Steve Jobs Has No Problem Telling You What He Thinks

[*LTD*]

If only RIM had someone like Steve Jobs around when they were designing the Playbook. Maybe they would have saved themselves the monumental embarrassment and not released that godawful POS.

Ditto for MS and that Slate failure, and pretty much MS' entire strategy. In fact, when you look at it, the entire non-Apple portion of the Post-PC era so far, is completely ****ed. I mean, it's as if these otherwise well-established tech companies have absolutely no experience in design and execution. What exactly was HP thinking? They *knew* it was an unfinished, half-baked product. Did they actually want to compete, or did they do it all just to hear Ruby tell everyone how much it sucked??

If Steve Jobs would have toured each of the major tech players, and they would have listened to him we'd be far, far ahead in Post-PC than we are today. It would be Burgeoning innovation. But that's all fantasy. Talent can be bought. Vision and the balls to push it, can't.

 

[Rocketman]

Okay whiners. Why didn't the President of ESPN stand up to Steve and say what his position or justification was?

He was objectively wrong, subjectively wrong, and knew it and that was that.

BTW yes bosses tend to be perceived as a**holes. They ask folks to do what they don't want to do, at times and places that annoy them, for a wage that barely justifies the "abuse". Bosses are like a&&holes, we all have them, and we all need them, or we would all be unemployed slackers like 55% of the current population, which is very scary since they can legally vote for welfare state candidates, and do.

Rocketman

 

[stealthman1]

I can't believe how many people are trying to rationalize or defend his behavior. The guy is a total and complete dick. Nobody disputes his brilliance and vision or how he single handily turned Apple into the juggernaut it is. But I'm sorry - you can be a driven and demanding boss without being a world class a$$.

Actually, no you can't. It's what separates them. To be truly brilliant and truly driven you can't give a ***** about anybody. Not me either, but I've seen it enough times and they are all like that.

 

[BigAus]

Just one side of the story. Maybe the ESPN dude is rude and arrogant himself so Jobs used the opportunity to put him in his place. Or maybe not.

 

[Hastings101]

It's nice to know that there's evidence to back up the idea Jobs is an ass.

 

[fattire357]

ESPN does a lot of great work not related to tech.


What Jobs said is like if someone went to Albert Einstein and said "your comment on medicine is the dumbest }>%>{^]£ thing I've heard"

Okay???? ESPN doesn't make phones, so I don't expect them to excel at that , just as no one would expect Einstein to be a great doctor.


What a }%^ comment

 

[hachre]

"We"? Who appointed you as spokesperson for the world?

I did.

 

[John.B]

Two things that seem to be overlooked in this discussion.

1.) Jobs knew enough about the ESPN guy and the tech in question to be able to speak to whether it was viable. (And, OBTW, he was absolutely right about it.) Steve Jobs does his homework.

2.) Steve Jobs is still the largest single DIS shareholder.

Sounds like he goes to one meeting a year. Going to be hard to vote him off the board.

See 2.) above.

ETA: Steve doesn't mail anything in. I'd bet that he would bring more clarity and focus to one BOD meeting per year that the typical rubber stamp board member who attends every meeting because it includes a ride on a private jet and a check.

 

[*LTD*]

ESPN does a lot of great work not related to tech.


What Jobs said is like if someone went to Albert Einstein and said "your comment on medicine is the dumbest }>%>{^]£ thing I've heard"

Okay???? ESPN doesn't make phones, so I don't expect them to excel at that , just as no one would expect Einstein to be a great doctor.


What a }%^ comment

Jobs calls it like it is. Thank God someone in this industry does!

If ESPN does great work not related to tech, then why the hell did they try to make a lousy phone? Then what are they doing screwing around with tech??

Maybe ESPN shouldn't do stuff they don't excel at, so as to avoid looking like idiots. A lot of other companies (some of them that are supposedly tech companies) should do the same.

Do something stupid, you get treated accordingly. Either listen to Jobs and feel insulted for a little while, or put your stupidity on display for the world to see.

 

[MrNomNoms]

Yeah...I'm sure the Disney shareholders really care about how well Apple is doing.

It brings credibility to the board and thus keeps the share price stable - shareholders are a fickle lot and superstitious at best so anything that provides confidence is a winner in the long run.

 

[John.B]

If ESPN does great work not related to tech, then why the hell did they try to make a lousy phone? Then what are they doing screwing around with tech??

