Scott Forstall: "Great leaders exude a positive attitude of possibility and don’t shy from working harder than their employees and taking risks."
Scott Forstall led the team at Apple that developed the iPhone – and is equally successful in vastly different realms, including co-producing multiple Tony Award winning Broadway shows. What has always impressed me most, though, is the time he devotes to mentoring a diverse set of entrepreneurial founders.
We’ve had the pleasure of knowing each other for several years, thanks to mutual friend Ali Partovi’s incredible Neo community, a mentor community, accelerator and VC through which we support junior engineers to become senior leaders. Ali was an early backer of Airbnb, Dropbox, Uber and Facebook, so I knew I was in good hands!
At our recent Neo reunion I was able to catch-up with Scott for a wide-ranging conversation on the landscapes of opportunity in technology and what we’re anticipating next.
He kindly agreed to go on the record with the following insightful Q&A (my questions, his insights) during this month’s celebratory two-year anniversary of Black Women On Boards. What started as a Zoom call among 18 women is now a global movement with 200 members and counting, a trajectory fueled by allies and good friends such as Scott, who continue to shape the future.
Saintil: Scott, what’s something that we can’t find out about you on the internet?
Forstall: I feel like this is a trick question. If I answer it, then the moment you post this interview, my response will appear on the internet, thus rendering my answer incorrect. Very clever.
In any case, until this interview, I don’t think the internet exposed how I attempt to make my travel more impactful. When I visit a part of the world I have never seen, I start by learning about the location: its politics, history, and present. Then I look for ways to make a positive difference given what I learn on the trip.
When I visit a part of the world I have never seen, I start by learning about the location: its politics, history, and present. Then I look for ways to make a positive difference given what I learn on the trip.
This has taken many forms: helping to build a school after visiting a village in Zambia; contributing to efforts to fight climate change after observing melting glaciers in Antarctica; advising startup founders I met in the Middle East; funding education efforts after visiting Maasai students in Kenya, etc.
I find this makes my travel enjoyable, educational, and actionable.
Saintil: What advice do you have for building great products and companies?
Forstall: Great products start with great design. Often, engineers start products with great technology. They focus design efforts on architecting systems and software, rather than conceiving elegant and intuitive ways for customers to enjoy their product.
This is not surprising, as the bulk of an engineer’s education focuses on gaining proficiency in implementation details. Engineers are experts at mastering complexity to build functional systems, and this can lead to creating confusing products.
Great products surprise and delight customers with their ease of use. These products conceal the engineering details as hidden complexities in service of the user experience.
Great products surprise and delight customers with their ease of use. These products conceal the engineering details as hidden complexities in service of the user experience.
Great companies start with great people. At its heart, a company is the collection of its people. It is critical to always inspire, reward, educate, guide, and mentor all your employees. By concentrating on the success of your employees, you will enable the success of the company and its products.
Saintil: What are you working on right now that excites you?
Forstall: At this point in my career, I have the luxury of exclusively working on things that excite me.
Through Impact Partners, I co-produce a host of documentary films each year. One I am especially excited about documents the story of Ebony and Jet magazines and their profound contribution to American culture and the press landscape.
Another tells the story of Billy Preston, the incredible keyboardist and singer, who in addition to his own work performed with a host of famous artists and is sometimes called the “Fifth Beatle”.
I continue to produce Broadway shows. Currently I’m part of “Hadestown” and “A Strange Loop” and am excited to help bring “Good Night, Oscar” to Broadway next year.
I work in various capacities to enhance the power of education to enable change, and am excited about everything from the way the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula have transformed into an educational organization, to how The Mosaic Project educates children and adults to be peacemakers, to the constantly evolving curriculum and initiatives at Stanford.
And through various funds and organizations, from Neo to Concrete Rose to Slauson & Co to others, I get a front row seat while mentoring the next generation of exceptionally talented and diverse entrepreneurs as they strive to make a positive impact.
Saintil: What are some personal or professional routines that have contributed to your success?
Forstall: I try to be fully present while interacting with others. It is disturbingly easy to go through a day in a constant state of interruption. When meeting with others, these personal interruptions — from your phone, computer, watch, etc. — can hurt your ability to fully participate in a conversation.
They can also make you appear disengaged or disinterested in the discussion, or worse, disrespectful. When someone enters my office to talk, I physically move away from my computer so I am not tempted to continue to read items on the screen or watch for new messages.
In a meeting, I keep my phone in my pocket or upside down on the table. If I’m taking notes on a laptop, I hide all other applications, and sometimes even turn off WiFi so as not to receive notifications.
It can be hard not to immediately pull out your phone every time it vibrates. But I have found that making a concerted effort to manage the notification interruptions, rather than be managed by them, allows me to be more focused, productive, engaged, and effective.
It can be hard not to immediately pull out your phone every time it vibrates. But I have found that making a concerted effort to manage the notification interruptions, rather than be managed by them, allows me to be more focused, productive, engaged, and effective.
Saintil: Imagine you get a visit from your future self. What would your future self tell your current self to focus on?
Forstall: While my current self may have some wisdom for my past self, I have no idea what wisdom my future self will have learned. And I really hope my future self doesn’t come back and visit.
I don’t need to see how old I will look, not to mention that all sci-fi books and movies tell me how time travel will definitely dramatically damage the world and everyone around me.
Saintil: What are some leadership qualities you most admire?
Forstall: I admire leaders who create and articulate a compelling vision along with a plausible plan to achieve success. To rally a team — large or small — it is critical to set the direction and inspire others to champion that vision as well.
Great leaders exude a positive attitude of possibility and don’t shy from working harder than their employees and taking risks.
Great leaders exude a positive attitude of possibility and don’t shy from working harder than their employees and taking risks. They also celebrate the excellence of each and every person’s contributions and are quick to highlight and praise the achievements of their teammates.
Saintil: How or what do you evaluate when you feel ready to take a risk in your career?
Forstall: First I determine whether the new opportunity is compelling enough to dedicate a significant portion of my life for a period of time. If I’m excited enough about it, then I consider whether my current projects are in good hands and others can step up to lead them.
Too often people jump from project to project without finishing one or growing colleagues to take over. When I am convinced my current projects can continue forward without me, I will throw myself into the next challenge.
This is true even if it would be easier or more comfortable to stay in my current role. For instance, when we started the iPhone, I could have remained leading Mac OS X, and there was no guarantee that the iPhone would be successful, but the possibilities were thrilling and Mac OS X was placed in good hands.
Saintil: How are you lifting up others in your personal or professional life?
Forstall: For years at the start of my career, I worked as an individual contributor engineer. In that role I spent my time designing products and coding. At some point I determined I wanted to spend my time helping others achieve success.
I entered management to manage people, not code. As a manager, I always saw my primary job as helping others succeed. I now spend a lot of time mentoring others, finding ways to lift them up so they can find success for themselves and those around them.