Eric,
Just to keep the record straight, I was defending Amelio throughout the restructuring days, when many on this thread and elsewhere attacked him as incompetent. I felt that on the whole, he did a good job and is probably a very nice guy. But I always saw him as an "interim" CEO. He was a good hatchet man that could come in and do the unpopular things that needed doing. Having done that though, I felt that the best thing to do was send him packing and bring in an charismatic, visionary leader, that knew technology and marketing. Until the NeXt deal happened, I never dreamed it would be Steve Jobs, but for me, he was the perfect choice.
What troubles me now about Amelio, is the way he is attacking Jobs' character. If he does care about Apple, as he says, it's certainly not going to do the company any good. I think Amelio fell in love with the company, just like Sculley did, but neither were cut out for Apples unique culture. Jobs, in my opinion IS the culture. Though I have no doubt that Jobs' return to power involved acts that would make Machiavelli envious, I'm glad he pulled it off.
Very respectfully,
Scott |