Maybe ESPN shouldn't do stuff they don't excel at, so as to avoid looking like idiots. A lot of other companies (some of them that are supposedly tech companies) should do the same.

I'm with you on this one. If you are ESPN and you don't do mobile phone hardware or apps, partner with someone who does know that stuff and will do a good enough job and has a proven track record so that your corporation's name won't be sullied for the experience.

It was hubris that made Bodenheimer think they could deliver that kind of technology solution with zero knowledge or background or experience, and the guy got off easy by not being sh**-canned for overseeing such a tremendous financial blunder.

 

[mrsir2009]

Harsh... although that is the ugliest phone I've ever seen.

 

[shartypants]

George Bodenheimer must be a total douche bag, I can see why Steve didn't want to talk with him.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Folks,

Given the fact that Jobs at the time he met George Bodenheimer in 2006 probably already seen what was probably the near-final design of the original iPhone, it's not surprising he didn't like the Mobile ESPN phone. I've played with that phone and frankly, I wasn't impressed by its interface. Small wonder why ESPN dropped that phone and moved the interface of that phone to Verizon's V-cast cellphones.

One thing I wish ESPN would do now is write iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad that integrates all of their online services into a single app. Imagine launching the app and you can see the latest ESPN stories, playback video highlights, comment on stories, and listen to ESPN Radio live, all using your current ESPN account (or ESPN Insider paid account).

 

[fishmoose]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

People saying you shouldn't put things like Jobs, alas, he should have said it nicer - let me ask you this; Would The Beatles been as successful if Lennon wouldn't had his attitude? I doubt it.

Apple would never been where they are today without the VP's and CEO giving it straight.

 

[baryon]

If you're a genius you can pretty much do anything you want. And every inventor in the world always had a weird personality. To have new ideas, you have to see the world in an unusual way, I guess that explains it. A normal person wouldn't be able to think outside the box.

 

[MrSmith]

Probably apocryphal, but it's nice to think of inflated egos being rudely burst.

They should ask Jobs to do the Hollywood award mutual masturbation things. He'd make Gervais look like a brown noser.

 

[gnasher729]

Bottom line is I probably wouldn't want to be in a room with him, let alone work for him. But the same would hold true for many other CEOs and other business leaders. They don't have to be nice, they have to turn a profit.

It sounds as if that ESPN CEO should have spoken up and asked Steve Jobs _why_ he thought the phone was crap, and I am sure that Steve Jobs would have answered. Listening to Jobs might have saved them some of the $135 million they lost.

Steve Jobs may be one powerful, rich, successful man, but that gives him no right to treat other people like crap.

I hope that quote isn't legit.

He was talking to the CEO of another company. If you are a CEO then you shouldn't make products that get you comments like this (and then lose you $135 million) in the first place, and if you do then you must be able to take the heat.

Bottom line is I probably wouldn't want to be in a room with him, let alone work for him. But the same would hold true for many other CEOs and other business leaders. They don't have to be nice, they have to turn a profit.

As a CEO, like this one, you probably wouldn't _enjoy_ being in a room with him, but it could be very valuable.

 

[0dev]

If only RIM had someone like Steve Jobs around when they were designing the Playbook. Maybe they would have saved themselves the monumental embarrassment and not released that godawful POS.

Ditto for MS and that Slate failure, and pretty much MS' entire strategy. In fact, when you look at it, the entire non-Apple portion of the Post-PC era so far, is completely ****ed. I mean, it's as if these otherwise well-established tech companies have absolutely no experience in design and execution. What exactly was HP thinking? They *knew* it was an unfinished, half-baked product. Did they actually want to compete, or did they do it all just to hear Ruby tell everyone how much it sucked??

If Steve Jobs would have toured each of the major tech players, and they would have listened to him we'd be far, far ahead in Post-PC than we are today. It wouod be Burgeoning innovation. But that's all fantasy. Talent can be bought. Vision and the balls to push it, can't.

You make a good point, but your post is slightly tainted by the use of the phrase "post PC era". There's no such thing as the "post PC era", that's just a senseless buzzphrase Jobs made up to make the iPad 2 sound good. The fact you're using it makes you seem caught in the RDF.

But I do agree with your central message, though. If someone like Jobs was in other major tech companies, they'd likely do much better.

I actually like the Playbook though

 

[the8thark]

BTW yes bosses tend to be perceived as a**holes. They ask folks to do what they don't want to do, at times and places that annoy them, for a wage that barely justifies the "abuse". Bosses are like a&&holes, we all have them, and we all need them, or we would all be unemployed slackers like 55% of the current population, which is very scary since they can legally vote for welfare state candidates, and do.

