John Sculley versus Steve Jobs: A Study in Timing

There are rumors that new Macs are coming out as early as today. New Macs? That used to be a reason for breathless anticipation, wild speculation and bad mock ups. Things have changed. The "wild" speculation consists of rumors that the next iMac will be a little thinner than the previous model and the breathless anticipation is saved for the only thing that seems to matter anymore: the iPhone. And If the iPhone is really what Apple is all about, it means John Sculley was right the whole time.

For those who don't remember (bandwagoners!) John Sculley was the guy Steve Jobs lured to Apple with a boatload of cash and the line, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life?" 

Recall that Apple saw itself in direct competition with the giant, IBM. If Sculley could challenge the very established Coke while at Pepsi then, the thought was, he could do the same to IBM at Apple. Sculley's claim to fame? The Pepsi Challenge!

The Australian Version, probably starring Chris Howard

It seems quaint now but back in the day, the Pepsi Challenge was considered a stroke of marketing genius. Steve wanted someone to guide Apple into the future, what he got was ousted. After clashing on several issues it became a John versus Steve thing and Steve didn't win. No surprise, it was the CEO versus a company founder that no one really liked all that much.

But here's the odd thing, while he was brought on for his marketing savvy, Sculley displayed a certain foresight when it came to the future of technology. For example, he painted a broad picture of an interconnected, personal tech-heavy future. Sculley called this small, mobile, personal based computer the Knowledge Navigator.* How cool was the Knowledge Navigator? Take a look:

Admittedly, that video is far too boring to watch. Even if you managed to maintain consciousness throughout the show you were likely repulsed by the chatty interface featured in the video. Sure, the chipper guy on the Knowledge Navigator is like the bastard child of Clippy and Microsoft Bob but the underlying concept is sound. The Knowledge Navigator would allow you to use various assistants to retrieve data from vast databases, use telephony to facilitate interpersonal communication, employ packet swapping technologies to empower users to textually contact each other and would abet end users in the exchange of information stored in various states of media.

In other words, you could browse the net, make some calls, send texts or email and send multimedia files. The concept was brilliant and it is just about what the iPhone does now. Instead of assistants, the iPhone uses specific apps and the internet. A fantastic idea that is only now being realized.

If Sculley's idea was so great (and it was) then why, one wonders, was the Newton (the early embodiment of the concept) such a flop? You'll get the egg freckles excuse, you'll hear that the Newton was too expensive and you'll be told the product was just too big.

All those reasons are specious. Every single one of those objections was overcome by the Palm Pilot and who uses a Palm Pilot now? Probably some retro hipster or something. Let me rephrase: who uses a Palm Pilot who doesn't deserve a good beating and a revocation of their trust fund? No one. The reason the Newton didn't make it is because the time wasn't right for the concept.

For the iPhone to work, internet everywhere has to work. The data transfer rate better be acceptable and the device better be replacing something you already carry. Sculley's idea was every bit as good, if not better, than the concept of the iPhone. So why is Steve Jobs running Apple whilst Sculley is largely reviled? The secret is in the timing. Jobs saw when the tech ecosystem would be fertile for the next gen Newton while Scully expected the rest of the tech world to catch up.

*Probably the worst product name at Apple until the MacBook Pro. Plus it would've confused Nebraska football fans mightily because they have been told since birth that the N on the helmet stands for knowledge.