Steve Jobs Called Google's Vic Gundotra on a Sunday About This Icon

[Savor]

Very Howard Hughes-like. I remember Hughes' OCD stemmed from having his cake perfectly cut. If it was off, he wouldn't eat it and demand another one. And of course, he was a germaphobe similar to Howie Mandell. I hear Jobs doesn't like to shake hands with strangers.

Jobs' attention to detail and minimalism stems from the Japanese. Alongside Shintoism, many Japanese are also Buddhists like Jobs. Pursuit of perfection. I think that's why the Japanese love iPhone.

 

[vrDrew]

Seems pretty disrespectful of other people's time..

I'll just refer you to the last paragraph in Vic Gundotra's post:

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I'll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

You talk about "respect."

The reason that Steve Jobs called Gundotra was because that logo was Google's intellectual property. And that, rather than simply tell his people at Apple to go ahead and make whatever changes he wanted, Steve Jobs respected Google, and Mr Gundotra's position at that company, enough to ask their permission first. That the way their logo looked was an important part of Google's brand, and that it would be morally, and probably legally, wrong to modify it in any way without clearing it first.

This seems to be a nicety that gets lost on a lot of people.

 

[*LTD*]

I'll just refer you to the last paragraph in Vic Gundotra's post:





You talk about "respect."

The reason that Steve Jobs called Gundotra was because that logo was Google's intellectual property. And that, rather than simply tell his people at Apple to go ahead and make whatever changes he wanted, Steve Jobs respected Google, and Mr Gundotra's position at that company, enough to ask their permission first. That the way their logo looked was an important part of Google's brand, and that it would be morally, and probably legally, wrong to modify it in any way without clearing it first.

This seems to be a nicety that gets lost on a lot of people.

Very good point. It seems very few (if any) people caught this.

Sort of puts Apple's litigation efforts in a new, more positive light - not that there was anything wrong with it in the first place, particularly their "respect our IP" line.

 

[kdarling]

The reason that Steve Jobs called Gundotra was because that logo was Google's intellectual property.

Understood. It doesn't mean he gets to call someone at any time, just because he thinks his time is worth more than the other person's.

That's a bad Jobs trait we hear about time and again. He'll cut people off, make nasty remarks, and even fire people if he's in a bad mood. When Jobs was out for his transplant, reports were that the Apple campus mood was happier than usual because Jobs wasn't around.

Despite what some youngsters here think, being successful doesn't require being a jerk, nor does it confer special do-anything-you-want rights.

Thank goodness for Tim Cook, who seems the opposite of Jobs, more thoughtful and respectful of people.

 

[*LTD*]

Despite what some youngsters here think, being successful doesn't require being a jerk, nor does it confer special do-anything-you-want rights.

Steve Jobs' personality and attitude and entire management philosophy was also a winning formula. No matter how distasteful (unwarrantedly) you think it is, it needs to continue. This industry is ridiculously cutthroat - now more than ever. Apple needs a firm hand, and an uncompromising hand.

Any change in management style is cause for a little worry.

Thank goodness for Tim Cook, who seems the opposite of Jobs, more thoughtful and respectful of people.

Let's hope not too much. Apple has always needed (and continues to need) a firm visionary - one that inspires more respect than love, and one that is feared by Apple's competitors. Apple is unique, at least in part, because its leader was also unique, and those "undesirable" characteristics were exactly what was necessary to compete with the also-rans that have flooded the market with cheap derivative junk.

Steve Jobs' style obviously paid off - to the tune of about $80 billion, with MS firmly in rearview. Steve Jobs' style revived Apple in record time, changed and created entire markets, and was an example of how to not only run a business, but make rivals look like flat-footed idiots. Any change to that style carries some major risks.

Apple needs a combination of a**shole + visionary + obsessive (with perfection), and nothing less. Nothing less at all. It is precisely these traits that have kept Apple not only above water, but way above the also-rans.

This is not to say that another style wouldn't work, but that any deviation from the "Apple status quo" needs to be justified fully and completely. And at this point, I really don't see any justification for a change in management style.

Hopefully Tim Cook + Jon Ive + Scott Forstall can = 1 Steve Jobs. Cook ran Apple very well in Jobs' absence, but operations-savvy is only half of what Apple needs. We'll see in due course what Tim Cook's Apple is made of.

 

[jjrtiger]

I guess we know who changed the calculator icon 3 or 4 times

 

[jicon]

Not at all surprised at this. For those of you not familiar with Job's obsession with caligraphy, search YouTube for 'Stanford Steve Jobs', and listen to his commencement speech from 5 years ago.

He talks about his early days at Reeds College and his studies, being fired from Apple, and his imminent death.

