Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate
Lessons from Marcia Brady: why Eric Schmidt should resign from Apple's board
One of my favorite episodes of The Brady Bunch is "Quarterback Sneak." In it, Marcia starts dating Jerry Rogers, quarterback of the Fairview High School football team. Problem is, Fairview happens to be the rival of Marcia & Greg's Westdale High School, and the two teams are scheduled to play in their annual big game on Saturday.Marcia may not see it (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia never seems to), but it's fairly apparent that Jerry Rogers isn't as concerned about winning Marcia's heart as he is about winning the big game against Westdale.
But Marcia has to find this out the hard way, as she always does. The story unfolds in an oh-so-predictable sitcom television manner:
Marcia invites Jerry in for a drink of lemonade.
While Marcia is preparing the lemonade, Jerry snoops around and takes a look at the Westdale playbook, which happens to be on the coffee table.
Bobby, who just got flattened by the teeter totter outside, sees that Jerry is up to no good. Marcia sees none of this. She's too busy preparing lemonade.
Bobby and Greg confront Marcia about Jerry's evil, no good do-er ways; Marcia, being Marcia, is obviously in a state of denial and dares Bobby and Greg to prove her wrong. And they did.With Google announcing its intention to develop the Chrome OS, Apple has a Jerry Rogers-like situation right now with Google CEO Eric Schmidt sitting on its board of directors. Although Schmidt says there's "no issue" at the moment, the best situation for both parties would be one in which Schmidt relieved himself of his duties on Apple's board of directors.
On their next lemonade date, Marcia sees that Jerry, indeed, could not resist swiping the Westdale playbook. Needless to say, Marcia's crushed.
It was a different world when Schmidt joined the Apple board in August 2006. It'd be safe to say that Jerry Rogers wasn't even playing on any high school team. Back then, Apple was only part of the way through its Intel transition, and Apple engineers were still melting the keyboards off the faces of smartphones to bring us what is now known as the iPhone. There were two real "legs" to the chair of Apple's business: the iPod and the Mac.
The iPhone, as we would come to find out, represented a revolution in wireless telecommunications. It shifted the power from carrier to manufacturer, and not only upset the smartphone space -- it redefined it.
Toward the middle of the first generation iPhone's life cycle, Google unveiled Android, a Linux-based mobile operating system that would serve as a platform for the Open Handset Alliance -- a consortium of companies that now includes the likes of HTC, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Jerry is now on Fairview's junior varsity basketball team, and Greg is on the main squad for Westfield.
Initial demos of Android showcased a touchscreen interface with gestures and features similar to that of the iPhone, and this naturally
Earlier this week, Google announced its intention to build an operating system aimed at the Netbook market. Jerry Rogers is now playing both basketball and football, although still for the JV squad. And this brings Google, and Schmidt with it, that much closer to stepping on the toes of Mac OS X. While Google states that the Chrome OS will initially target the netbook market, it will evolve later to run on desktop and full-size notebook platforms. If Schmidt recuses himself from Mac OS X-related meetings, then there probably wouldn't be any meetings left for him to attend.
Now it's no secret that the consumer tech market is ultra-competitive, and that keeping technological developments and ideas under wraps is the modus operandi of many tech companies. While Eric Schmidt probably is a person of upstanding morals and values, his presence on the board brings with it conflicts that are now irreconcilable and could potentially weaken the legs of Apple's product chair. If you're competing with the iPhone, and competing with Mac OS X, you're a competitor, not a collaborator.
Readers, sound off. Do you think Eric Schmidt should stay on Apple's board?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
tanguy said 11:07AM on 7-11-2009
um no. Apple would benefit greatly from keeping him on the board. Android poses a better case at a conflict than Chrome OS. Apple always says they have no interest in creating a netbook so this has nothing to do with apple. And if the folks at Google can forcast the future of personal computing, Apple would do good to have this guy on the board to make suggestions that steer them in the correct path.
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xeno314 said 11:20AM on 7-11-2009
Apple always says that they have no interest in everything, until they do. Phones, iPods with video, etc. And I think that Schmidt has a far greater interest in Google than Apple, since he's more than just a board member at Google. Not that it's Schmidt's problem, he and his company stand to gain. It's Apple who should decide whether they have more to gain than to lose from his membership, and whether or not to push him out accordingly.
oliver hart said 12:50PM on 7-11-2009
Conflict of Interest. 'Nuff said.
next please
perk said 2:59PM on 7-11-2009
Steve jobs also said Apple had no interest in a PIM or Phone.
psj said 11:19AM on 7-11-2009
Did you just try to use a scene from a *soap* to make inferences about the strategies of two fortune 100 companies, or am I having delirious dreams about amateurs who think that just being interested in something makes them an expert at it?
