Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

An Apple prototype is found in a bar. A stream of events ensue where no one seems to do the right thing. That is too bad.

This story won’t seem to die. A basic timeline:

• Person #1 carries an Apple iPhone prototype out of the facility
• Person #1 loses the prototype in a bar
• Person #2 finds the prototype in the bar
• Person #2 sells the prototype to a Tech Blog
• The Tech Blog disassembles the prototype and blogs all about it
• The Police search the Tech Blog for evidence of a crime

I guess a day in court will come next. I think Person #1 was fired from Apple, but I’m not sure about that one.

I see there are places where everyone involved could have done the right thing, but chose to do something else.

Person #1: I think he made a small mistake – he misplaced his phone. I have misplaced things in my life. That isn’t a crime.

Person #2: He could have tried to find Person #1 and said, “I found your phone. How can I return it to you?” That doesn’t seem to be so hard as I have seen lots of people do this. A little greed entered the picture, and here we go.

Tech Blog: Someone comes to them with an Apple prototype for sale. Okay, they buy it. Then what? How about calling Apple and saying, “We have an iPhone prototype. We think one of your employees misplaced it. We’ve had a good relationship in the past, let’s continue that relationship. We want to return your prototype. How can we do that?” The other option: Don’t buy it. Tell the Person #2 that he should return the prototype to its rightful owner – Apple. Who knows, Apple may give Person #2 a reward. But no, a little greed enters the picture. Tech Blog has an exclusive story on the next iPhone.

Apple: Ooops, misplaced prototype, embarrassment, and so on. Admit it. Don’t fire anyone. Don’t call the Police. Consider all the publicity you received. Consider all the bad publicity you will receive if you call the lawyers and the Police.

Apple’s phone competitors: Apple had some misfortune. Call Apple and commiserate. Don’t “take advantage” of their misfortune.

Perhaps I am too naive for all this. The temptation to gain money and a competitive advantage is great. The desire to be forgiving and do the right thing – well, sometimes that is not so great.