The Apple Natural
With my own Apple keynote and iPhone Duo initial thoughts out of the way, I've been catching up on some of the other coverage from last week. One thing that stands out is just how much Apple put John Ternus out there – with just one presentation and product unveil under his belt as CEO, no less – and in turn, how natural he seems talking about such things.
This was the vibe I got from the keynote itself, but it's hard to tell for sure because that's a pre-recorded video. While you may not be able to inject charisma when it's not there – well, without some heavy AI usage perhaps – you can still cut and edit in ways that makes someone seem far more in command than they actually are. But in these more ad-hoc video sit downs (and red carpet events – Bond, John Bond...), you clearly get a good sense of Ternus atop Apple.
Yes, he's undoubtedly been media trained up the wazoo – not only ahead of taking on the main leadership role at Apple, but also over his 25 years at the company as he became more forward-facing – and sure, he has his corporate talking points to hit. But listening to him, even in these very early days as CEO, he feels... natural.
No, he's not Steve Jobs. But he's also not trying to be. Nor did Tim Cook try to be, famously – but Cook's style always rubbed me as decidedly too buttoned-up. It was almost all corporate hat and very little cattle. He wasn't bad, but he was almost always boring. Again, decidedly not Steve Jobs. But also probably exactly what Apple needed in steering the ship after Jobs' untimely passing. Cook was the stoic captain, Ternus has a chance to be something different.
Natural charisma aside, one of the things that made Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs, was how in command he was of the facts – yes, even those sprinkled with reality distortion dust! – on stage. This was best showcased in Q&As where he'd be asked something, he would take a moment to think about it (which few people do in such settings and just immediately start talking whether or not they have an answer), and almost always gave an insanely thoughtful response. Okay, sometimes it was a terse, more emotional reaction. But still, it always felt sincere. Like the guy knew what he was talking about. Again, like he was in command.
Yes it's early, but I get some of those vibes in hearing Ternus talk. The sit-down interview he did with Tom's Guide and TechRadar after the keynote I think best exemplifies this. It was a joint interview with Greg Joswiak, who has been in his leadership (and forward-facing) role longer than Ternus, which is undoubtedly at least in part to make sure Ternus stayed on the rails Apple prefers, with 'Joz' there to easily jump in if needed. As head of marketing, Joz has served this purpose a number of times in other joint interviews over the years (including with Ternus). But what's interesting is that Ternus didn't need that hand-holding or those training wheels, as it were. He was in command.
Peppered with questions that would be hard for any executive – let alone a CEO – to answer in ways that weren't complete corporate-speak vague blandness, Ternus gave interesting, thoughtful answers. (The bit about the nano texture display seemed especially strong – "It was like, yes that's it.") It was clear how in the weeds he was of these products. Given his previous role overseeing all of hardware engineering, he basically had to be, of course. But that doesn't always translate into good answers. In fact, it rarely does. Again, it's either corporate speak that appeals to no one, marketing tongue that appeals to some, or technical jargon that appeals to very few. But Ternus somehow weaved them in a way that sounded natural.
To be fair, Cook may have sounded similar if you asked him about the intricacies of Apple's supply chain. But no one ever really asked those questions because few care. And actually, Cook probably wouldn't have sounded similar because he would have known how guarded he needed to be talking about such things. Which is to say, Ternus has it easier, at least in this regard. Still, it's not an easy thing to do!
At least watching these from afar, it seems that Ternus has a calmness in his style that naturally puts those around him at ease. In that regard, he's perhaps the opposite of Jobs! It's not better or worse, it's just different. And you can see why that would be appealing to the press, and presumably to Apple's rank and file as well. He just seems... likable? There's perhaps a question if such a style can also produce great leadership, but again, Ternus has been at Apple 25 years. He's been leading massive divisions, including, penultimately, perhaps the most important division. There's no way he gets elevated to the CEO role if he's not viewed as a great leader, obviously.
I'll say again that it's early. We'll see how Ternus evolves in the role – especially as the questions get tougher than talking about a newly launched product that everyone wants to talk about. Of course, that's part of the reason Cook is still around – as his latest White House dinner date makes clear. But between chatting about cycling and impromptu iPhone Duo reveals, there's something interesting about Ternus in this role. Could he be Apple's next great showman?
More importantly, might it point to his ability to be the product leader and curator-in-chief that has seemed sorely lacking at points within Apple in recent years? We'll see!
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
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