Why Don Melton Retired From Apple

Don Melton:

The truth is I was done.

I accomplished far more there than I expected. And I had no dreams of greater power and glory, if such a thing were available to me. When I looked inside myself, I didn’t see ambition or even drive to continue. I’m not sure how that happened. Maybe I was just tired.

And when you’re responsible for so many people, you owe them more than that. Better to step aside and let others have their turn. So I did.

Reminds me of Dean Smith’s explanation for retiring as coach of the men’s basketball team at North Carolina:

He had come to believe so after a former North Carolina player and assistant under Smith, Larry Brown, brought his Philadelphia 76ers to Chapel Hill for training camp in the first week of October. The old coach, 66 now, measured himself against this younger one and found himself wanting. “Watching Larry out on the court, I said to myself, I used to be like that,” Smith said. “If I can’t give this team that kind of enthusiasm, I should get out.”

★ Monday, 18 February 2013