Apple survived dark days with optimism & teamwork, says Deirdre O'Brien
A new profile of Apple retail chief Deirdre O'Brien reveals Apple is an optimistic company even in tough times, such as during the dot-com bubble burst, while O'Brien herself feels coming out early in her Apple career was one of her toughest and proudest moments.
Deirdre O'Brien (Source: Apple)
O'Brien was named the successor to senior vice president of retail in February, previously held by Angela Ahrendts, and officially took the position of SVP of People + Retail. In her position, she is in charge of over 500 retail outlets, Apple's online store, and over 120,000 Apple staff, and now has the most responsibility she has ever had in her long tenure at the company since joining in January 1988.
Despite her history with the company and previous role as SVP of people since July 2017, there has been relatively little in the way of reporting on the low-profile executive, but taking control of retail has raised her profile and brought her more into the limelight. In a profile by InStyle, O'Brien offers more insights about her life of working for the iPhone maker, including some elements that were not previously brought up.
The article covers O'Brien's history, including working on the production of the Macintosh SE and Macintosh Plus, then working on early online and physical retail efforts and helping the company expand globally, before becoming one of its highest-ranking executives.
As part of the delve into her history, O'Brien brings up co-founder Steve Jobs' philosophy of "Apple being at the intersection of technology and liberal arts," suggesting "That is how we all feel, that it's so much bigger than the technology itself." The same comment regarding technology and liberal arts was made by Apple CEO Tim Cook in one 2018 interview, demonstrating how the phrase is revered by other members of management.
Asked about her work in pushing retail to court more customers, O'Brien claims "First of all, I do have a lot of personal energy, and I feel like it is where all the experience I've had at Apple comes together."
She "bounces out of bed each morning" with plenty of optimism, a trait shared with the company itself, as O'Brien mentions the internal sentiment in the early 2000s, during the period when the dot-com bubble burst and affected Apple.
"Honestly at Apple, most people had written us off, they really didn't feel like we were going to make it through," O'Brien remembers. "But there's always hope. So, number one, I feel I really learned a deep sense of optimism, but realistic optimism because you need to assess and have a great grounding in the realities of the situation you're in. What I will tell you is those tough times at Apple, the only way we made it through that was that we pulled together, and everybody played their part."
When queried what her "most badass thing" she's ever done, O'Brien claims it was her decision to come out in her mid-20s that was both one of her toughest and proudest moments. "I was scared, but knew I had to bring my full self to Apple," O'Brien said. "I have never, ever regretted that big decision and today, I consider it my responsibility and a privilege to show up every day in support of our underrepresented team members."
The decision and sentiment over coming out is similar to one expressed by Cook in October, with one interview five years after he publicly came out as gay revealing he "has not regretted it for one minute, not at all."
Deirdre O'Brien (Source: Apple)
O'Brien was named the successor to senior vice president of retail in February, previously held by Angela Ahrendts, and officially took the position of SVP of People + Retail. In her position, she is in charge of over 500 retail outlets, Apple's online store, and over 120,000 Apple staff, and now has the most responsibility she has ever had in her long tenure at the company since joining in January 1988.
Despite her history with the company and previous role as SVP of people since July 2017, there has been relatively little in the way of reporting on the low-profile executive, but taking control of retail has raised her profile and brought her more into the limelight. In a profile by InStyle, O'Brien offers more insights about her life of working for the iPhone maker, including some elements that were not previously brought up.
The article covers O'Brien's history, including working on the production of the Macintosh SE and Macintosh Plus, then working on early online and physical retail efforts and helping the company expand globally, before becoming one of its highest-ranking executives.
As part of the delve into her history, O'Brien brings up co-founder Steve Jobs' philosophy of "Apple being at the intersection of technology and liberal arts," suggesting "That is how we all feel, that it's so much bigger than the technology itself." The same comment regarding technology and liberal arts was made by Apple CEO Tim Cook in one 2018 interview, demonstrating how the phrase is revered by other members of management.
Asked about her work in pushing retail to court more customers, O'Brien claims "First of all, I do have a lot of personal energy, and I feel like it is where all the experience I've had at Apple comes together."
She "bounces out of bed each morning" with plenty of optimism, a trait shared with the company itself, as O'Brien mentions the internal sentiment in the early 2000s, during the period when the dot-com bubble burst and affected Apple.
"Honestly at Apple, most people had written us off, they really didn't feel like we were going to make it through," O'Brien remembers. "But there's always hope. So, number one, I feel I really learned a deep sense of optimism, but realistic optimism because you need to assess and have a great grounding in the realities of the situation you're in. What I will tell you is those tough times at Apple, the only way we made it through that was that we pulled together, and everybody played their part."
When queried what her "most badass thing" she's ever done, O'Brien claims it was her decision to come out in her mid-20s that was both one of her toughest and proudest moments. "I was scared, but knew I had to bring my full self to Apple," O'Brien said. "I have never, ever regretted that big decision and today, I consider it my responsibility and a privilege to show up every day in support of our underrepresented team members."
