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> This works well for commodity companies that sell fizzy sugar water. Why can't you just say soda, pop or whatever regional dialect you prefer? I don't unders
by shinratdr 14y ago
> This works well for commodity companies that sell fizzy sugar water.
Why can't you just say soda, pop or whatever regional dialect you prefer? I don't understand why any time anyone ever says this it has to phrased in the most condescending way possible.
- Volpe 14y agoBecause steve jobs said it that way... and we all love worshipping jobs.
- droithomme 14y agoBecause it's highly relevant to the story I was discussing. Jobs had asked Sculley, head of PepsiCo at the time, Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?" Sculley then ran Apple from the perspective if his experience at a commodity company, driving the company to the edge of bankruptcy and irrelevance. It worked out well for me, I bought a lot of Apple stock at around $5 a share. But it almost destroyed Apple. This quote has since been simplified to asking people in technical fields if they want to make fizzy sugar water. Familiarity with this story is widespread in the industry and not an obscure reference, and in this case I wanted to discuss both Jobs, Sculley, Apple, and the result of having a bean counter type person who is excellent at reducing manufacturing costs within a commodity company be in charge of a company whose entire value is based on not being a commodity.