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Select Apple employees now get two-week breaks for 'special projects'

post #1 of 16
11/12/12 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Apple CEO Tim Cook began allowing certain employees to work on special "side-projects," a move that brings the company more in line with industry rivals like Google.

Tim Cook


Dubbed "Blue Sky," the initiative grants a limited number of employees two-week breaks to work on projects outside the realm of their normal duties, and reportedly aims to keep worker loyalty high in the midst of poaching, according to The Wall Street Journal (via Business Insider).

Apple's new program is akin to Google's long-standing "20 percent time," which allows engineers at the internet search giant to spend one day a week on side projects that may yield usable products or solutions.

The WSJ noted that Apple's Blue Sky is a "far cry" from what Google's plan offers, especially in relation to the number of employees participating, but the decision to start the program at all denotes a cultural shift for the Cupertino company.

Cook apparently started Blue Sky earlier this year, though an exact date was not revealed.
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post #2 of 16
11/12/12 at 1:52pm
This is good for Apple. Innovation from the bottom up is always excellent. Hope to see some great things out of this
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post #3 of 16
11/12/12 at 2:02pm
Fully agree. And I would expect Apple's approach would yield to more than 'usable products or solutions.'
I wish Google was drowning, so I could describe the water for them.
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I wish Google was drowning, so I could describe the water for them.
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post #4 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:18pm
Maybe it's better to have a stern taskmaster like Steve Jobs, instead of the "let things happen" attitude. What was Jobs' attitude when he brought the company back from the brink and turned it into the behemoth it is today?

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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post #5 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

Maybe it's better to have a stern taskmaster like Steve Jobs, instead of the "let things happen" attitude. What was Jobs' attitude when he brought the company back from the brink and turned it into the behemoth it is today?
If Apple did everything Steve Jobs wanted the iPod and iTunes would never have come to Windows and the iPhone wouldn't have an App Store. Steve was a great man, but he wasn't god.
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post #6 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by allenbf View Post

This is good for Apple. Innovation from the bottom up is always excellent. Hope to see some great things out of this
Yep. I'm kind of surprised they didn't already have something like this in place.
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post #7 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:45pm
That's the worst photograph of Tim Cook I've ever seen.
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post #8 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:55pm

Have you ever read any of the bioraphical data out there about Steve or Apple?    If you did you might realize that Steve was great at taking the ideas of others and developing products around them.   Some of the best features of the Original Mac came from people that developed them but not directly at the request of Steve.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

Maybe it's better to have a stern taskmaster like Steve Jobs, instead of the "let things happen" attitude. What was Jobs' attitude when he brought the company back from the brink and turned it into the behemoth it is today?
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post #9 of 16
11/12/12 at 3:57pm

With no visionary-in-chief at the top, though a great execution and design team, maybe something "insanely great" will burble up from these selected "visionaryettes".....

An iPhone, a Leatherman and thou...  ...life is complete.

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An iPhone, a Leatherman and thou...  ...life is complete.

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post #10 of 16
11/12/12 at 4:06pm
Then again, the attitude needed to bring a company from the brink of death is not the same attitude needed to keep the world's largest tech company innovative and fresh. Why not go outside the box? 4 percent time isn't such an enormous risk. The benefits could be great!
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post #11 of 16
11/12/12 at 5:25pm
I'm all for it. It beats optimizing the hell out of the supply chain as a means to move forward.
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post #12 of 16
11/12/12 at 7:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by allenbf View Post

This is good for Apple. Innovation from the bottom up is always excellent. Hope to see some great things out of this

Something tells me this isn't really 'bottom up'. I doubt they are giving this to front line retail folks to improve the systems they work with

Although if I was an Apple employee I'd want time to fix the crap ass metadata on the iTunes stores
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post #13 of 16
11/13/12 at 4:53am

  You have to appreciate what Cook is doing.    Most CEO's in his place would let things run their course and think that they would stay ahead of all other competitors (ex: Microsoft's Balmer).   And then realize that others were running past them.

 But seeing what Cook has done just in a couple months, with the turmoil between the vice-pres. team.   It took a lot of guts to figure out, an implement a change to keep a certain innovation needed.  Of course Forstall would be a good fit, but only if he would compromise and make it possible to work with others. (I still think he will return with his tail between his feet)   

  And now, Cook realizes that what really made Apple what it is today.  Was the storming sessions that Jobs had with his creative talent.  They did not know exactly what would come out of those meetings, but Jobs probably had an idea of where they needed to go.   So those were probably the 10 items he would chalk up, and then the 'TEAM' would figure something out.  Most were not good.  But it only takes a couple great ideas to follow up on and make them successful with everybody else on board.

  Now Cook realizes that that type of ideas will be needed for the near future, in order to keep Apple ahead of everyone else.   Sure, some will say that they are following Google's example.  But, that is not quite the same thing.  Apple's ideas are more concentrated.  There is no reason to stray so far away from what they do best. 

  But again, the leader at the top.  If he is devoid of good ideas, the best thing is to let others do that.   He seems to have a good enough mind to be a part of a decision of what direction to take.  One thing for sure, he does not have very much competition with other CEO's at other companies that are in his field. 

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post #14 of 16
11/13/12 at 5:43am
Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post
If Apple did everything Steve Jobs wanted the iPod and iTunes would never have come to Windows and the iPhone wouldn't have an App Store.

 

Fanaticism is the answer right now, not temperance.

PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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post #15 of 16
11/13/12 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post


If Apple did everything Steve Jobs wanted the iPod and iTunes would never have come to Windows and the iPhone wouldn't have an App Store. Steve was a great man, but he wasn't god.


Steve's last advice was to not ask what he would have done. Trying to be someone else seldom works out and he knew it.

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post #16 of 16
11/13/12 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

 

Fanaticism is the answer right now, not temperance.

 

I agree. If you really want to get things done, a fanatical leader can sometimes be polarizing, divisive, yet essential to getting a gigantic company to jump at opportunities like a nimble start-up.

 

The tendency in very large companies is for "yes-men" to climb the ranks and managers to coalesce power within the company. Quite soon, Apple may have warring internal factions that rival any found in your average "cubicle jungle" Fortune 500 company.

 

A company must remain paranoid, nervous, relentless and retain a willingness to kill it's own babies for the good of the company in the competitive landscape. Resting on one's laurels is a sure sign of an empire in decline.


Edited by SpamSandwich - 11/13/12 at 12:32pm

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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