In 2007 operatorul de telefonie mobila AT&T a reusit sa se lase convins de catre compania Apple sa imparta o parte din veniturile generate de facturile lunare ale posesorilor de iPhone-uri. Practic Apple incasa 10$ din factura fiecarul client AT&T care cumparase un iPhone prin ei si aceasta a fost prima oara cand un producator de telefoane mobile primea asa ceva. Daca va intrebati cum a reusit Steve Jobs sa ii convinga sa faca acest lucru, ei bine, fostul CEO a intentionat sa le ofere un cec de 1 miliard de dolari drept garantie pentru faptul ca iPhone-ul va avea succes, iar daca produsul urma sa fie un esec, operatorul urma sa pastreze banii.
Jobs met with the CEOs of each carrier. I was struck by the hands-on nature and his desire to make his mark on everything the company was doing. He got deeply involved in the details he cared about. He made it happen. In one meeting in the conference room with Jobs, he was annoyed that AT&T was spending too much time worrying about the risks of the deal. So he said, ‘You know what we should do to stop them from complaining? We should write AT&T a check for $1 billion and if the deal doesn’t work out, they can keep the money. Let’s give them the $1 billion [Apple had $5 billion in cash at the time] and shut them the hell up.
Apple avea atunci 5 miliarde de dolari in lichidati, insa in final nu a oferit vreun ban operatorului, dar totusi l-a convins sa incheie aceasta intelegere. Mai mult decat atat, Steve Jobs dorea sa convinga AT&T sa le ofere posesorilor de iPhone-uri un abonament special in baza caruia acestia plateau 50$ lunar si primeau minute/SMS-uri/trafic nelimitat/e. Steve Jobs dorea sa faca cerere nerezonabile si sa ii convinga pe parteneri sa le accepte, insa in acest caz nu a avut prea mult succes. In ciuda eforturilor sale, Jobs a ajutat AT&T sa isi creasca veniturile, iPhone-urile generand de 2 ori mai multi bani prin clienti decat orice alt smartphone.
Jobs said, ‘$50 a month unlimited voice, data, and SMS plan — that’s our mission. We should ask for and go after something unreasonable that no one has been willing to accept.’ He would come up with these outrageous demands and fight for them — getting much more than he otherwise would have.
