“I suspect that this article will not be very popular with Apple (AAPL) fanatics but I feel it is time to highlight some of the differences between the management capabilities of Tim Cook and Steve Jobs,” Steve Auger opines via Seeking Alpha. “The differences are striking, and will likely lead to an eventual crumbling of Apple’s pie.”
“Simply put, vision was Steve Jobs’ secret to success,” Auger writes. “His talent didn’t lie with inventions as most of Apple’s products were not original. Steve Jobs didn’t invent Windows, nor did he invent hand-held devices, music players or smart phones.”
MacDailyNews Take: Windows? Did you mean “the GUI?” And, in effect, Steve Jobs did invent “Windows,” simply by releasing the Mac.
Auger continues, “But he did come out with the right products, the right design, at the right time. He demonstrated an uncanny sense of what consumers would buy… With Tim Cook at the helm, a new but not necessarily improved Apple has emerged. Apple is no longer providing the market-dominating vision and leadership it once did. Instead of flying higher and faster as investors are accustomed to, Apple is instead embroiled in patent wars.”
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, as directed by Steve Jobs. When people steal your patented IP, you have the right to sue.
Auger continues, “What innovations is Apple bringing to the table? The recent iPhone 5 release included the much desired LTE, but this is simple catch-up with other Smart Phone manufacturers. Other initiatives such as Siri and Apple Maps have been a flop, acknowledged by the recent departure of senior vice president Scott Forstall.”
MacDailyNews Take: What? How does Cook axing Forstall make Maps and Siri “flops?” Neither is a flop.
Auger continues, “With Tim Cook leading the company, product releases have been sliding and seem to be stumbling out the door. The iPhone 4S didn’t occur in June as would normally be the case. The product announcement came on October 4 2011, one day before Steve Jobs’ passing. The iPhone 5 was released in September 2012 but was beset by manufacturing and parts supply issues, resulting in a shortage of iPhones. The iPhone 5 came with Apple Maps has been a complete flop with Tim Cook finding it necessary to write an apology to Apple customers.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, so now Apple’s Maps are a “complete flop.” Idiocy.
Further stupidity – Think Before You Click™ – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
And how does this guy know that the original iPhone was released on time, instead of 1 or 2 years after Jobs’ target date? How about the MacBook Air, was that on time or late? And how about Mac Pro updates, aren’t those chronically “late”?
What a moron.
Just some observations:
Who’s idea was it to push Siri out the door as “beta” software? Think interim CEO
Who’s idea was it to push “Maps” out the door as 1.0 software? Think current CEO
Did no one other than Forstall’s team test the above mentioned software to determine if it was/wasn’t ready for prime time? Not likely.
Did Forstall have the last word on finalized software?
Did no one other than Forstall’s team have the last word on software using the “skeuomorphism” metaphor. Not likely.
Had anyone ever heard of “skeuomorphism” before Jony Ive started complaining about it.
Who would sign an apology letter for something they did not need to apologize for? Maybe someone trying to limit damage control for their own failures. That’s like Pages not working, apologizing for it, and telling everyone to use Word!
Why was Forstall getting all the press about future CEO since Jobs died. Could it be he was possibly qualified for the task?
Try as I may, I cant seem to find an apology letter from Steve Jobs regarding a faulty antenna design better known as antenna gate. Incidentally there is a letter from the PR Department.
Was Cook starting to feel the heat from insiders aligned with Forstall (CEO in waiting) so much that perhaps missteps taken by him (Cook) were about to turn the tide with the board?
Without the great user experience (see OSX and iOS designed by Forstall and his team) the drool worthy box it sits in would be a paper weight.
Can’t believe someone like Jobs would have put up with someone like Forstall with all of the rumors surrounding his behavior for as long as he did if everything being touted was true.
