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> A leader doesn't have to be visionary all the time Yes they do. If they're not visionary, then they're just a manager. Apple grew because of a visionary, an

> A leader doesn't have to be visionary all the time Yes they do. If they're not visionary, then they're just a manager. Apple grew because of a visionary, and now it shrinks because the best a manager can do is try to maintain the status quo in the face of changing factors. It's fundamentally a losing battle.

amrrs 7y ago
Perhaps I wasn't specific - "Product Visionary" I meant!
- missosoup 7y ago
  In the context of what we're discussing here, everything Apple does is product (including services), and needs a product visionary. They've degenerated to minmaxing profits and running focus groups to tell them what to do without any overarching vision or long term plan, just like GP commenter said. It's sad. Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave.
  - castis 7y ago
    But he's making very little noise while doing so.
dahart 7y ago
> Apple grew because of a visionary Jobs was a business man and manager, and Apple hasn’t had ‘visionary’ product release every single time, some of them were run-of-the-mill upgrades. Arguably, iPhone may be the only major visionary achievement after Mac 1. Anyway, all of the Apple hecklers talked about how Jobs wasn’t a visionary, or had lost his vision, with every single product release, every Mac change, every iPhone, tablet, watch. Claiming that Jobs was the singular visionary and Apple is doomed without him has a long history, somewhat buys into a pro-Apple narrative, and views Jobs with rose-colored glasses. It’s a nice thought, but not exactly accurate. > and now it shrinks By what metric is Apple shrinking? They just reported their best quarter ever.
selectodude 7y ago
Cook has overseen just shy of 1 trillion dollars worth of growth for Apple. They routinely have quarters larger than Apple’s entire year back in 2011.
- missosoup 7y ago
  Cook is riding on the upward trajectory that was set before he took his role. Brand image carries a lot of inertia, and as a manager rather than a visionary, cook focused on getting the most use out of that pre-set trajectory while it lasted. It has run out of energy. If AR doesn't pay off, it's all downhill for Apple from Q4 this year onwards.
  - stouset 7y ago
    This argument gets more and more ridiculous as time progresses. Apple is worth nearly ten times what it was eight years ago. It’s launched a watch which has, in a few short years, overtaken the entire Swiss watch industry in revenue. This is just another take on the tired argument that Apple is only successful because of a core group of fanboys/girls who will buy anything just because it’s Apple, despite Apple’s customer base being an order of magnitude greater today than it was back then.
    - missosoup 7y ago
      I set some fairly short term and trivially verifiable predictions. Save this comment and come back to it at the end of this year. Unless Apple's AR play succeeds, they're going to be left in the dust by Chinese offerings with better functionality at half the price. Cook has had the better part of the decade to come up with something new, and has failed to deliver anything except incremental minor updates which are increasingly convergent on competitor offerings. There is clearly no vision.
      - selectodude 7y ago
        Let's see your AAPL puts then.

amrrs 7y ago

Perhaps I wasn't specific - "Product Visionary" I meant!

missosoup 7y ago
In the context of what we're discussing here, everything Apple does is product (including services), and needs a product visionary. They've degenerated to minmaxing profits and running focus groups to tell them what to do without any overarching vision or long term plan, just like GP commenter said. It's sad. Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave.
- castis 7y ago
  But he's making very little noise while doing so.

dahart 7y ago

> Apple grew because of a visionary Jobs was a business man and manager, and Apple hasn’t had ‘visionary’ product release every single time, some of them were run-of-the-mill upgrades. Arguably, iPhone may be the only major visionary achievement after Mac 1. Anyway, all of the Apple hecklers talked about how Jobs wasn’t a visionary, or had lost his vision, with every single product release, every Mac change, every iPhone, tablet, watch. Claiming that Jobs was the singular visionary and Apple is doomed without him has a long history, somewhat buys into a pro-Apple narrative, and views Jobs with rose-colored glasses. It’s a nice thought, but not exactly accurate. > and now it shrinks By what metric is Apple shrinking? They just reported their best quarter ever.

selectodude 7y ago

Cook has overseen just shy of 1 trillion dollars worth of growth for Apple. They routinely have quarters larger than Apple’s entire year back in 2011.

missosoup 7y ago
Cook is riding on the upward trajectory that was set before he took his role. Brand image carries a lot of inertia, and as a manager rather than a visionary, cook focused on getting the most use out of that pre-set trajectory while it lasted. It has run out of energy. If AR doesn't pay off, it's all downhill for Apple from Q4 this year onwards.
- stouset 7y ago
  This argument gets more and more ridiculous as time progresses. Apple is worth nearly ten times what it was eight years ago. It’s launched a watch which has, in a few short years, overtaken the entire Swiss watch industry in revenue. This is just another take on the tired argument that Apple is only successful because of a core group of fanboys/girls who will buy anything just because it’s Apple, despite Apple’s customer base being an order of magnitude greater today than it was back then.
  - missosoup 7y ago
    I set some fairly short term and trivially verifiable predictions. Save this comment and come back to it at the end of this year. Unless Apple's AR play succeeds, they're going to be left in the dust by Chinese offerings with better functionality at half the price. Cook has had the better part of the decade to come up with something new, and has failed to deliver anything except incremental minor updates which are increasingly convergent on competitor offerings. There is clearly no vision.
    - selectodude 7y ago
      Let's see your AAPL puts then.