.
It's been a great ride for almost 30 years, my entire work-life.