Rocketman

I find that offensive. Most people are not unemployed slackers. Feel free to prove me wrong with evidence though. But there are nice bosses out there. And your lucky if you're working for them.

But I do agree most bosses are over paid. A lot of the times the workers, work much harder for less of a wage.

*****************

You make a good point, but your post is slightly tainted by the use of the phrase "post PC era". There's no such thing as the "post PC era", that's just a senseless buzzphrase Jobs made up to make the iPad 2 sound good. The fact you're using it makes you seem caught in the RDF.

I agree. The iPad 2 with cut the cord IS a PC.

 

[andiwm2003]

Well, at least he is sort of a jerk. An amazingly creative and talented jerk - but a jerk nonetheless.

But when you have a bazillion dollars, you get to be a jerk.

Excusing his behavior by pointing out that he is a genius is ill-considered.

Being a genius is not an excuse for being an *******. (See: Bobby Fischer)

Haha all kidding aside I wish allot more people understood this. Nothing gives you the right to be arrogant and/or to treat others like ****. You can do it but never try and justify it with accomplishments, etc. and prepared to eat allot of flak...

When you're THAT good, you get to say things like that.

It's earned. Not everyone gets the privilege.

If it was anyone else, you'd pop them in the mouth. But with someone like him, you just walk back to your desk with your world shaken.

someone did either not read the thread or did not understand the prevoius posts.....

 

[dacapo]

This story is sad, really, and I feel bad for him. Is Jobs' joy in life gained from having an awesome phone?

ESPN is part of Disney, of which Jobs is its largest shareholder. ESPN lost $150 million on this phone idea. It wasn't about personal joy or etiquette. (I'm sure the ESPN guy pitched him on the idea, not just saying "hello".)

In the end ESPN, Disney (and Jobs) lost money on this idea.

It's not personal. It's business.

 

[*LTD*]

You make a good point, but your post is slightly tainted by the use of the phrase "post PC era". There's no such thing as the "post PC era", that's just a senseless buzzphrase Jobs made up to make the iPad 2 sound good.

Look at the tech landscape before June 2007. Now look at it from June 2007 to July 2011. Note the differences. Most of them are major, if not positively enormous.

Post-PC era.

The fact you're using it makes you seem caught in the RDF.

RDF isn't RDF when Apple is the one generating everyone else's reality.

But I do agree with your central message, though. If someone like Jobs was in other major tech companies, they'd likely do much better.

Wishful thinking, I know. Today's tech companies lack prescience. They don't actually push us into new areas so much as adopt what the market innovator is doing, and the market innovator tends to be one, or at most two companies. I don't mean innovating a new UI element. I mean creating and redefining entire markets relatively singlehandedly.

I actually like the Playbook though

It has a few nifty UI elements. It coulda been a contender. But RIM's denial got in the way.

 

[Rocketman]

\Most people are not unemployed slackers. Feel free to prove me wrong with evidence though.

Who is unemployed?
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#unemployed
Who is not in the labor force?
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#nilf
Persons not in the labor force
http://www.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#pnilf_m

The way the government presents the data requires commitment to parse, but in summary 45% of the adult population is in the workforce. At the moment many of those are "underemployed" due to the weak economy and job market. The headline unemployment rate is 9.2% and the generally accepted unemployment rate inclusive of those who have surrendered is closer to 17%.

Since the original topic was "management style" by Steve Jobs, this applies to the thread because if we were to manage our economy in a more fiscally conservative way we would have a job situation more like the later years of the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

Steve is so fiscally conservative he doesn't even like dividends and stock buy backs because he is convinced he will need the money desperately at some point. He has been proven correct in practice. When the liquidity crisis maxed out in 3-09 Apple had tens of billions of dollars in the bank with essentially no debt.

Compare for example AAPL to GNW stock price charts in the past 3-5 years.

Sometimes "rude" is not rude. It is smart, direct, and the only wake-up call another manager may ever see or hear since everybody else is being "polite".

BTW on what planet does ESPN need to be a MVNO but Apple does not? Apple bought the Worldcom telecon center and even THEY are not a MVNO!

Rocketman

 

[BigDukeSix]

That is awesome!! Steve Jobs is THE MAN. People who are operating at a mental level above 'the suits' probably are somewhat socially awkward anyway. Good on him for being bold. That is why we love him.