My team single-handedly destroyed a $2B company, and then I got fired.
This is less of a personal regret than a regret by association, and reliving it boils my blood, even today.
It’s 2003, and I’m working at a semiconductor company called Agere Systems, which is a spinoff from the former Lucent Technologies and AT&T. We invent, design, and build the core technologies for cell phones, computers, network infrastructure, and many other electronic devices you’ve had in your pocket, in your car, or in your office.
I’ve just landed my dream gig — lead systems engineer on an exciting project. The project? It’s the big guy. The one that took the recently back-on-the-map Apple and catapulted it to the stratosphere.
“1000 songs in your pocket.”
And 2003 was the moment of dancing silhouettes with white headphones on primary background colors. Go to the gym on a Monday and see a few people with the tell-tale white headphones. Go again on Friday, and you see twice as many. Week after week.
You don’t need special insight, marketing expertise, or anything other than a set of open eyes. Walk down the street. This shit is happening.
This was the beginning of the Holy Growth phase for the iPod and Apple. The genesis of the changeover from cultural curiosity to planetary vernacular. The heel in the proverbial hockey stick curve.
No matter. Even a giant in the industry with $2B in revenue can screw the pooch.
