Tony Fadell: Recently ousted Forstall 'got what he deserved'
In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, former Apple executive and "grandfather of the iPod" Tony Fadell said that outgoing iOS chief Scott Forstall "got what he deserved," underscoring rumblings of quiet discontent heard of the ousted exec's assertive character.
The statements came from a BBC profile of Fadell and his startup Nest, the company responsible for the Nest learning thermostat currently being sold in Apple's online store.
Fadell offered up the barb in response to a question regarding the circumstances of his departure from Apple, which Businessweek in 2011 suggested may have been due to the "explosive" climate created by a constant power struggle with Forstall.
"Scott got what he deserved," Fadell said of Forstall's departure. "I think what happened just a few weeks back was deserved and justified and it happened."
As far as Apple's future is concerned, Fadell sees the ouster as somewhat of a blessing, hinting that Forstall was causing an imbalance with the executive team's dynamic.
"If you read some of the reports, people were cheering in Cupertino when that event happened," he said, referring to the "quiet jubilation" felt by some employees when the iOS head took his leave. "So, I think Apple is in a great space, it has great products and there are amazing people at the company, and those people actually have a chance to have a firm footing now and continue the legacy Steve [Jobs] left."
The sentiment may likely be shared by other Apple execs, including Bob Mansfield, who is rumored to have agreed to return to the company as senior vice president of Technologies only after Forstall's dismissal. Mansfield retired as SVP of Hardware Engineering in June, but returned a month later as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook.
Other reports have suggested that Forstall's refusal to take responsibility for the iOS Maps flap led to his downfall.
The statements came from a BBC profile of Fadell and his startup Nest, the company responsible for the Nest learning thermostat currently being sold in Apple's online store.
Fadell offered up the barb in response to a question regarding the circumstances of his departure from Apple, which Businessweek in 2011 suggested may have been due to the "explosive" climate created by a constant power struggle with Forstall.
"Scott got what he deserved," Fadell said of Forstall's departure. "I think what happened just a few weeks back was deserved and justified and it happened."
As far as Apple's future is concerned, Fadell sees the ouster as somewhat of a blessing, hinting that Forstall was causing an imbalance with the executive team's dynamic.
"If you read some of the reports, people were cheering in Cupertino when that event happened," he said, referring to the "quiet jubilation" felt by some employees when the iOS head took his leave. "So, I think Apple is in a great space, it has great products and there are amazing people at the company, and those people actually have a chance to have a firm footing now and continue the legacy Steve [Jobs] left."
The sentiment may likely be shared by other Apple execs, including Bob Mansfield, who is rumored to have agreed to return to the company as senior vice president of Technologies only after Forstall's dismissal. Mansfield retired as SVP of Hardware Engineering in June, but returned a month later as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook.
Other reports have suggested that Forstall's refusal to take responsibility for the iOS Maps flap led to his downfall.
Comments
Android is looking better and better each day, in a sad and twisted turn of events.
I get now why former Apple enthusiasts are "bi-curious" regarding Apple.
I am still hoping Tim Cook changes his mind and retains Scott Forstall at Apple.
The fact of the matter is that Forstall and his team have delivered an extraordinary operating system in iOS release after release and he was not responsible for the iOS Map issues. Apple needs a Steve Jobs junior and a controlled Forstall would be a great asset for Apple.
I think Tony Fadel holds grudges and that's his problem to deal with.
Time will tell.
You sir have come across as delusional.
What's a controlled Scott Forstall? You don't even know what the heck went down.
Bingo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maccherry
You sir have come across as delusional.
What's a controlled Scott Forstall? You don't even know what the heck went down.
A controlled Scott Forstall is a brilliant engineer assigned to a position where he can not clash with other managers and his talent can be harvested.
Like I said, temperament aside, his team delivered the first winner version of iOS and several solid releases afterwards and he was not responsible for the iOS map issues. The year is not over yet and I hope he stays at Apple like Bob Mansfield was retained after he decided to retire.
Time will tell.
The thing is there are quite a large number of executives (10-20) that are only now coming out of the woodwork. Part of Steve's genius was to, indeed, "sequester" them in such a way not to rub against others particularly if they were incompatible, and channel their energy in such a laser-focused and pure fashion.
Only now with those fighting over the scraps, as it were, do we see Steve's management skills. And probably why he got cancer with the stress load of dealing with such a wide variety of incredibly talented yet strong-willed upper-level and other-level staff.
The amount of creative energy being wasted on all this infighting is why we've seen quite a bit of disturbing sloppiness at Apple this past few months.
It's not promising, to be honest.
just a hater, no cred
Good grief, given the way SJ so easily handed out abuse and stressed people out, how many people do you reckon SJ 'inflicted with cancer'?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleSauce007
A controlled Scott Forstall is a brilliant engineer assigned to a position where he can not clash with other managers and his talent can be harvested.
Like I said, temperament aside, his team delivered the first winner version of iOS and several solid releases afterwards and he was not responsible for the iOS map issues. The year is not over yet and I hope he stays at Apple like Bob Mansfield was retained after he decided to retire.
Time will tell.
It would be hard to have a "controlled" Forstall with all the money and success that he has. He should be the captain of his own ship. With a constant demand of proven talent in silicon valley, I would not be surprised to see him have the opportunity soon. He should take his time to evaluate the opportunity during his gardening leave.
Indeed. Guy that makes thermometers complains about guy that made iPhone. Go figure.
(Obviously I am being highly facetious here, but you get my gist...If needed I will eat my shoe if/when the truth is revealed)
Now THAT is the question.
Perhaps some people. The question is was the price worth it for what Apple delivered in the past 10 years, karma-wise.
I wonder if Forstall was making a CEO play. Because if he did that would make him really ambitious, maniacal perhaps. If not, maybe others were threatened by him. Wow, a real mystery this one.
TROLL... bi-curious Is in this case is a slur... are you homophobic?... Go somewhere else to spew your hatred!.
From a commenter on Mac Rumors regarding Scott's ouster:
Quote:
Reminds me of when Steve Jobs was kicked out of Apple then came back....hhhhmmmm maybe he will be apples savior in the future
Probably the less said the better. Tony should keep his opinions on Scott to himself, there is nothing to gain kicking the guy when he's down.
If Tim feels that it was time for Scott to go, then it probably was. I have no doubt that Scott made many important contributions to Apple, but at the same time, you need to play well with others. I don't want to see other talented and key individuals leave Apple because of one guy.
My personal feeling is iOS was starting to feel a bit dated. Not just in the UI design, but also functionality. I'm not in favour of changing things up "just because", but there are always areas that can be improved upon or useful new features to add. What did we get? Realistic note pages, leather and green felt and a half-baked maps app. Uhm... Not what we wanted. (For the record, I like the Maps app - it's worked fine for me, but for some others it's been a disaster.)