6 ms·

“Inside Apple” Reveals Steve Jobs Anecdotes, Apple’s Little Known Facts

172 points by stevenj 15y ago

olivercameron 15y ago
Just by looking at this organisational chart, you can see why Apple's industrial design is so amazingly great and consistent: http://www.macstories.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Photo-07-5-11-19-52-48.jpg http://www.macstories.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Photo-0.... Notice how Jonathan Ive does not delegate any work to any Vice Presidents. Compare this to other corporations and you'll see why this works so well (no giant chain of command where every member of staff is trying to put their stamp on things).
- tallanvor 15y ago
  The org chart only shows the first 2-4 levels. It doesn't give us any insight as to just how many levels there are below each VP.
- andos 15y ago
  The noteworthy stuff is that Jonathan Ive reports directly to Steve Jobs, while Bob Mansfield, SVP of Hardware¹, reports to Tim Cook. That shows what Apple is all about. ¹. The chart says "SVP of Mac Hardware", but on the iPad 2 video he's presented as "SVP of Hardware".
  - bstx 15y ago
    > That shows what Apple is all about. Or the org chart is wrong. > The chart says "SVP of Mac Hardware", but on the iPad 2 video he's presented as "SVP of Hardware". He replaced Mark Papermaster as SVP of Devices Hardware.
    - andos 15y ago
      The chart is certainly old. Wrong in what aspect?
      - tvon 15y ago
        I think wrong as in old, as in out of date.
        andos 15y ago
        Do hardware people report directly to Jobs now? That's the kind of wrong I was talking about.
JacobAldridge 15y ago
"At Apple there’s never confusion 'as to who is responsible for what'." This is a project I run with almost all of my clients - shifting an organic, but dysfunctional, business arrangement into one where everyone knows their responsibility, and the right person does the right jobs at the right time (and for the right cost point). This is achieved by shifting focus. Most businesses evolve from the top down: when the business owner/s or managers get too busy, they hire somebody new and hand down some of their tasks (usually those that they don't like). We work with the business to break down everything they do (from setting a vision to cleaning the sink - easier to do than it sounds), and then coach them to assign responsibility based on who is the best person for each task, rather than who was hired first. I find it fun - although anything that involves defining and changing responsibilities is fraught with danger in a business. People who have been 'hiding' behind vague (or non-existent) job descriptions are suddenly found out. I tell clients to expect up to 10% resignations, but most or all of those who leave will have been holding the business back. It takes strong leadership to hold the business's nerve during that period. I guess my point is: this element of Apple's success is possible for any business. It's rewarding, but requires good leadership.
- aik 15y ago
  That's basically how the small startup I'm working with works. We're a total of 4 people, and at this size, and although we have a founder (or founder and a half), we all basically do what's necessary and everything we can. The founder is very much against defining roles and job descriptions, despite us sometimes being tempted to go down that road. In the end it makes everything so much more pleasant.
rmason 15y ago
Steve Wozniak was the commencement speaker yesterday at Michigan State. I had the pleasure of attending a meeting he held with engineering students after the commencement. The biggest surprise I had was that the Woz was on the Macintosh team before Jobs was involved. He said that he, Jef Raskin and a few other engineers wanted to create a low cost version of the Lisa. It was only after Jobs was banished from the Lisa team/building that he took over the Macintosh team. Also interestingly even though he was a co-founder Woz left the impression that the team leader was initially Raskin. I thought Jobs had founded the Macintosh team.
- danilocampos 15y ago
  The Macintosh was a very different computer before Jobs got in there and took the reins. If you can spare six hours, folklore.org has an incredible collection of stories detailing early Apple. You won't be able to stop reading.
  - rmason 15y ago
    Yes from what I've read it was initially closer to what later became the Newton. Here's a link to the commencement address (13 minutes) if anyone wants to give a listen http://ht.ly/4P7M1 http://ht.ly/4P7M1
    - mambodog 15y ago
      Please don't use URL shorteners on HN. If the URL is long (that one was not) you can use the footnote notation[1]. [1] http://spartanpodcast.com/?p=1510 http://spartanpodcast.com/?p=1510
