4 ms·

This raises my opinion of John Sculley more than it does of Jobs. Considering the obvious conflicts he's had with Jobs in the past, plus the fact that Jobs bas

by kogus 16y ago

This raises my opinion of John Sculley more than it does of Jobs. Considering the obvious conflicts he's had with Jobs in the past, plus the fact that Jobs basically succeeded where he failed, this is a very gracious and (apparently) honest appraisal of his former rival's abilities.

j_baker 16y ago
I wouldn't call Sculley a former rival. More like a former student who ended up feeling that he had to fire his mentor. I don't think Sculley wanted to do it, but I seem to recall Woz saying in an interview that it was the right thing to do at the time.
TomOfTTB 16y ago
I agree that Sculley is a class act but I think your history is a little off. First, Sculley and Jobs were never really rivals and while Sculley did force Jobs out of Apple it was only after literally begging him to make changes (at the time the Mac was failing and just about every Apple manager was being driven crazy by Jobs). Sculley tried to bring Jobs in-line and Jobs tried to turn everyone against Sculley. At least that’s the story I’ve read from several accounts (some of which actually depict Jobs drawing an imaginary line on the floor and saying “you’re with me or you’re with him”). Also Sculley’s run wasn’t really a failure at Apple. Even Jobs admits the original 1984 ad was more Sculley than anyone else (Sculley’s claim to fame before that was creating the “Pepsi Challenge” marketing push). After Jobs left Sculley put Jean Louise-Gassee in charge of the Mac and that’s when it really took off. Sculley’s rein did have some lows but he always managed to pull it back out (and in fact was in the middle of a plan to do so again when the board fired him). I don’t dispute the fact that Jobs is MORE successful than Sculley was but Sculley wasn’t a failure. Apple really entered a death spiral during Spindler’s rein.
- jongraehl 16y ago
  reign
- stinkytaco 16y ago
  I don't think Apple would be successful today without both of them in their past. Jobs' inability to be satisfied could have killed the company but Sculley's ability to build revenue gave Jobs the cash to build a small number of great products and have a few fail when he came back. In the hardware industry being a visionary is easier with a lot of cash on hand.
kemiller 16y ago
It seems, from the outside, like Jobs could not have succeeded as well in his second act at Apple if he had not had the tempering of his days in the wilderness at NeXT. He had to learn, just a bit, how to work with people when he didn't have an easy cashflow to lean on. He seems much more disciplined and pragmatic this time around.

by kogus 16y ago

j_baker 16y ago

I wouldn't call Sculley a former rival. More like a former student who ended up feeling that he had to fire his mentor. I don't think Sculley wanted to do it, but I seem to recall Woz saying in an interview that it was the right thing to do at the time.

TomOfTTB 16y ago

I agree that Sculley is a class act but I think your history is a little off. First, Sculley and Jobs were never really rivals and while Sculley did force Jobs out of Apple it was only after literally begging him to make changes (at the time the Mac was failing and just about every Apple manager was being driven crazy by Jobs). Sculley tried to bring Jobs in-line and Jobs tried to turn everyone against Sculley. At least that’s the story I’ve read from several accounts (some of which actually depict Jobs drawing an imaginary line on the floor and saying “you’re with me or you’re with him”). Also Sculley’s run wasn’t really a failure at Apple. Even Jobs admits the original 1984 ad was more Sculley than anyone else (Sculley’s claim to fame before that was creating the “Pepsi Challenge” marketing push). After Jobs left Sculley put Jean Louise-Gassee in charge of the Mac and that’s when it really took off. Sculley’s rein did have some lows but he always managed to pull it back out (and in fact was in the middle of a plan to do so again when the board fired him). I don’t dispute the fact that Jobs is MORE successful than Sculley was but Sculley wasn’t a failure. Apple really entered a death spiral during Spindler’s rein.

jongraehl 16y ago
reign
stinkytaco 16y ago
I don't think Apple would be successful today without both of them in their past. Jobs' inability to be satisfied could have killed the company but Sculley's ability to build revenue gave Jobs the cash to build a small number of great products and have a few fail when he came back. In the hardware industry being a visionary is easier with a lot of cash on hand.

kemiller 16y ago

It seems, from the outside, like Jobs could not have succeeded as well in his second act at Apple if he had not had the tempering of his days in the wilderness at NeXT. He had to learn, just a bit, how to work with people when he didn't have an easy cashflow to lean on. He seems much more disciplined and pragmatic this time around.