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Apple Has a New Cook

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Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#21

Post by seunghomattyang »

Cook took the opportunity to reflect upon the lessons he learned from Jobs before his death last October, explaining that the founder never wanted Cook to dwell on what he would have wanted after he died. Instead, Jobs wanted Cook to avoid thinking about the past and instead look to the future, focusing on creating the next great thing.

"When he called me to his home to talk about being the CEO and subsequently the discussions we had, he told me, 'I witnessed what happened at Disney when Walt passed away,'" Cook said. "He said that people would go to meetings, and all sit around and talk about, what would Walt have done? How would he view this? And he looked at me with those intense eyes that only he had, and he told me to never do that, to never ask what he would do. Just do what's right. And so I'm doing that." [1]

[1] http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/05/apple-ceo-tim-cook-stev...

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#22

Post by gfodor »

kristiandupont wrote: post #19
gfodor wrote: post #16

For a CEO, it doesn't matter just weither or not you apologize for a mistake, but what mistakes you apologize for, and what mistakes you simply correct but do not openly apologize for. Jobs had a tendency to do the latter. He would rarely admit Apple's mistakes verbally, but would correct the problem as swiftly as possible. This strategy (obviously) worked pretty well for Apple's bottom line, and it's hard to argue t…

I agree with what you say, except for wrong directions being a minor issue. A very typical use case for me is meeting somebody at a place I haven't been before. I've frequently trusted Google maps to take me there and it has never sent me to the wrong place. Sometimes it doesn't know the place I am looking for which is acceptable but the thought of ending up in a completely different location, with people waiting for…

I agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple:

- It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works.

- It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you know better and "override" it by driving the way that you know. Ultimately you can ask someone or pull up google.

- It's unclear where you direct your anger to. When your phone drops calls, you blame AT&T. If it's the hardware, you blame Apple. If there is an error in the map, who do you blame? Us techie's realize the details, but do most people know who authored the maps? If people understood it was Google before they might still think it's Google's fault now. If the algorithm gives you the wrong directions, do you blame apple or the "stupid computer"? It seems like there is less of an emotional anger towards Apple, the company, when this error occurs (excluding those of us who understand the intricacies of what parties are involved for what types of error.)

A big dynamic here is that people were used to a certain level of quality from Google. Did they know it was Google? Do they know who is to blame for the step backwards?

I'm certainly curious what specifics prompted this response. Cook has never been in charge before and speaking from experience it's always incredibly tempting to want to make a public statement and backtrack when the mob is yelling at your door, but despite common advice it's not always the right decision for the company.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#23

Post by gurkendoktor »

jpxxx wrote: post #13

Oh good gravy. While it's wonderful that an apology of sorts was offered, that's not unusual in Apple's history. They blew this, they blew this, they blew this. They failed to reset customer expectations, walked directly into a woodchipper with a serious platform regression, and gave their competitors a talking point that will actually stick for the next few years. The only interesting bit of Apple Kremlinology that…

> did they intentionally portray the maps as an advance in an attempt to keep iphone 5 pre-orders up?

Given that Maps is the major change in iOS6, wouldn't it have been better to release the iPhone 5 on a slightly improved "iOS 5.2", and to keep iOS6 for the next iPad?

Though that would have worked against Passbook :(

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#24

Post by zalzane »

I don't think that Apple should have pulled the apology card for this. Apologizing on this scale will surely help customer frustration, but it's not necessarily something you can do very often. While apologizing may have a positive effect, to be honest the problems with the maps app really weren't -that- bad. It's not like the antenna issue where nobody could use their phone if they held it wrong.

They really should have saved the apology card for mending an issue much more dire. Now that they've used it up, they can't really publicly apologize for anything for quite a few years lest their brand become tainted.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#25

Post by pooriaazimi »

baddox wrote: post #4
lurkinggrue wrote: post #2

Steve jobs did let Ping and Mobile Me go out the doors. Oh yes, and the Apple Cube.

Neither Ping nor Mobile Me replaced previous crucial functionality.

But iCloud (which he "blessed" and introduced at stage) replaced Mobile Me and killed iDisk (wiping a couple million web pages off the Internet), keychain-syncing, MobileMe gallery, iWork.com, ...

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#26

Post by jimbokun »

jpxxx wrote: post #20
zevyoura wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, since the maps coverage is pretty good in California, I wouldn't be that surprised if they didn't realize just how far behind Google their POI data was internationally. Also, even if they did realize this, I don't think they would gone forward so eagerly if they realized how intense the backlash was going to be.