 

[einmusiker]

I wonder who the apple employee is the actually noticed this and informed Steve about it?

 

[spadesman]

Too bad Apple didn't pay attention to all the details...

I do agree that Jobs had a keen eye for detail, but you can always tell when he was involved in the design process like the fact that the iphone just HAS to keep getting smaller every iteration (How about a slightly bigger battery Stevee Boy?)

What is frustrating though is that Jobs will be concerned with the color of a single character on a tiny icon but Apple has forever made substandard power adapters for their laptops. You would think that some of the manpower used to shrink every idevice each year could be channeled to make a power adapter that could handle some normal wear and tear and last more than a year. All one has to do is read all the reviews on Apple Store of people complaining about the build quality, etc. I had a Powerbook G4 450 and went through several adapters with that thing, eventually having to purchase a 3rd party adapter (which had much better support around the connector). Unfortunately with the magSafe, which is a great feature by the way, we can only get adapters from Apple. I had to replace the adapter with my Mid 2009 MacBook Pro after a little over a year of use and Apple now forces you to buy the MacBook Air version of adapter which is just awful.

 

[parapup]

CEO of a company where I worked prior to my current job once washed coffee cups in the pantry.

I was standing with my friend/colleague looking at the 3-4 unwashed cups people left and whining about how people suck. The CEO enters and goes - your whining isn't going to wash the cups - let's just do something that will - wash'em!

We finish up and then the CEO goes - from now on, no common cups. Everyone will be having their own and will keep it with them at their own damn desk.

 

[*LTD*]

Find another CEO who thinks and talks like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOgOP_aqqtg

Good luck. Apple needs this type of guy.

I do agree that Jobs had a keen eye for detail, but you can always tell when he was involved in the design process like the fact that the iphone just HAS to keep getting smaller every iteration (How about a slightly bigger battery Stevee Boy?)

It's what sells. It's what is expected of such devices these days. It's the kind of thing that delights most consumers. Not everyone will agree. But those that do, have contributed to Apple's $80 billion.

What is frustrating though is that Jobs will be concerned with the color of a single character on a tiny icon but Apple has forever made substandard power adapters for their laptops.

In an age where the competition makes entire products that are substandard. We're not just talking batteries here. You're losing perspective.

You would think that some of the manpower used to shrink every idevice each year could be channeled to make a power adapter that could handle some normal wear and tear and last more than a year. All one has to do is read all the reviews on Apple Store of people complaining about the build quality, etc. I had a Powerbook G4 450 and went through several adapters with that thing, eventually having to purchase a 3rd party adapter (which had much better support around the connector).

Small potatoes in light of the Big Picture.

Unfortunately with the magSafe, which is a great feature by the way, we can only get adapters from Apple. I had to replace the adapter with my Mid 2009 MacBook Pro after a little over a year of use and Apple now forces you to buy the MacBook Air version of adapter which is just awful.

Thank God this is our biggest problem. The also-rans would kill to have this sort of problem.

 

[sbrhwkp3]

Anyone who thinks this is OCD is a fool.

It's genius. Genius that has taken Apple from the bottom to the top under Steve's guidance.

Argue with that.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Anyone remember the upside-down Apple Logos on the back of the laptops in the 90's. I bet if Steve wasn't in charge, they would still look like that.

 

[MattInOz]

Anyone remember the upside-down Apple Logos on the back of the laptops in the 90's. I bet if Steve wasn't in charge, they would still look like that.

I think maybe his wife or kids might be responsible for that. Someones made him sit through an early episode of sex in the city.

 

[manu chao]

but Apple has forever made substandard power adapters for their laptops. You would think that some of the manpower used to shrink every idevice each year could be channeled to make a power adapter that could handle some normal wear and tear and last more than a year. All one has to do is read all the reviews on Apple Store of people complaining about the build quality, etc. I had a Powerbook G4 450 and went through several adapters with that thing, eventually having to purchase a 3rd party adapter (which had much better support around the connector). Unfortunately with the magSafe, which is a great feature by the way, we can only get adapters from Apple.

Owned Apple laptops since 2000, never had any problems with the power adaptors. But I am aware of some cable fraying issues with the original MagSafe adaptors (though have no idea how widespread they are, are we talking about 1%,1 ‰, 0.1‰?) and Apple has adjusted the design to reduce that problem. You never get everything right the first time. But they did pay attention to the issue and changed things. (And they did pay attention to the whole category of power adaptors by introducing the MagSafe in the first place. Why did nobody else do so before them?)

I had to replace the adapter with my Mid 2009 MacBook Pro after a little over a year of use and Apple now forces you to buy the MacBook Air version of adapter which is just awful.

