John Sculley

There is an interesting person named John Sculley who is well-known thanks to his work for Apple Company. However, his career included more than just work for the corporation. Sculley was very efficient as the youngest Pepsi CEO and president in its history, and he continues to remain a successful leader and a businessman nowadays.

Sculley started as a trainee in the Pepsi company and became its vice president, and then, CEO and president (Sculley, and Burne 30). As it was mentioned earlier, he was the youngest person ever to achieve such a success and recognition. Sculley worked on “Pepsi Challenge” which made him a high-flyer; he also helped the company outwit its main competitor, Coca Cola, in a very clever way.

Thanks to his achievements, he had become well-known in the business world, and managers praised him for creativity. His uniqueness was the reason Steve Jobs approached him and asked to join Apple as a CEO. Sculley decided that doing something innovative was more important than just selling soda.

During his years at Apple, the company was enjoying great success. In the beginning, he worked well with Jobs, but later, they started fighting with each other (Hormby). Jobs was fired, and Sculley successfully led the company for a few more years. It is worth mentioning that during that time it benefited from the financial achievements. Nevertheless, due to minor losses, he was forced to step down.

However, it did not stop Sculley. He has started successful companies such as MetroPCS, Zeta Interactive, and PopTech (Gentile). All of them specialize in modern technologies. Moreover, he remains a popular speaker who often visits various IT and business events sharing his experience. Sculley’s reputation is a very serious one, so he is still very well-known and viewed as a business role model.

At the present moment, he is working towards the success of his company, Zeta Interactive. He often speaks at forums and seminars, and takes part in many business discussions. Comparing to his previous years with businesses he worked for or founded making billions of profits, now, he enjoys a relatively calm work experience that can be explained by his age and desire to rest. Nevertheless, Sculley is still very active, and keeps on being involved in various innovations.

I believe that personal factors played a huge role for Sculley choosing the businesses he used to work for and still does. At the present-day forums, he often speaks about the future and innovations, and the companies he has started reflect these ideas directly. He is a person who believes in progress and an avid supporter of leaders being there to help the others move forward. In my opinion, Sculley is a good example of an individual who is not able not-to-be-a-leader because whatever he does in his life is connected to leadership in some ways. Even his present situation proves this fact because it shows him heading a company aiming at the future and innovations.

Nevertheless, his experience with Jobs also shows that Sculley is not always able to manage other leaders, and has a hard time dealing with personal emotions and friendships which develop during the working process. His experience in other companies is not as well-known as the one that is associated with Apple; that is why people tend to speak about it the most. His conflict with Jobs proves that he was unable to lead in a situation of a struggle with another leader that is a negative thing. Nonetheless, when being in a positive work environment and not intimidated by a strong and manipulative leader like Jobs, he showed that he was managing others efficiently. It has been his life’s principle to head successful businesses and use his leadership qualities all the time.

Reading about Sculley was very interesting for me because I already knew a lot about him working for Pepsi and Apple, so I wanted to learn more about his further experience. I was impressed with the fact that he did not retire and enjoy a luxurious life after making a fortune. Instead, Sculley keeps on working. What is more, he has started many companies from scratch leading the start-ups toward the top. It shows that this person is not merely somebody who can manage a business which is already a success, but also an individual who can be a start-up himself and turn a great new idea into the achievement.

Reading about Sculley has helped me understand a few things. The first one is that you are never fail-safe even in a prosperous company. You cannot avoid pressure and crisis, and there may be many times when you feel like your job is too complicated and takes too much of your efforts. Nevertheless, as a leader, you have to carry on and do the best you can. The second thing Sculley’s experience has taught me is never to stop. Even when you enjoy success and feel like you have achieved everything a person could dream of, you have to keep on working and dream big turning your ideas into real things. There may be situations when you are on the crossroads and do not know whether to start from the beginning or enjoy the status of a successful person in the industry. This is when I will follow Sculley’s example. I may lose my status along my way, but I will surely try something new and study. I believe that John Sculley is a very important person to learn about because there are many aspects of his personality worth following and using for oneself.