The current Jobs is a special "tasteless" to Li Mu. This special "tasteless" is not "tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away", but "tasteless to eat and terrible to throw away."
Jobs' greatest value lies in his definition of the first-generation iPhone, iPad, and APP-Store. In the development process of smartphones and mobile Internet, Jobs was a great inventor who created an era by himself, but he was not a good businessman. Apple truly The crazy money-making phase really started after Tim Cook took over.
Now, Li Mu already has the latest definitions of iPhone, iPad, and App-Store in his mind. These definitions came from a few years after Steve Jobs's death. From a purely definitional perspective, Li Mu has completely surpassed Steve Jobs, so at this time, Steve Jobs's For him, it has no value.
Moreover, Jobs was a relatively paranoid person and believed that he was right at all times. Such firm self-confidence and belief made Li Mu very clear that it would be difficult for him to surrender to Jobs.
Besides, why surrender to Steve Jobs? Let him come up with the concept of the first-generation iPhone and the first-generation iOS version? I obviously already have advanced concepts such as internal combustion engines, gas turbines and even nuclear reactors, so why do I need Watt who designed a steam engine? I only need to take out the steam engine step by step, and then take out the internal combustion engine. It is enough to take out the new technology bit by bit like squeezing out toothpaste.
Li Mu's understanding of smartphones and mobile Internet is at least ten years ahead of Steve Jobs in the long history of history. Without threats like Steve Jobs, Li Mu could have achieved this ten-year lead at a ratio of 1:1. Enjoy it slowly, and you can even slow down the speed at the right time. But if Jobs is there and Jobs may pose a threat to you, then in order to deal with the threat of Jobs, you may have to speed up your lead. Eventually, the ten-year advantageous period was compressed to eight, five, or even shorter years.
Li Mu is unwilling to take such a risk, so after acquiring Apple, Jobs must be absolutely controllable. If he is not controllable, he must be de-threatened so that he will not threaten the future development of Makino Technology.
As for Tim Cook, Li Mu wants to lock him in not because he is afraid of the impact he will have on the future of Makino Technology, but because he hopes to recruit him and gradually digest him into a core member of Makino Technology, even in the future Let him bear greater responsibilities than Lin Qingya, Kong Lingyu, or even Liu Edong and Lei Jun.
The reason why he has such high expectations for Tim Cook is because, in Li Mu’s view, Tim Cook is actually the high-end talent he needs at all times. The reason is not possible, just because of Tim Cook. Know better about making money.
Jobs once asserted that no one needs a large-screen mobile phone. The size of iPhone 4 is the most perfect mobile phone in the world. Large-screen mobile phones are stupid and incomprehensible. It is impossible to have a market, and it is impossible for Apple to do it. As a result, other brands have launched large-screen phones. When it comes to mobile phones, Tim Cook immediately started with the iPhone 5 after taking over and continuously improved the size of Apple mobile phones. The size of the iPhone 4 is 3.5 inches, the iPhone 5 is 4 inches, the iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches, and the Plus model is 5.5 inches. This is completely contrary to the size of the iPhone when Steve Jobs was alive. The bold words he made have resulted in Apple’s sales continuing to increase, and it remains invincible;
Jobs refused to launch a mini version of the iPad, thinking that no one would want that kind of thing, but after Tim Cook launched the iPad-mini, the sales of the mini exceeded the sales of the regular model;
The biggest difference between the two is that Jobs regards himself as the father of consumers. His father's attitude towards his son is: What do I think is good for you and what is really good? You are not qualified to bargain with me. Whatever I give you, you Use whatever is right;
Tim Cook regards himself as the grandson of a consumer. The grandson's attitude towards his grandfather is: I will give you whatever I think you like. I am willing to give up all principles for you, as long as you pay.
Therefore, it is no problem for a talent like Tim Cook to be responsible for anything. He will definitely find the most profitable solution in the field he is responsible for, as long as Tim Cook is willing to become a subordinate under Li Mu. Li Mu is even willing to give him the position of CEO. Li Mu believes that he is more qualified for such a role than himself.
With the continuous development of Makino Technology and the continuous growth of Taobao and Alipay, Li Mu knows that his energy will become more and more dispersed, not to mention that there are many other layouts outside, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zucker Berg, it will be increasingly difficult for him to focus on the specific development of a certain business in the future, so he must find a suitable and competent person in charge for each business.
…
Lin Qingya chatted with Tim Cook for a long time, but in the end Lin Qingya did not give Tim Cook a realistic offer on behalf of Makino Technology.
She told Tim Cook that Li Mu gave her a clear explanation this time. If Apple could accept a series of conditions he proposed, only then would it be possible for everyone to continue in-depth communication. Otherwise, there would be no need to continue the conversation.
What can be guaranteed to Tim Cook now is that as long as Apple accepts Makino Technology’s request, Makino Technology will fully acquire Apple, including Apple’s iPod business, which is about to face huge losses, and also when Apple delists from Nasdaq. Additional premium compensation needs to be given to shareholders.