  - dhbanes 15y ago
    Thanks for this! Fell asleep reading this last night and can't put it down this morning. This could be bad as I just tore down my engine last night and kinda need to put it back together today. Oh well.
- thought_alarm 15y ago
daimyoyo 15y ago
Will this article be in the magazine? I don't want to have to get the iPad app for one story.
- GHFigs 15y ago
  Yes, it will be. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2011/05/23/toc.html http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2011/...
  - daimyoyo 15y ago
    Thank you.
- melling 15y ago
  The app is free. You can download the issues for free if you get the dead-tree edition. Hopefully, we'll get a discounted iPad edition soon.
viraptor 15y ago
> “Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering.” Anyone cares to explain that one? It left me confused really... The way I read it, he's a visionary and doesn't care how things are achieved as long as business is good. And to be honest that doesn't sound good for me - more like a dictator who will eliminate failing VPs whether the fault is on their side or somewhere else in the organisation.
- ajessup 15y ago
  It means you can't hide behind excuses. If for example theres a problem with a vendor shipping components for a product line you're a VP for, it means you're responsible. It means the only acceptible answer is that you found a new supplier and we got the product out on time. Not 'we're late because our manufacturer couldn't hold up their end of the deal'. It's a great philosophy, to my mind it's what defines a true manager in any org. If only AT&T implemented it too.
  - viraptor 15y ago
    Yeah, I get the idea of more responsibility, but don't really agree with how it was put... There are always things which simply cannot be resolved in a given timeframe and the reasonable decision might be to plan for a delay / propose an alternative plan instead - it looks like the VP gets the blame in that case instead of reconsidering the strategy, since reasons don't exist any more. More to the point - that sentence paints the world black/white, even though the world never works like that. However, I think it also explains some actions of that company...
    - danilocampos 15y ago
      Sure, and if that's so, a good VP is ahead of the problem with that new proposal, well in advance, instead of rationalizing the failure after the train goes off the rails.
    - babar 15y ago
      I think the idea is that the VP is involved in setting the goal, so if they fail to achieve it they take the responsibility for not having planned correctly. If they agree to an impossible goal, it is on them. If conditions change and they see the goal will not be met, they need to manage the expectations and not allow the situation to surprise anyone, especially Steve Jobs, like the example in the article.
leoc 15y ago
Good stuff, but it seems to be taunting the In Search of Excellence jinx.
arkitaip 15y ago
"Steve Jobs hired dean of Yale School of Management Joel Podolny to run the Apple University, an internal group also featuring business professors and Harvard veterans that are writing a series of case studies to prepare employees for the life at Apple after Jobs." I would seriously pay to read that material.
- lautenbach 15y ago
  Amen. Could be the greatest case of corporate succession planning there ever was - wonder if it will work...
- lancewiggs 15y ago
  Podolny was a star at Yale - presiding over a massive change in the MBA curriculum that made it a a lot more useful than the traditional subject by subject based approach.
  - aik 15y ago
    Interesting. Do you know when that MBA curriculum change happened? Have details on how it is structured now? Have any studies been done on the effectiveness of the program post-restructuring?
blinkingled 15y ago
"Mossberg, our friend, is no longer writing good things about us." Haha - Wonder what the consequences for Mossberg are here - of being called a friend by Jobs!
sdghjkyuk 15y ago
^__^hello:________( http://bloq.in/577 http://bloq.in/577 )________ Christan Audigier bikini $23 Ed Hardy Bikini $23 Smful short_t-shirt_woman $15 ed hardy short_tank_woman $16 Sandal $32 christian louboutin $80 Sunglass $15 COACH_Necklace $27 handbag $33 AF tank woman $17 puma slipper woman $30 ^__^hello:________( http://bloq.in/577 http://bloq.in/577 )________
lautenbach 15y ago
Is this amount of an article being reproduced/summarized really within the bounds of fair use? I'm not complaining, but I felt no need to pay to read the actual article after reading this summary, and I can't imagine Fortune would be happy about that.

