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| My blog has moved | | Date Created: Jun 22, 2006, 06:16 PM |
| Come visit me there. Thanks! |
| My last day at Apple | | Date Created: May 04, 2006, 08:49 AM |
| I left Apple last Friday, after nearly three years of faithful service. I left Bain & Company in late 2003, and focused on job search on 3 companies: Apple, Del Monte, and Google (one of those firms is not like the others, I know). When Apple made me an offer, I was pretty fired up, and the company turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. Feeling nostalgic on my last day, I started to thank people for making my time there special, and I decided to shoot an email to the person who had truly made everything possible: Steve Jobs. Here's what I wrote: |
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Steve,
Today's my last day here after nearly 3 years. I'm taking the summer off before attending Harvard Business School. I just wanted to shoot you a quick note to tell you how much this company of yours has meant to me. I have learned a tremendous amount about how much inspired employees can accomplish, and about how enjoyable work can be when one is passionate about the product he sells. I intend to pass along these lessons to the future world leaders I meet at Harvard.
Thanks for everything,
Alex Bain |
| I wasn't expecting a response. In fact, I went to the trouble of marking the email "low priority". The important thing to me was just that I had shared my appreciation with him. But he surprised me when he responded within ~15 minutes. His response was concise, and classic Steve: |
Well, you could also come back when you're done!
Steve |
| Italy Trip | | Date Created: Apr 20, 2006, 08:49 AM |
Lisa and I went to Italy for 10 days. We split our time between Venice and Florence. I took a bagillion pictures. A couple of key findings from the trip:
* I've flown internationall in coach, business class, and, now, first class. I spent almost half a million miles to get into first class, but I actually think it was worth it. The ability to fully recline is huge. The food is fantastic. Watching whatever movies you want is great. I said to Lisa that, if I had internet up there and a power source for my laptop, I'd rather be in that first class seat than in my living room.
* I've said this before, but not having ice in the drinks I order when I'm at international restaurants slowly drives me insane.
* Gelato is basically a commodity in Italy. It's the same wherever you get it... except this one place in Flornce is far and away better than all the others. It's called Vivoli. Plan a trip around it. It closes at 1 PM, so be careful not to miss it.
* I saw one or two people jogging when I was in Venice, but I don't really understand how anyone stays in shape over there. It's not easy to walk around, let alone find a stretch where you can run. Plus, it's brutally hot throughout the summer. Surprised there wasn't more obesity.
* Seems like it's normal to serve cold cuts with breakfast over there.
* Cafés charge two different prices for their drinks: one for people sitting at their tables and another, cheaper rate, for people who drink standing up at their bar. All the locals simply order espresso, and then slam it at the bar. Lisa and I both thought this took the fun out of carrying around a huge warm coffee drink all morning. I said that drinking a latte while comfortably seated is like a wonderful relationship built on love, and mainlining espresso while upright is like a one-night-stand. |
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