It's a busy Saturday, and Phil Schiller hurries down from watching his son Mark in goal in the hockey team's victory over Choate. The library's Laube Auditorium is filled with students and their parents who've come to hear Schiller speak.
A few weeks earlier, senior Tae Young Woo—knowing Mr. Schiller would be here for Parents' Weekend—asked if he'd be willing to address Taft's group of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), which Tae Young formed in 2010. Members of the club have been to two national FBLA conferences, but wanted to hear from people more directly involved in the business world.
Schiller, who is senior vice president of worldwide marketing for Apple and certainly fit the bill, graciously agreed. His primary advice for future business leaders is summarized in five words: inspiration, passion, creativity, courage and honesty.
Inspiration can be a powerful stimulus for change, he explained, but you also need to be passionate about what you do. You need creativity to find new solutions, the courage to bet big and be bold or even to fail, and the honesty to admit your mistakes and learn from them.
A biology major at Boston College, Schiller outlined his path to Apple in the 1980s, explaining how he'd followed his own passions into computer programming and eventually in to marketing. He also traced the path of Apple's renaissance in the 1990s as the company refocused itself and revived the entrepreneurial spirit. Today, he explained, sales of the iPhone have taken over the iPod, but that's a good thing. That's part of focusing your product, he added, but that can mean a big gamble every year.
"I was very honored," said Tae Young, "to introduce one of the best business leaders in the world to students, parents and faculty who wanted to learn more about the business industry. Mr. Schiller captivated all of us with his humor and wit and delivered insightful tips to the students who, one day, aspire to become business leaders themselves."