Backup Brain

Backup Brain:

For example, years ago, I got into a conversation with a couple of Apple employees about Gil Amelio, Apple’s then-CEO. I thought then (and still do now, although to a much lesser degree) that he was doing a good job, and said so to the Apple employees.

Their response:

“He doesn’t like us to call him Gil.”

“He prefers that we call him Dr. Amelio.”

I knew, in a flash, that Gil was not long for that job—if he didn’t understand that Apple employees needed to be on a first-name basis with their CEO, he was never, ever going to fit into the culture. That became the “one thing” I needed to know about Amelio to be able to predict just about everything he did with Apple from then on.

But this blog post was about Ray Ozzie and Microsoft, not Amelio or Apple. So, what’s the one thing that explains what Ozzie has (and hasn’t) done in the two-plus years he’s been at MS?

In my opinion, it’s this:

Ray Ozzie has never in his life,

—ever—

not once

—ever—

shipped software that an end-user wanted to buy and install on their computer.

No, Groove was not an end-user product, and I never heard of anyone run Lotus Notes by choice. Vista is just more of the same. Why should anyone expect something different from Ozzie from what he’s done for most of the last four decades?

Gil Amelio doesn’t get credit for many things he did right, against the combined weight of the installed fiefdoms and factions who weren’t interested in making the company succcessful, but instead were only interested in growing (or raping) their own piece of it. One thing Steve did when he came in was carry forward some of the things Gil started, and start shooting everyone who tried to tell him they weren’t going to do it Steve’s way because it wasn’t what they wanted… Once the pile of bodies grew large enough outside of IL1, the rest got the hint and either left or learned to keep out of sight…

But having said that — Gil simply didn’t get it. he was a “numbers guy”, and Apple needs — as much as anything — a cheerleader for the troops to rally behind. That wasn’t Gil. It wasn’t Sculley, either (he wanted to be a visionary, and everyone’s friend; he was, ultimately, not great at either), and the less we say of Herr Diesel, the better.

Amelio felt that what would fix Apple was process and structure — and he was right, to a point, in that Apple desperately needed both. But Amelio couldn’t provide the spark and inspiration, and that left Apple a healthier company, but one about as, well, intersting as Gateway — and Apple is nothing if it’s customers aren’t inspired and motivated. Apple as Dell is just as dead as Apple under Spindler, only nobody cares about it any more…

And without realizing it, Dori’s shed a light on the whole “Apple marketshare thing”, too. Because if you think about it, Apple speaks to the individual, and taht’s where it’s core strength is. Microsoft? it speaks to IT — and while you change the world by changing it for individuals, you sell zillions of units by selling it to IT. And change, and revolution — the cornerstones of Apple — scare the crap out of IT people (even, to some degree, Apple IT people….).

And that’s why just looking at raw unit numbers and saying Apple hasn’t improved market share is answering the wrong question: many of those units are in markets that Apple isn’t pretending to be part of. Do people look at BMW and ask why it isn’t taking away market share from Hyundai? Or better yet, from Mack trucks? Hey, they all drive on roads…

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