In fact, as long as they have these two guarantees, Apple's top management will be relieved, because they don't need to fill these two big holes, because if these two big holes are really repaired, they may make their own Their assets have shrunk significantly. If Li Mu can help them fill the hole and give them a purchase price of 80% of the market price of their own shares, it will be a life-saving grace for them.
Therefore, when Tim Cook brought his words back to Apple, the entire Apple core team was thinking about only two things:
First, how to ensure that 90% of the core management and 80% of the employees accept Makino Technology’s conditions;
Second, how to ensure that Jobs accepts Makino Technology’s conditions;
The first point is not difficult. After all, most people are not willing to push themselves into the embarrassing situation of unemployment. What's more, Makino Technology is a top company in the industry. A better platform and more resources also indicate greater opportunities. , and the key is that Makino Technology promises a salary increase. Even if some people are unable to accept the offer due to special circumstances, it is still no problem to ensure that the vast majority of people accept it;
However, the most critical thing is Jobs. No one is sure to convince him to accept Makino Technology's conditions, because this condition looks like Jobs must sacrifice his small self for the sake of the greater self.
But everyone knows that although Jobs is a genius, he is also a paranoid, and no one is sure that he can be convinced.
Finally, a core member who knew Jobs very well said, "Let me go and communicate with Steve. I know him better than you do, and I should be able to convince him."
…
One day later, Tim Cook, with a heart full of excitement and excitement, officially informed Lin Qingya that Apple fully accepted Makino Technology’s conditions and hoped to conduct further negotiations.
Even Tim Cook didn't expect that someone would actually find a way to get Jobs to agree to sign a six-year non-compete agreement with Makino Technology.
However, Apple's shareholders also put in a lot of effort to get Jobs to sign this non-compete agreement. They promised that no matter what percentage Makino Technology ultimately gave the shareholders, they would ensure that Jobs could get 150% of the market value for the shares in his hands. offer, that is to say, if the price offered by Makino Technology is less than 150%, the difference will need to be shared proportionally by Apple shareholders and subsidized to Jobs.
Fortunately, Jobs did not own many shares. He held a total of almost 5 million Apple shares. If purchased at 150% of the market price, the total would be more than 30 million U.S. dollars, of which the shareholders would need to share it equally. Thousands.
Everyone was curious about how the core team member persuaded Jobs to accept the six-year non-competition agreement. When the core team member told the whole story, everyone suddenly understood.
In fact, the reason he persuaded Jobs was very simple, just two words: reputation.
He told Jobs that Li Mu was now interested in taking over Apple, which was the best way to exit the iPod, because Li Mu promised to deal with all the losses caused by the iPod business. He would refund users, return goods to dealers, and give agents The employer settled Apple's arrears to ensure that the iPod exited the stage of history in a dignified manner. Steve Jobs was the father of the iPod. If the iPod exited in an honorable manner, his reputation could be preserved. However, if the iPod exited in embarrassment, consumers and distributors would end up being left behind. When manufacturers and OEMs attacked, Steve Jobs's reputation was completely ruined. No one would think that he had invented a great product called the iPod. Everyone would only remember that his iPod deceived a lot of people. It became a huge scandal in the field of electronic products.
In addition to these, this person also vaguely reminded Jobs that Li Mu is an expert in playing with the media and guiding user public opinion. The resources in his hands are unprecedentedly powerful. If he is even slightly dissatisfied with Jobs, he can use the iPod incident to use Makino Technology Powerful publicity channels ruined Jobs' reputation.
Moreover, Jobs still has a smooth development of Pixar animation outside, but Li Mu's influence in Hollywood is also increasing now. A Chinese zombie movie in the 1980s just made him take away 300 million box office in the United States. This Not only is it a great demonstration of Makino Technology’s information promotion capabilities, but it is also a strong confirmation of the influence of Muying’s ticketing system on movie box office. If Jobs really pisses off Li Mu, Pixar’s future development in Hollywood may also be extremely difficult.
Jobs finally gave in.
After leaving Apple, he still has Pixar; the iPod was defeated by Mango, and the world will still remember his grace when he stunned the world with the first-generation iPod. However, if the iPod eventually becomes a major stain in his life, and his Pixar is If Li Mu were to attack from all sides, then he would really have nothing.
Therefore, Jobs made his own decision: to accept Li Mu's conditions, although he would not return to Apple, he was willing to sign a six-year non-compete agreement. In the following time, he decided to leave the Internet and software and hardware research and development. He wanted to All his energy is focused on animated films, because the more serious setbacks and crises Apple encounters, the more he feels the simplicity and beauty of animated films. He feels that it is better to give up the intrigues and life-and-death competition in the Internet and hardware fields and make something simple and beautiful with peace of mind. Stuff is a better choice, after all, I have already earned enough to spend a lifetime.
At this point, a generation of giants, under Li Mu's intervention and influence, gave up the opportunity to become a giant. Now he just wants to live in a corner and enjoy the warmth of spring.
(End of chapter)