mpantone

zigzaglens said:

mpantone said:

My hunch is that Apple's board of directors discreetly employs a high-level government relations consultant who provides suitable guidance in how Apple handles the current administration.

"A consultant"? They aren't some trucking company in the midwest. They're a multi-trillion dollar behemoth with many moving parts that intersect with various policymaking apparatus around the globe. They have a huge government relations team, as they should.

All of Apple's government relations team have specialized knowledge about dealing with bureaucracy of many forms but the people who know the intricacies of dealing with the GAO aren't going to be the same people who know the most about dealing with the Chinese bureaucracy, Japanese government, Taiwanese, Koreans, EU officials, etc. And remember that most of those officials do the same work for decades.

Heads of state are another animal. You are dealing with individuals. The current Japanese prime minister is much different than the last 7-8.

This is precisely why Apple's BOD probably uses a specialist in Tim's interacts with the current Chief Executive. They probably used someone else with the prior administration (not that Tim had much interaction with POTUS 46). But for sure, no Apple staffer is going to claim to be the expert on working with POTUS 47 unless they were a former and fairly recent aide.

There's no reason for Apple to employ this protocol specialist full time. That consultant would likely be working with the CEOs of a number of other companies. It's not like Tim is seeing POTUS 47 a couple of times a week. In the same way, if your marriage is on the rocks, you don't ask your marriage counselor to move into the spare bedroom at your house. A freelance consultant would be able to make far more money and have far more flexibility than punching a clock at one employer.

Apple's government relations team would still be very much involved in the details of the investment deals, etc. but we're not talking about that. The subject of this article is specifically about the gift. This is about accurately reading people's personalities, just like someone should know what sort of gift mom would appreciate.

And it is probable that people from the Apple government relations team knows their limitations. If even you're good, sometimes very good, occasionally there will be situations where you'd say, "Hey, you need a specialist for this."

If you run an NFL team you won't have an orthopedic surgeon on staff. But if one of your players wrecks their ACL or Achilles, you'll have some numbers in your Rolodex.

rotateleftbyte said:

After watching the press conference, I don't know how Tim Cook could remain in the White House with the president. The POTUS was behaving like a 1st grader. It must have been awful for TC to remain silent..

There are professionals who provide advice. Just like pro athletes working with sports psychologists, there are specialists who work with CEOs on difficult situations. These are not the run-of-the-mill psychologists that you might meet at your clinic.

Remember that POTUS 47 was also POTUS 45 and that Tim Cook periodically engaged with POTUS 45. He already had a good clue as to how the Chief Executive behaves based on multiple prior interactions.

As for dealing with a child having a temper tantrum, I've seen A LOT of parents who handle their own offspring extremely poorly. Once Tim departs the White House, he's rid of POTUS for a while. Parents are stuck with their kids.

Not sure Steve Jobs had the type of personality that would handle the current administration better than Tim. Tim is -- compared to most CEOs -- a better diplomat, probably just due to his personality and maturity. We've seen at least one egomaniacal CEO not do quite as well (*cough*).

Guys, you know that Roku already has higher priced ad-free subscription plans?

This new $2.99 plan slots somewhere in between. The free offering has very limited VOD content choices and of course has ads as well. The $2.99 monthly fee gives access to an expanded VOD library. If you don't want ads, they offer premium subs.

It's apparent that some people here don't realize that service providers can offer multiple tiers of service. This is what Roku is doing, adding another tier.

Airlines do this. Cellular carriers do this. Credit card companies. Cable companies. Banks. Even your (US) healthcare insurance provider does this.

I've been in the temp Ginza store and it is a remarkably poor retail experience compared to the original location. Tokyo has other Apple Stores, better to go to one of those rather than this cramped Ginza shoebox: Marunouchi, Shibuya, Shinagawa, somewhere else. My preference would probably be the Omotesando store.

Of course, if you just need an accessory you're better off going to one of the major electronics chains (Bic, Yodobashi, etc.). They all have Apple sections. I always buy my iPhone cases at Daiso (100¥ shop), usually about $7-8, same quality has what would cost $25-30+ here in the USA.

jon98765 said:

mpantone said:

My hunch is that Apple's board of directors discreetly employs a high-level government relations consultant who provides suitable guidance in how Apple handles the current administration. I doubt if Tim himself (or anyone else in the senior management team) came up with the idea of this particular plaque and presentation.

Not exactly discreet! https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-rollins-97ba87a0/

Nah, we already know that most Fortune 500 companies have government relations teams. I'm talking about a high-level protocol specialist that is intimately acquainted with POTUS 47's specific interests, proclivities, etc. All heads of state and monarches have teams who do things like event planning, menu selection, gift selection, letter writing, etc.

Apple is employing someone who knows the current president's tastes and will say, "Tim should gift him ____ because it will be well received by the standing Chief Executive." Note that different gifts would be chosen for the Canadian president, previous POTUSes, the King of England, Emperor of Japan, Chinese president, Prince of Monaco, Dalai Lama, etc. Someone like an appointment manager from the POTUS 45 term. A high-end butler basically.

If Tim were to meet Emperor Naruhito of Japan, a different person would have to be consulted rather than some executive in Apple Japan. Same with someone like the Pope. A gift to Pope Leo XIV might be different than what would have been given to Pope Francis (the former considers tradition vastly more important than the latter). All the minute details are extremely important. The wording of the note that accompanies the gift, how it is wrapped, etc.

Apple already has a government relations team that knows how to navigate the DC business circles, grease palms, etc. That team knows what to do to get the GAO to approve the purchase order for ___ iPhones for the US Navy. That's different than physically addressing POTUS.