What is awful about the MBA version of it? And I see three different power adaptors for sale by Apple: 45, 60, 85 W, each of which will work with your MBP (well, maybe the 45 W will charge very slowly). I myself have a 60 and 85 W adaptor and both work fine with my 2009 13" MBP (I have yet another one, not at hand at the moment not sure what model it is).

 

[Chase R]

Haha, that's so awesome. I totally relate to Jobs' mentality too... I can't STAND to see ugly software, hardware, whatever. And beauty is part of what makes Apple products what they are (not saying it's the only reason I buy them)

Exactly!

I sure hope Tim has an eye out, and hopefully Steve still does too, for these sorts of things, it's what sets Apple apart from the rest.

 

[ghettochris]

I had to replace the adapter with my Mid 2009 MacBook Pro after a little over a year of use and Apple now forces you to buy the MacBook Air version of adapter which is just awful.

^this. my 15 inch MBP power brick died and I got a new apple one and saw I got the macbook air tip and hate it in every place I use the computer. in the car, on my desk, in my lap. I was like wtf is this bs, googled it and learned apple sawpped the all. wrong move apple, the new macbook airs have straight sides and could use the old style magsafe! You could have swithched them all, including the thunderbolt display to the old stlye and been a hero

 

[*LTD*]

Haha, that's so awesome. I totally relate to Jobs' mentality too... I can't STAND to see ugly software, hardware, whatever. And beauty is part of what makes Apple products what they are (not saying it's the only reason I buy them)

Exactly. Why should you tolerate it? You have to actually *look* at the damn thing (hardware + software) each time, and sometimes for extended periods. Why work with unpleasant tools?

 

[KnightWRX]

Google+ is a bad example. It's a thin client for their web app. And they STILL managed to mangle it so it crashes if you look at it wrong.

Google+ never crashed on my iPhone. As for being a thin client for a web app, hum... what did you expect ? Google+ is an online service, of course the app is a thin client. It can't exactly download and store the whole Google+ database locally. It just queries the Google servers and displays the output on your phone, like any other network based application does.

 

[Will do good]

I wish more CEOs cared about their products, actually took pride in them, instead of your typical beancounting MBAs who cares about nothing but cutting costs, and commoditization of skills (aka outsourcing). That crap could be done by a simple computer program---no need to pay someone a lottery-size paycheck each year to make those kinds of decisions. It takes zero talent to put people out of work.

In contrast, making great products that people actually want requires the human element: passion, vision, understanding users, and understanding a little about the product at a more technical level (can't be solely 1000 miles above like your typical MBA who often have never even tried to use the product---they have people for that.)

I worked with MBA for over 20 years in a major ad agency. 95% of them are nothing but bean counter without a soul or personality. Thank goodness for Jobs care enough to make near perfect product.

 

[MacNewsFix]

Anyone who thinks this was the right thing to do, has obviously never had an executive call them up in the middle of their personal time to say that they needed a minor detail changed so their presentation would look better.

......

Of course they should. Then they can do something about it during the work week, instead of barging in on other people's personal time. It's sick the way that companies think they own everyone 24/7 nowadays.

I've never met an executive that works 9 to 5 or a 5 day work week. Of course, they also get compensated for it.

 

[Will do good]

My old mentor was a detail freak like Mr. Jobs, he was hard to work for, demanding, the work is never good enough... most people hated him. But he was super successful and was a major force in the financial industry in NYC.

I consider people like my mentor and Mr. Jobs the perfect mentor for those of us that's good enough and tough enough to work for the best. We become that much better after. What doesn't kill you make you stronger.

I wish I had the chance to work for Mr. Jobs, the short tern pain would be worth the long term gain. Trust me on this one

 

[Individual]

What a moot issue.. a radiant in a letter. Really?

Where was that attentive detail when everyone was having that signal loss issue due to the phone not being able to be held in certain normal positions..

 

[Music_Producer]

Unbelievable.. "OCD", "wasting someone's time on a sunday?" Really?

I've worked with some really talented people, and most musicians/directors who are passionate about their work fret over the smallest of details. It was pretty common to get calls at 2 am over things like "Listen.. I was thinking about the mix and I think we need to get the snare a little more crisp.. just a bit more"

Ordinary people would think that this could have waited for another day.. but that's not how people who are passionate about their work are. I lose sleep over mix sessions at time, worrying about which mix would sound better to the listener.

By labeling Steve Jobs as "OCD" or jerk or whatever, you are simply showing off how average you are.

 

[johannnn]

Could anyone please care to clarify what was wrong with the yellow gradient? I tried to compare it with the current Google logo but couldn't find any difference, I guess my eyes are not as good as his