One of Job’s greatest assets was the ability to light a fire under people and it irritated people. It was unpopular but look at the results it got. So Forstall irritated people. OSX and iOS speak for themselves. If every boss that was a ass was fired for trying to motivate those around him, I am quite confident not much would get done around the world. Sometimes people have to be pushed to get their maximum potential.
Just saying there is not enough information out there to make an accurate assessment of Forstall’s termination.
One other note the ultimate responsibly lies with Cook.
+20000
That’s a nice long post, but the premise is completely wrong. Tim has different interpersonal skills than Steve. Tim approaches people differently, and so he responds differently when people screw up. You want readers of your post to believe in a fantasy world where Tim looked Scott in the eye and asked, “is *it* ready to be released?” And Scott looked Tim in the eye and said, “Yup!” And Tim didn’t push Scott for details — in other words, Scott was on the record with Apple senior management that these products were ready to be released. You want readers of your post to believe that Tim has only one priority on his desk: Assuring himself that Scott is correct in what he’s telling Tim. For all you or I know, Tim was working on The Next Big Thing with CEO’s of 8 different companies involved in The Next Big Thing as this iOS 6 deadline came to pass. If a CEO is trusting his Senior Vice Presidents to give him the ugly truth and they don’t, they absolutely should be pushed out. That’s not an Apple-specific business management lesson, it’s universal.
Jim,
Thanks for the brutal honesty. I’ll try and keep this post shorter. The point I was trying to get across is that Forstall seemed to be the fair haired child then all of a sudden it seems now he’s the red headed step child. I’m just curious how a guy with so much importance to an organization can be cut lose for what appears to be poor decision making by more than one person. There has to be literaly dozens of checks and balances to assure that a product is ready for release. Incidentally I read today that Forstall had more patents than any other individual in the company. It just seems odd to let a talent like that go. I would hope that Tim has only one priority on his desk and that’s to make sure EVERY product is READY to be released when it is released. As a stockholder that’s what I do expect of Tim.
I agree with you, MDN immediately jumped on the “bash scott” bandwagon and many posters here share that pack mentality.
I agree there MUST be more at play, and I cannot for the life of me understand the decision making process that would see Scott turned out after all he has accomplished at Apple. the team he ran is responsible for the heart of the products that have led to Apples current market position. It doesn’t matter how sexy IVE makes the products, if they run like shit, nobody is gonna want them.
Scott is young for his level of position, there is likely some truth in the rumors, but firing the guy? If Tim Cook had real leadership abilities, he should have been able to reprimand him and set a tone and course for future interactions that mitigated Scott and Jony’s personality conflicts.
Scott belongs at Apple, it was clear listening to the guy and watching him on stage that he had a real passion for Apple and the work he did. I cannot imagine how devastating this is for him.
Irrational envy and ignorance of success, the hallmarks of the windows suffering public who thinks that the best of the highest end computers cost less than a night out on the town (not including drinks).
Craftsmen understand value and the value of good tools, the general public fights over barely functional shlock.
+10000
Since MDN Takes has been emphasizing the word “flop”. I think MDN can use the advice http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/
The article sold ad revenue. It has no other value.
I love how people who have never met, let alone worked with, Apple executives feel qualified to judge their performance, vision, and contribution to Apple, and likewise proclaim their loss a gift or folly. Armchair quarterbacks in the sport of tech. We all think we could do a better job than the coach.
Biased. Nuff said.
Apple Maps. Flop or not, it isn’t exactly popular.
I’m a self confessed ‘Apple fanatic’ and I wear this as a badge of honour.
Steve Auger is typical of a well healed group of so called ‘Tech Columnists’ who because of their obvious disdain, jealousy and bias against Apple Inc.’ indulge in this typical rant in order to gain attention and to justify their employment in an industry wallowing and saturated with second rate ‘crud’ from the likes of Samsung, Google, Nokia, Microsoft. You’ve got my attention Mr. Auger but it is your ‘ignorance’ that fascinates me the most. Be sure to have a good day!
There is no cure for stupid.