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Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

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Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#271
post #236

Do we know who “redacted” is? I’ve heard stories that Google set up development office in Denmark because one of their V8 developers wanted to move home and he was “that good” that it was worth setting up an office just to keep him on staff.

Lars Bak? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Bak_(computer_programmer)

Must be the guy I’m thinking of as the story is so close to the urban legend I’ve heard.

And as sibling comment suggest, it can’t be the person discussed in the emails.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#272
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're quoting the top two Pixar executives, and from immediately after Jobs' death as well. How about someone who isn't a millionaire? aren't credible because they became so successful that they're now millionaire executives Yes that's what I'm saying. The statement of two men who stood at the top of the ladder about the man who put them there immediately after that man has died is absolutely not credible in regards…

A legendary animator and director, both who helped found Pixar with Jobs, aren't credible because they became so successful that they're now millionaire executives?

Jobs didn’t found Pixar; it spun out of George Lucas’ world and works and Jobs bought into it when it was several years old, even several years with the name Pixar. The Wikipedia article is self contradictory as its first paragraphs talk as of hee were a as founder, but hee was a much later major investor.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#273
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're quoting the top two Pixar executives, and from immediately after Jobs' death as well. How about someone who isn't a millionaire? aren't credible because they became so successful that they're now millionaire executives Yes that's what I'm saying. The statement of two men who stood at the top of the ladder about the man who put them there immediately after that man has died is absolutely not credible in regards…

So far I haven't seen a counter experience from you about how Jobs treated the "regular workers" at Pixar, so as I see it, it's a quote from people who were close to what happened versus the absence of a counter experience.

Oh please. Googling "steve jobs bully pixar" reveals at least one story of horrible behavior directed toward regular staff members.

Jobs could be a bully, it's well documented. Pixar wasn't somehow immune to this behavior.

You've painted a utilitarian, partisan viewpoint: that the cultural and technological significance of Pixar outweighs any negative experiences of staff. The two are not easily comparable. How do you quantify them, what's the denominator? Jobs didn't have a crystal ball, he couldn't know Pixar would succeed. What was his calculus? How did he determine the trade-offs between success and bullying? Finally, cultural/tech significance is most certainly possible without putting staff through negative experiences.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#274
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was a dick. And there was a strong trend around 2010-2015ish that essentially said "Jobs was a dick and a genius. Therefore I must act like a dick, to prove that I'm a genius". So many startup CEOs acting like assholes to prove they're revolutionary visionaries.

I think that Oracle was well-known as being proudly led by One Real Asshole Called Larry Elison long before Steve Jobs was ever called a dick.

In the business world it is allowed to be an asshole. In the consumer space, not so much.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#275
post #57

I don’t understand Jobs’ logic here. Is he just a bully? If Google makes such a great offer that his employee will leave him, shouldn’t he try to make a better offer, or meet with the employee instead of calling Sergey? Say he did get the offer canceled. How would this employee feel about working for a CEO that does this?

> Is he just a bully?

As long as the stock keeps going up, hagiographies

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is also my impression after reading Isaacson's biography and Creativity, Inc. At Pixar, he behaved like a feudal lord because he pretty much owned the place and they relied on his money to keep the lights on.

> At Pixar, he behaved like a feudal lord because he pretty much owned the place and they relied on his money to keep the lights on. How do you mean by "behaved like a feudal lord"? Admittedly not read up on Jobs (sacrilege in this venue, I know), so I'm struggling to understand why he who pays the piper calls the tune is somehow objectionable.

Being a jerk is always bad. The only difference is that people who aren't "paying the piper" don't get away with it for very long before someone throws them out.

Just because you can get away with it doesn't mean it's ok.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is also my impression after reading Isaacson's biography and Creativity, Inc. At Pixar, he behaved like a feudal lord because he pretty much owned the place and they relied on his money to keep the lights on.

> At Pixar, he behaved like a feudal lord because he pretty much owned the place and they relied on his money to keep the lights on. How do you mean by "behaved like a feudal lord"? Admittedly not read up on Jobs (sacrilege in this venue, I know), so I'm struggling to understand why he who pays the piper calls the tune is somehow objectionable.

You can own something without pettiness and employing someone does not give you total control over that employee. In my mind, a feudal Lord is someone who wants everyone to know and acknowledge they are in charge and demands exacting obedience.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#278
Dear management: By the time an employee is interviewing and receiving offers, it's almost always too late. Whatever issue(s) led to their pursuit of other opportunities probably won't be resolved by simply matching an offer and will certainly be exacerbated by trying to torpedo their efforts.

Re: Sergey Brin: Irate Call from Steve Jobs

#280
post #262

Do we know who “redacted” is? I’ve heard stories that Google set up development office in Denmark because one of their V8 developers wanted to move home and he was “that good” that it was worth setting up an office just to keep him on staff.

It doesn’t say if “redacted” accepted an offer, so possibly Don Melton, Dave Hyatt, or Ken Kocienda? None of them left Apple until much later, so this is just speculation in descending order of assumed-Stebe-irateness. These February 2005 emails make for an interesting timeframe since that was the year of the Apple/Google default search engine deal. I can’t find a more exact date for the search deal than “2005”, so i…

By matching the font with the original screenshot, none of the names fit. "Don Melton" & "Dave Hyatt" are too short, "Ken Kocienda" is too long. "David Hyatt" is pretty close, could be him judging by the emails.
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