I don't understand what the strategy was today. Why bother going to Goldman, even altering the presentation time and drawing more attention to yourself, but then presenting nothing insightful, except the discounting "side show" remark about Einhorn. The latter's suit is best discounted with a statement about acting in the interests of shareholders, not by not stooping to make it seem personal.
Cook's commentary today wasn't helpful to litigation or corporate image or media awareness or oft enumerated stockholder concerns. It was just a well announced "nothing new" day with fanfare. Didn't it occur to the PR team inside that with Cook in the Obama box at tonight's State of the Union, ANY meaningful announcement would have been repeated to the nation dozens of times as network cameras panned to him in D.C. next to Michelle. Massive amounts of free PR available for whatever product or dividend hike or acquisition or "anything" they wanted to promote was readily available at no cost, if they had something to say of consequence this morning.
I'm also an apple bull, but the combination of dismissive or circuitous answers to legitimate questions, like
indicating the exec team doesn't worry about revenue streams, just make me shake my head that I may
be staying too long.
I began a shift in confidence less with Steve's death, as much as the day Apple revealed the picture of the "spaceship" headquarters. I wonder more and more about hubris setting into as though our products are the best simply by "natural Apple birthright". I understood anger, for it seemed as much that as genuine pride of creation, driving the use of litigation as a primary strategy for revenue protection. But, the road over the last year has had a lot of modest bumps (mapping, supply train), and the promised miracle products seem rather like enhanced magic tricks than miraculous breakthroughs.
I kept my belief system in the company intact, even through growing doubts, until I read the words of today's transcript. I just don't sense the leadership capacity of our CEO. I see a detailed caretaker, a good person, a socially responsive individual, and presumably a fine manager...but I have hoped over recent months to see a leader, not a manager. And I didn't..again.
I'm sticking around a little longer with Apple...maybe it's force of habit..maybe acting on my heart that was won over (with still some positive margin left) from purchases two years ago..but I remind myself now that good managers don't always grow into good leaders and it's time to be much more skeptical. |
