In 2011, Steve Jobs wrote a highly revealing email in which he declared a “Holy War” against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) major rival at the time. Far from existing in a kind of radiant, splendid isolation in which it develops new products in a Zen-like state of meditation (the image it projects to the world), Apple, it is clear from Mr. Jobs’ words, is a bare-knuckle brawler going head to head with its opponents in a brutal scramble to stay ahead of the curve. The forwarded email was published as an exhibit in the ongoing legal brawl with Samsung.
Reading and parsing the information that Mr. Jobs placed in this email, it becomes clear that Google (GOOG) was perceived as a major threat which was, in some ways, ahead of its Cupertino competitor. Mr. Jobs included three critical items in this email list:
- 2011: Holy War with Google
- All the ways we will compete with them
- Primary reason for this Top 100 meeting – you will hear what we are doing in each presentation.
These words set the tone for the whole strategy meeting. “Holy War” is capitalized in a document which mostly uses the lower case even where capitalization would be technically correct, highlighting its urgency and seriousness. The next two items show that finding way to “compete” with Google is the primary reason for the top 100 personnel of Apple Inc. (AAPL) to gather in 2011, a matter that supersedes everything else on the docket
Mr. Jobs’ email goes on to note that Apple was falling behind both Google and Microsoft in the technological field. He also highlights all the methods he sees as being important to overcoming this advantage and putting Apple back in a position of primacy. Among the most notable of these ideas are:
- Creating the iCloud was the most imperative matter, to the point of Mr. Jobs inserting a note reading “2011 – Year of the Cloud.”
- The iPhone strategy section noted creating a low-cost version of the smartphone (meaning that the iPhone 5C is probably Tim Cook’s actualization of Mr. Jobs’ idea, and not something he made up on his own), plus improved antennas, processors, cameras, and aesthetics.
- The iPad strategy involved simultaneous work on developing the iPad 2 and 3, plus repeated calls for pushing business and corporate adoption.
- The iOS strategy called for “leapfrogging” Google and Microsoft with the introduction of Siri.
- Among a scattering of lesser recommendations, development and sale of the Apple TV 2 is the most developed and interesting, apparently having originated with David Moody and Jeff Robbin.
Though the Holy War with Google is not the only defining feature of Apple’s (AAPL) operations, it is clearly still underway, since some of the strategies Mr. Jobs outlined are being actively pursued. Notable among these is the low-cost iPhone. Though the iPhone 5C was rather a botched attempt, it shows that Steve Jobs’ thoughts still guide the Cupertino electronics giant’s actions and carry on the anti-Google (GOOG) crusade.