I don't know... it is interesting that they have a vastly superior Maps system in China now, and a relatively high quality set for the West Coast. (edit: areas of extreme competitive importance) But I can't believe that they would go toe-for-toe on the map client feature set without similar attention being paid to overall database quality. They've licensed dozens of data sources, they've bought entire companies, they…

"...it is interesting that they have a vastly superior Maps system in China now, and a relatively high quality set for the West Coast."

And this is exactly what Jobs would have led with. He would have pointed out any and all areas where Apple's Maps performed better than Google, before segueing into how they are addressing the remaining problems. I bet he would have some clever statistics on just how often Apple's maps are right. And he would have tons of examples of mistakes on Google's maps, to create some doubt about whether Apple was really worse (remember all of the other phones that Jobs tried to use to demonstrate that iPhone wasn't the only phone suffering from "death-grip" issues during antenna-gate?).

I sure miss him.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#27

Post by chime »

gfodor wrote: post #16

For a CEO, it doesn't matter just weither or not you apologize for a mistake, but what mistakes you apologize for, and what mistakes you simply correct but do not openly apologize for. Jobs had a tendency to do the latter. He would rarely admit Apple's mistakes verbally, but would correct the problem as swiftly as possible. This strategy (obviously) worked pretty well for Apple's bottom line, and it's hard to argue t…

> But when Maps leads you to the wrong destination, do you feel emotionally hurt by Apple? In my experience, no, you realize the computer messed up and you look at the map and correct it.

If I miss something important because the directions seemed correct overall but were in fact wrong, then not only do I get emotionally hurt, there could be real life damages. Not just missing a meeting or lunch date but imagine being late for your immigration interview or being delayed when visiting a hospital during a loved one's emergency. Sure, you can blame me for not being prepared enough but I TRUST my Google Maps app. I can't recall the last time Google Maps was severely wrong. The worst I've gotten is being directed to the non-public entrance of a gated community when visiting a friend.

I want to trust the iPhone's new Maps app too but I can't yet. So it's not a small "oopsie one wrong turn" issue. Missing an exit around where I live can be a 40 minute detour. If a software upgrade causes me to be late for a once-in-a-lifetime job interview, the least I expect from the CEO is to admit that their software sucks.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#28

Post by JumpCrisscross »

gfodor wrote: post #16

For a CEO, it doesn't matter just weither or not you apologize for a mistake, but what mistakes you apologize for, and what mistakes you simply correct but do not openly apologize for. Jobs had a tendency to do the latter. He would rarely admit Apple's mistakes verbally, but would correct the problem as swiftly as possible. This strategy (obviously) worked pretty well for Apple's bottom line, and it's hard to argue t…

>"* I'm absolutely stunned Cook would refer people to other apps...A much better approach to solving this would be to...make people realize Apple is putting all of its energy into addressing the problem"

I far* prefer the approach of solving your customers' problems (they cannot get where they need to go reliably) than issuing fluff to look good.

There was a sincerity in the letter, which I concede was probably manufactured under the precise supervision of psychologists, that subtly changed my emotional disposition from being intensely pissed at to gunning for them. More than just for Apple, but for Tim, the guy who has to succeed Steve Jobs and live with "Steve wouldn't have let xyz happen" at every turn.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#29

Post by verelo »

gfodor wrote: post #22
kristiandupont wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with what you say, except for wrong directions being a minor issue. A very typical use case for me is meeting somebody at a place I haven't been before. I've frequently trusted Google maps to take me there and it has never sent me to the wrong place. Sometimes it doesn't know the place I am looking for which is acceptable but the thought of ending up in a completely different location, with people waiting for…

I agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple: - It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works. - It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you kn…

I feel like im missing something, is there a real reason why they cant just reinstate the google maps app? That's the only thing holding me back from buying the phone (the fact that its not there is scary, but the fact that consumers are left hanging with a few words of "sorry" is more concerning)

I get why Apple doesnt want to be Googles friend, but...this has gone too far.

Re: Apple Has a New Cook

#30

Post by gfodor »

verelo wrote: post #29
gfodor wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple: - It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works. - It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you kn…

I feel like im missing something, is there a real reason why they cant just reinstate the google maps app? That's the only thing holding me back from buying the phone (the fact that its not there is scary, but the fact that consumers are left hanging with a few words of "sorry" is more concerning) I get why Apple doesnt want to be Googles friend, but...this has gone too far.

I think their license is due to end soon and it would probably be a logistical nightmare.

If you live in the bay area or NYC area I've not experienced any major issues with Maps other than it asking me to take slightly more roundabout routes (but perhaps marginally faster ones) than necessary once in a while.

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