You just made it on my list of things to filter today. =)
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Luigi193 said 11:53AM on 7-11-2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Downer
Scott said 1:03PM on 7-11-2009
that's no soap - that's a classic american family drama.
Macroy said 12:56PM on 7-11-2009
Did you just call The Brady Bunch a "soap"?
rg said 12:58PM on 7-11-2009
More importantly, did you just call The Brady Bunch a "soap"? Oh, the 20somethings are so cute when they try to flaunt their knowledge of the olden days.
eron g. said 11:19AM on 7-11-2009
Members of the Board can (and often must) dive into the details of major projects that their companies work on. They must ensure that the initiatives being driven are good fot he company and its investors.
If Mr. Schmidt is elbow deep in the specs of MAC OS and Chrome OS, as well as the iPhone and G1, he's already compromised himself and the integrity of both companies. If there's even a HINT of impropriety on either side, Schmidt has positioned himself as the star witness in a trial or worse: the prime suspect.
Eric Schmidt doesn't need to resign from Apple's Board or Google's Board, he must resign from both. His lawyers should have already told him this.
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cmsb55 said 12:46PM on 7-11-2009
I agree that he should resign from Apple's board, but why do you think he should resign from both. Resigning from Apple's would eliminate the conflict of interest.
eron g. said 12:59PM on 7-11-2009
cmsb55, in my opinion, Schmidt already knows, and has access to, too information on both companies to be able to objectively and fairly serve either. He could, even subconsciously, steer either company in a direction that wrong for them but right for the other one. Or, on the same token, attempt to squash strategies that might hurt the other company... even after stepping down. It's a conflict of interest on both sides.
Whosthatrandom said 11:20AM on 7-11-2009
On the other hand, Eric Schmidt's presence could convince Apple to release iTunes (and associated software), MobileMe etc. for Chrome OS. After all, Apple claims to have no interest in producing hardware at the low-end of computing, so why not capitalise on software for other people's operating systems?
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Videophile said 11:42AM on 7-11-2009
"I was extremely well-informed as a board member with what was going on with Steve." I think I just heard his lawyers smacking their heads from here.
Perspective said 11:56AM on 7-11-2009
Zzzzzz. . .who cares? As John Gruber noted, if Steve Jobs or the Apple Board decides there is a true conflict, then they'll ask him to leave. Until them, I don't think they're taking the blogosphere seriously, thanks in part to these prior blog suggestions/claims:
Apple should license OS X for PCs because if it doesn't Apple will fail!
Apple should license FairPlay DRM to other vendors or the iPod will fail!
After the GPhone, the iPhone will fail!
A non-removable battery means the new MacBooks will fail!
Yada. . .yada. . .yada, and more of the same.
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Michael Rose said 12:05PM on 7-11-2009
"when Steve Jobs or the Apple Board decides there is a true conflict, then they'll ask him to leave"
It's not up to them. It's up to the FTC.
Anderson said 12:49PM on 7-11-2009
@Michael Rose What the heck does the FTC have to do with it? Maybe the SEC?
Videophile said 11:36AM on 7-11-2009
Using his position as a board member to steal Apple's plans would be about the dumbest thing Schmidt could do, as he'd end up personally liable for huge honking damages.
At the very least he would need to recuse himself from all discussions involving the iPhone, mobile me, mac os, and iWork, in addition to anything relating to related undisclosed Google projects, of which there are probably many. And with so much recusal it's unlikely he can fulfill his responsibilities as a board member. It's a very large lawsuit waiting to happen.
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Steve said 11:43AM on 7-11-2009
"Initial demos of Android showcased a touchscreen interface with gestures and features similar to that of the iPhone, and this naturally begged the question of the potential conflict(s) of interest in Schmidt's dual role."
This did not beg the question, it may have invited or raised the question but it certainly did not beg the question.
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Tim said 11:54AM on 7-11-2009
I'm fairly confident that Apple will make the right decision. Truthfully, Apple and Google work so close together, I often wonder if they haven't discussed a merger, and maybe they have and just don't think it will pass approval from the FTC. So this is what you get. If there was any "evil" going on here, don't you think Apple is smart enough to figure that out? Or, is Eric Schmidt so charismatic that that he could woo his way through life, NO, have you heard the man speak?
ChromeOS is not going after Mac Sales, it's going after the low-end market who would sell their souls to personal data miners just to feel as if they are part of the game. Apple competes with cheap and free right now and does very well.
Apple and Google are just fine. I really believe if they could merger, they would. It's things like this that keep everyone else thinking they are competitors, when truly they are not.
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