Libor Kubín It's been a year since the death of Steve Jobs. The apocalyptic visions of the destruction of the Cupertino society have not yet come true. Apple shows no sign of decline yet and continues to introduce new products and software like on a conveyor belt. Still, there are voices that Jobs would never…
Jobs got his successor wrong
Jobs ruled his employees and associates with an iron fist. He did not choose the rumored Scott Forstall as his successor. The choice fell on Tim Cook, who has proven himself in standing in for a sick CEO. He did not appear in the position of director at Apple out of the blue, but he has been working for the company for over 14 years. So Jobs had relatively enough time to "touch" his successor and pass on his experience of managing such a large corporation. But Cook is criticized for many things: he is too soft towards employees, he can't present as perfectly as Jobs, he is a bit of a cracker, he only cares about the company's profit, he is not a visionary, he obeys customers, he listens to shareholders and even pays them dividends... All the decisions of the current director are measured over its predecessor. This makes it an unenviable position. Cook simply cannot be a copy of Jobs, Apple leads according to its decisions, for which it also bears the consequences.
Jobs would never pay dividends
When Jobs was fired from Apple, he sold all his shares in the company. Except for one. This stock allowed him to attend board meetings and get back into management. The last time dividends were paid was in 1995, in the following years the company was in the red. Over time, when Apple was once again profitable, over $98 billion had accumulated in the company's accounts.
Jobs was against any dealings with shareholders and paying out money. Cook, on the other hand, confirmed this March that, following an agreement with the board of directors, shareholders will receive their dividends for the first time in 17 years. I can think of two purely hypothetical possibilities, how even under Jobs' leadership, the returns from the shares could be paid - the general meeting of shareholders or the board of directors could enforce the dividend despite the director's disapproval.
Jobs would never apologize
Remember the launch of the iPhone 4? Shortly after sales began, the "Antennagate" affair broke out. The point was that if you "gripped the phone wrong" there was a fairly radical loss of signal. Poor antenna design was responsible for this complication. Because design was prioritized over functionality. Apple held an extraordinary press conference. Evidently disgusted, Jobs explained the full nature of the problem, apologized, and offered disgruntled customers a free protective case or a refund. This is a textbook example of crisis communication. Jobs listened to the advice and recommendations of his old friend and advertising veteran Regis McKenna. The scandal was followed by the "departure" of Mark Papermaster, senior vice president of hardware development. Jobs would throw ashes on his head for the current maps à la Apple, but I'm not at all sure that he would recommend the competition.
Jobs would never fire Forstall
This statement is completely false. Jobs never took napkins, was erratic and walked over corpses. He was able to forget about his friends who helped him create Apple when distributing employee shares. He is also known for his saying: "If you don't come to work on Saturday, don't bother going on Sunday." At the time of his return to the company, employees were afraid to ride the elevator with the moody Jobs for fear that "…they might not have a job before the door opens." These cases did happen, but very rarely.
Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall had a friendship, but if there was a lot of pressure from a group of influential executives and shareholders, the head of iOS development would have been removed anyway. Managing and directing a team that wastes its energy on scheming and competing is somewhat counterproductive. Relations in the innermost leadership were very strained. If Forstall, Ive and Mansfield met for a work meeting, Cook must have been present. Jobs would behave as pragmatically as the current CEO. Better to lose Forstall than to lose iconic corporate design creator Ivo and lead hardware designer Mansfield.
Jobs would never listen to the wishes of customers
Jobs has repeatedly claimed that the field of tablets is outside the interest of the fruit company. Such statements were his rather usual method of body deception and confusion of the competition. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. Apple created a new lucrative market with this device, from which additional profits began to flow. Jobs rejected the possibility of creating a smaller version of the iPad and gave several reasons. "Seven-inch tablets are somewhere in between: too big to compete with smartphones and too small to compete with the iPad." Two years have passed since the introduction of the first iPad, and lo and behold, Apple has introduced the iPad mini. The reason for the creation of this model is simple: it is something in size between an iPhone and an iPad. Its aim will be to displace other competing tablets such as Kindle, Nexus or Galaxy and dominate the given market segment.
According to Jobs, the ideal phone screen size was 3,5″. Thanks to this, you could operate the iPhone with one finger. In 2010 he stated that: "No one is going to buy giant smartphones with four or more inch displays." So why is the latest iPhone model 4″? 24% of interested parties bought giant phones. Despite the one-year innovation cycle, it is not so easy to come up with a new phone model every year that will force potential buyers to reach into their wallets. The mobile competition is constantly "inflating" its phones, so Apple came up with a Solomonic solution. She only increased the length of the phone. The customer ate himself and the phone remained whole. If Jobs had been on stage at the launch of the iPhone 5, he would surely have found several reasons why he changed his mind and praised the stretchable display to the heavens.
The post-Jobs era
Certain proven principles (e.g. development of new devices) and company culture will continue to be maintained even after Jobs' death. But it is not always possible to blindly stick to old lessons and regulations. Cook knows what he is doing and now has a unique opportunity to restart the company and all the products even at the cost of unpopular measures. However, it is necessary to establish clear priorities and the direction of further development. OS X, iOS and other programs need to undergo a cleansing process, get rid of ballast deposits, unify (as far as possible) user control and appearance. In the hardware segment, Apple should decide whether, or at all, it is still interested in countless professionals. Stagnation and uncertainty in this area drives loyal users to competing solutions.
The decisions that should occur in the future will be painful, but they can breathe more life-giving energy into Apple.
Nice article
Do you even know how to write your own article, or do you just translate everything laboriously (and even poorly)?
In principle, I agree, but maps and Siri would not be released unfinished by adi Jobs
at all. Nice article, it's a shame that it's not from your head, I already wanted to praise you, but thanks anyway
Nice article with good arguments. *thumbsup*
"Two years passed and lo and behold, Apple introduced the iPad mini."
1 year has passed :)
I would not be resolute in those courts. The question is whether the next iPhone will be "inflated" or "deflated" or if there will simply be 2 sizes.
if you still have some sources for Libor, I would increase the offer by another 5000,- if one of the men writes a better article with his own hand!
Very nicely written! I would very much welcome any article on the subculture of apple picking on these pages. The name already suggests that this subculture exists, but what distinguishes it, what is its potential for the future? Thanks
Jobs would never read this article :-)
In the first place, it is too early to consider whether Apple is going down. Only after Apple leaves without notices from Steve will it start to be relevant.
Good article, much
Excellent article! Thank you. :)
it would like a "mac cube", i.e. a cheaper MacMini, after all, it's just an innovation wheel, it's a really short time when the mac mini lasted 5 years, those are there. (software)
Very nice article, thank you for it… :)
I think that the ipad mini wouldn't bother Jobs too much, but he would definitely mind that it doesn't have a ratin. iPad, iPod, iPhone, everything with installment. And suddenly bac, an iPad-mini without a subscription. You can't watch it!
Good article, I want to ask, do you cooperate with superapple magazine? I just printed the same article in the latest edition :-)