I agree that Sculley is a class act but I think your history is a little off.
First, Sculley and Jobs were never really rivals and while Sculley did force Jobs out of Apple it was only after literally begging him to make changes (at the time the Mac was failing and just about every Apple manager was being driven crazy by Jobs). Sculley tried to bring Jobs in-line and Jobs tried to turn everyone against Sculley. At least that’s the story I’ve read from several accounts (some of which actually depict Jobs drawing an imaginary line on the floor and saying “you’re with me or you’re with him”).
Also Sculley’s run wasn’t really a failure at Apple. Even Jobs admits the original 1984 ad was more Sculley than anyone else (Sculley’s claim to fame before that was creating the “Pepsi Challenge” marketing push). After Jobs left Sculley put Jean Louise-Gassee in charge of the Mac and that’s when it really took off. Sculley’s rein did have some lows but he always managed to pull it back out (and in fact was in the middle of a plan to do so again when the board fired him). I don’t dispute the fact that Jobs is MORE successful than Sculley was but Sculley wasn’t a failure. Apple really entered a death spiral during Spindler’s rein.
I don't think Apple would be successful today without both of them in their past. Jobs' inability to be satisfied could have killed the company but Sculley's ability to build revenue gave Jobs the cash to build a small number of great products and have a few fail when he came back. In the hardware industry being a visionary is easier with a lot of cash on hand.
First, Sculley and Jobs were never really rivals and while Sculley did force Jobs out of Apple it was only after literally begging him to make changes (at the time the Mac was failing and just about every Apple manager was being driven crazy by Jobs). Sculley tried to bring Jobs in-line and Jobs tried to turn everyone against Sculley. At least that’s the story I’ve read from several accounts (some of which actually depict Jobs drawing an imaginary line on the floor and saying “you’re with me or you’re with him”).
Also Sculley’s run wasn’t really a failure at Apple. Even Jobs admits the original 1984 ad was more Sculley than anyone else (Sculley’s claim to fame before that was creating the “Pepsi Challenge” marketing push). After Jobs left Sculley put Jean Louise-Gassee in charge of the Mac and that’s when it really took off. Sculley’s rein did have some lows but he always managed to pull it back out (and in fact was in the middle of a plan to do so again when the board fired him). I don’t dispute the fact that Jobs is MORE successful than Sculley was but Sculley wasn’t a failure. Apple really entered a death spiral during Spindler’s rein.