The decision and sentiment over coming out is similar to one expressed by Cook in October, with one interview five years after he publicly came out as gay revealing he "has not regretted it for one minute, not at all."
Comments
Odd.
Someone asked her what her proudest moment was; she answered honestly.
Do you think she should have said, "learning to ride a unicycle" just to protect your delicate self?
I think the misunderstanding is many of us have compassion. So much in fact that we don't care about it because that's not how we identify people. Unless we're talking about my wife, I couldn't care less who sleeps with who, and no body I know cares either.
In this day and age who stays in the closet?
You're straight, so of course it doesn't seem like a big deal to you. You're not even aware that you announce your own sexuality publicly -- by having pictures of your heterosexual partner on your desk, etc. For a very, very, very long time homosexuals could not do the same. Nor can they now in 17 states -- in my own Louisiana you can be fired for being gay. So for someone to come out in public, that is, to be their normal selves and not hide that they have a same-sex partner, is a big deal. Certainly in her time.
Yes, quite telling that in an article of 10 paragraphs this little gem of a person honed in on the topic of one of those paragraphs.
Errrnt. The person Tundra was replying to is clearly not compassionate, or he would understand that coming out is a big deal for the gay community after centuries and millennia of having to hide your normal state from others. Coming out just means feeling safe enough to be your normal self without hiding who your partner is -- as you just did by mentioning you have a wife, a heteronormative indicator. If you were gay and had to hide your normal self, you couldn't say "my husband". It's not flaunting your sexuality to say you have a wife, you take it for granted.
Also note that she came out in her 20s, which was decades ago.
It has not always been this way for gays, and in 17 states still isn't. In my state people were arrested for being gay as recently as 2014, and in 2014 our state house even voted to keep unconstitutional sodomy laws on the books. Gays were also banned from adopting until 2015. Yet still today, in Louisiana there is no law preventing private employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Attempts were made in 2016 but the bill died. You can legally be fired for being gay. And also in 17 other states. In 2019. Shocking, huh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Louisiana
https://www.fastcompany.com/90369004/lgbt-employee-protections-by-state-map-shows-where-gay-workers-can-be-fired
Let me be clear, I have no issue whatsoever with her pride in coming out. Personally, her orientation doesn't matter to me in the slightest, but if she feels it was a big thing, good for her. My question is....what does she mean by "underrepresented?" Is she saying that Apple does't hire enough gay people? Moreover, is her being an openly gay tech executive in Palo Alto, CA really all that surprising? I mean, this isn't the 1980's. Gays are widely accepted. Gay marriage is legal in all states. Her statement seems to be virtue-signaling, and is so self-important. I'm sure she doesn't view it that way, but...I wish people would get over themselves.
Typically I find people who accuse others of "being so self-important" to be suffering deep rooted insecurities and jealousies. Absolutely nothing she said was self-important or virtual signaling. It just bothers you to hear other people talk about things that are meaningful to them that aren't to you.
I think worse of you when you routinely, repeatedly, make these facts known about yourself, as if anyone cares, as if it is supposed to qualify for some special kind of treatment or attention.
None of the gay people I know do not behave like this at all, and they are all completely chagrined by the ones that do. This isn't normal behavior. It is narcissist, attention-seeking behavior.
This is what really irritates people, because the idiots who said "it's not going to stop with equal rights" are now being proven right by even bigger idiots. Virtue signaling doesn't even cover it. These loud mouth narcissists are demanding special treatment that they think they're entitled to, and anyone who says, "Wait, what?" is just shut down by being called a bigot. Disagree with the political posturing of a person who is gay? Obviously a bigot.
Loving v. Virginia was in 1967 so by your measure interracial marriage hasn't been an issue for over half a century. There are countless examples that can be shown to you about less than equal treatment of people.
See, you cut out the parts after that sentence that made this a big deal. For thousands of years gays couldn't be their normal selves, referring to their partners by same-sex labels such as "My husband". For most of history it was a crime to be gay, resulting in death, beatings, or at the very least, firings. Thus coming out was a big deal. Even in 2019 you can still be fired for having a photo of a same-sex partner on your desk in 17 states, including my own.
So while you don't give a shit, lots of people who are affected by this do. It isn't hard to understand.
Your bullshit claims that this is narcissistic behavior is simply nonsense in your head. Until everyone can marry, adopt, and not be fired for being gay, it remains an issue, and it was and is risky for these people to be their normal selves (ex: using same-sex terms like "My husband" or "My wife").
No, being a dumbass bigot is what makes someone a bigot.
What part of you is pretending anyone is asking for "special treatment"? The right to marry, the right to adopt, or the right to not be fired merely for being gay? Because that's how the law stands in 17 states today, you can be fired for having a picture of your same-sex spouse on your desk. You would blow your gasket if you could be fired for having a picture of your glowing wife on yours, I assure you.