"Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me to change the world?". This is one of the most famous sentences made by Steve Jobs. He made it to John Sculley in 1983, and then the CEO of Pepsi. Apple needed an experienced CEO and Jobs chose this executive to take the profits of this company into one of the most powerful episodes of his life.
In addition, Jobs made the mistake of hiring him I will regret it After a while.
When Apple needs "adult" guidance
Apple was founded in 1976. With its tremendous growth in the early years of success, it became a professional organization. The first CEO, Michael Scott, spent four years until 1981 working for the company. Next Mike Markkula took over, Apple's first major investor.
After two years, it was clear that he was not the right person for the job. Apple had thousands of employees, costing billions again he sold millions of computers
The reason I was asked to come to Apple for the board of directors to seek adult guidance, Steve was looking for someone to teach him a specific sales experience, because he used to say "I'm going to build something the world has never seen. I will build a computer for creative people who can't do and do things they never thought they could do."
Apple hadn't turned in a decade. But the pain caused by the rapid growth is made necessary experienced hand to steer the ship and align the Jobs. That one can end up being Sculley.
Sculley's dignity thanks to the Pepsi challenge
John Sculley had a meteoric operation in Pepsi. He started out as a person in 1967, where he spent six months in the Pittsburgh bottling industry training program. Three years later, at age 30, he became the youngest president in the company's marketing.
Among his achievements is the departure of the Pepsi food industry. In just three years, there has been a double loss of earnings have a 10% gain. But Sculley's fame in the advertising world came with another brilliant campaign.
At that time, Pepsi confronted Coca-Cola in an attempt to gain a foothold in the market. Pepsi was known, but most of the public You have selected a competitor type. This is how he launched the Pepsi Challenge, a series of blind tastings where regular Coca-Cola consumers were given both drinks to try.
In the ads that popped up, it showed how consumers chose Pepsi because of their taste, surprised by their choices when told. Ads went on for years and for Coca-Cola to release its "new" Coca-Cola, which consumers refuse.
From selling sugar water to Apple
Steve Jobs had interviewed about 20 people before Sculley. With him, Jobs felt like he had found the right person given his experience of running a company and marketing information. After five months of dating and the first rejection, Jobs didn't stop easily.
The question was posed at the apartment building that Jobs had purchased in New York, in March 1983. In the background refused to run the company again
Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me to change the world?
In English, sugar water It's a way of referring to something without a thing. As if the CEO of Pepsi was an insignificant position next to the one suggested by Jobs, something that greatly strengthened Job's proposal. A week later, Sculley moved to the west coast of the country to pick up Apple coins.
This is one of those examples that show Job's ability to make people believe. After a while, got into arguments with the person he co-founded to propose a reorganization that gave him a position without influence. That is why Jobs has tried to bring back the management of the company and take him out.
Eventually, jobs left the company. Or here, versions are different. The idea itself says he was thrown out, while the board of directors said he left him. Sculley eventually directed Apple for a decade and Jobs would build NEXT and acquire Perry, launching a path that, without knowing it, would return to Apple in the years to come.
