October 5, 2011 by Yuval Brisker
And now he’s gone.
Clearly, Steve Jobs and Apple grew to be an intimate part of all our lives in the last 10 years – the excitement, the anticipation, the wonder, the desire, the fascination, the awe, the adoration, the practicality, the beauty of every Apple innovation was the bright and shining star in the world’s life, a world that at times seemed, otherwise, dull.
How many times have we waited with our breathes held trying to figure out what incredible perfect object of desire was going to emerge from the man’s mind.
How many times did we watch as he masterfully presented before a rapt world audience and redefined presentation.
How many times have I walked into an upscale mall, as I travelled all around the country, where every store (and I mean every store) was empty, dead, without a soul inside – while at the same mall the Apple store was standing room only. Packed, almost to a frenzy. That was a mark of an era, of a revolution, of something seminal.
But for me, for us (Irad and me), taking the bold move and making Apple our corporate computing platform in 2005…a radical move back then that turned many heads when we walked into corporate conferences rooms with our white MacBooks…for us…Steve Jobs represented the role model of a bold, visionary entrepreneur to learn from, a rebel who taught us the way, who drove us to engage our courage, whose light kept us moving ahead against all odds to create our venture, TOA.
An inspiration for millions, yes, but also a man who fundamentally helped me change my own life…and I won’t be ashamed to say: I’ll truly miss him.
And…Thank You.
May 10, 2011 by Yuval Brisker
As usual Fred Wilson hits the nail on the head with Competition – The Pros and Cons.
Yes – we are pained sometimes by the existence of competition and we wish they would just go away and let us win already… but the truth is, as Richard Alden, TOA’s EU President (and former CEO of ONO) says – “You need a villain! You always need a villain”.
Richard says that when he as CEO of ONO bought Auna, the other Spanish cable company, removing his most potent and relevant competitor from the marketplace – something was lost.
Why?
Because competition gets our juices flowing, because competition spark so much creative energy in us, it makes us think and motivates us to excel and frustrates us – it makes us reach into the primal depths of our nature – those animalistic survivalist mechanisms that are the warrior in us and helps us fight the excellent fight.
I can’t say that I LOVE the competition – but I can say that I am glad that they are out there – they keep us on our toes, keep us from getting complacent, rally around our brand – and many times they make us look real good.
Many times they help us see our weaknesses better and focus on where we need to get stronger. Like any dialectic, they are that necessary doppelganger that highlights the differences between what is good and not good. And when we see them emulating us and even effacing us – they are another important data point to validation that what we are doing is right!
November 20, 2010 by Yuval Brisker
Irad gave a great little interview to Vital Online. It’s short and worth a read!
August 30, 2010 by Yuval Brisker
In the description about this blog it says that I will blog occasionally about what it’s like to lead a company that provides on-demand software…But I have never really written much about that aspect of my job.
Today I surfed by Fred Wilson’s blog, as I have done for 7 years and read a fascinating piece on “What a CEO Does…” and I could totally identify with this (as well as some of the comments made immediately after. So I would like to share this with the readers here. I think that reading it will give a good perspective on my job!
