Former Apple Exec Shares Life Lessons at YSU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – John Osborne relates that there were distinct differences between his former employers, IBM and Apple Computer Inc., during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the nascent era of the personal computer.And these differences also serve as a metaphor and lessons to young people today who are searching for their own careers, he advises.
"IBM was the biggest, baddest boy on the block when it came to computers, and they were going to dominate the data processing world," Osborne, a former executive at both companies, told students in a packed auditorium at Youngstown State University's Williamson College of Business Administration Wednesday.
But Apple wasn't in business to dominate -- its objective was to change the world, he said.
"They had a passion for what they wanted to do," Osborne said. "They were a computer company second. They wanted to make a change."
It's this passion and drive that set Apple apart from other companies, Osborne emphasized, and it's this passion that should drive those in college today as they embark on a professional life that will most likely be very different than their intended careers.
Osborne, today a professor of economics and director of career services at Bethany College near Wheeling, W. Va., spent 16 years as senior director of worldwide server marketing for Apple’s various server organizations. During his tenure there, Osborne served in a variety of executive positions for Apple including director of finance for the enterprise systems division; director, U.S. financial planning; and director of sales.
Osborne shared his insights and life lessons with students, stressing that real world experience serves as the true classroom, that there's just so much a university education can do to prepare you for the tough choices and challenges that lay ahead, and that timing is everything.
Apple's founders, for example, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, had high school educations and neither one finished college. Yet their drive, vision and timing became the forces that propelled the company to the success it is today.
Osborne arrived at Apple in 1981 after several years at IBM, and says the two business cultures couldn't have been more different. "It was like Disneyland," he said. "If something needed done, you had the authority to go do it. They weren't driven by a five or 10-year plan, they were building products that were going to change the world from things they liked to tinker with."
Apple was light years apart from the stifling corporate atmosphere of IBM, Osborne added. At Apple, concert pianists would perform throughout the day, masseuses were available to give neck rubs to employees at their computers, free child care services were available, and a world-class fitness center was open for employees in the building.
"It was a completely different environment that I had at IBM," he recalled. Sales meetings were conducted in Hawaii, "beer busts" were held every Friday, holiday parties drew in musical guests such as the Pointer Sisters and Huey Lewis & The News, and executive lectures were delivered by heavy hitters such as Lee Iacocca.
"They worked 90 hours a week and loved it," Osborne said.
Although Osborne didn't work directly with Jobs or Wozniak, he would often see them, and each would sit in various meetings.
Jobs was the perfectionist, Wozniak the technical genius behind the company, Osborne said. "Steve Jobs was a true visionary and could see technology that others couldn't see." While Jobs lived a very private life, Wozniak was much more accessible.
And, there was Jobs' legendary draconian style of management, which Osborne called both healthy and at times counter-productive.
"You didn't want to get on an elevator with Steve Jobs," Osborne said. Within seconds of stepping into the elevator, Jobs would introduce himself and then ask the employee what exactly he did for him.
"If that employee couldn't tell him in less than two minutes what he was doing, by the end of that elevator ride, he was fired," Osborne said. On another occasion, Jobs herded a large group of engineers into an auditorium and simply fired them all because he wasn't satisfied and wanted to start fresh.
Still, Jobs was able to push designers and engineers to accomplish feats even they thought wers impossible, Osborne noted.
Osborne offered advice to students who will soon be searching for a job and moving up in a career. Be prepared to work a menial job before securing a better position, he sayd, know what your boss is passionate about, and know that perception in business is extremely important in getting your foot in the door.
"Life is not fair," he said bluntly. "The world doesn't care about your self-esteem."
Osborne said a college experience is vital to "train your brain," suggesting a liberal arts education has more value than many believe.
"You really got to go in, find something you're good at, and find something you enjoy," Osborne said. "That may not have anything to do with your major. And that's OK."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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