172 points by stevenj 15y ago

Just by looking at this organisational chart, you can see why Apple's industrial design is so amazingly great and consistent: http://www.macstories.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Photo-07-5-11-19-52-48.jpg http://www.macstories.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Photo-0.... Notice how Jonathan Ive does not delegate any work to any Vice Presidents. Compare this to other corporations and you'll see why this works so well (no giant chain of command where every member of staff is trying to put their stamp on things).

tallanvor 15y ago
The org chart only shows the first 2-4 levels. It doesn't give us any insight as to just how many levels there are below each VP.
andos 15y ago
The noteworthy stuff is that Jonathan Ive reports directly to Steve Jobs, while Bob Mansfield, SVP of Hardware¹, reports to Tim Cook. That shows what Apple is all about. ¹. The chart says "SVP of Mac Hardware", but on the iPad 2 video he's presented as "SVP of Hardware".
- bstx 15y ago
  > That shows what Apple is all about. Or the org chart is wrong. > The chart says "SVP of Mac Hardware", but on the iPad 2 video he's presented as "SVP of Hardware". He replaced Mark Papermaster as SVP of Devices Hardware.
  - andos 15y ago
    The chart is certainly old. Wrong in what aspect?
    - tvon 15y ago
      I think wrong as in old, as in out of date.
      - andos 15y ago
        Do hardware people report directly to Jobs now? That's the kind of wrong I was talking about.

JacobAldridge 15y ago

"At Apple there’s never confusion 'as to who is responsible for what'." This is a project I run with almost all of my clients - shifting an organic, but dysfunctional, business arrangement into one where everyone knows their responsibility, and the right person does the right jobs at the right time (and for the right cost point). This is achieved by shifting focus. Most businesses evolve from the top down: when the business owner/s or managers get too busy, they hire somebody new and hand down some of their tasks (usually those that they don't like). We work with the business to break down everything they do (from setting a vision to cleaning the sink - easier to do than it sounds), and then coach them to assign responsibility based on who is the best person for each task, rather than who was hired first. I find it fun - although anything that involves defining and changing responsibilities is fraught with danger in a business. People who have been 'hiding' behind vague (or non-existent) job descriptions are suddenly found out. I tell clients to expect up to 10% resignations, but most or all of those who leave will have been holding the business back. It takes strong leadership to hold the business's nerve during that period. I guess my point is: this element of Apple's success is possible for any business. It's rewarding, but requires good leadership.

aik 15y ago
That's basically how the small startup I'm working with works. We're a total of 4 people, and at this size, and although we have a founder (or founder and a half), we all basically do what's necessary and everything we can. The founder is very much against defining roles and job descriptions, despite us sometimes being tempted to go down that road. In the end it makes everything so much more pleasant.

rmason 15y ago

Steve Wozniak was the commencement speaker yesterday at Michigan State. I had the pleasure of attending a meeting he held with engineering students after the commencement. The biggest surprise I had was that the Woz was on the Macintosh team before Jobs was involved. He said that he, Jef Raskin and a few other engineers wanted to create a low cost version of the Lisa. It was only after Jobs was banished from the Lisa team/building that he took over the Macintosh team. Also interestingly even though he was a co-founder Woz left the impression that the team leader was initially Raskin. I thought Jobs had founded the Macintosh team.

danilocampos 15y ago
The Macintosh was a very different computer before Jobs got in there and took the reins. If you can spare six hours, folklore.org has an incredible collection of stories detailing early Apple. You won't be able to stop reading.
- rmason 15y ago
  Yes from what I've read it was initially closer to what later became the Newton. Here's a link to the commencement address (13 minutes) if anyone wants to give a listen http://ht.ly/4P7M1 http://ht.ly/4P7M1
  - mambodog 15y ago
    Please don't use URL shorteners on HN. If the URL is long (that one was not) you can use the footnote notation[1]. [1] http://spartanpodcast.com/?p=1510 http://spartanpodcast.com/?p=1510
- dhbanes 15y ago
  Thanks for this! Fell asleep reading this last night and can't put it down this morning. This could be bad as I just tore down my engine last night and kinda need to put it back together today. Oh well.
thought_alarm 15y ago

daimyoyo 15y ago

Will this article be in the magazine? I don't want to have to get the iPad app for one story.

GHFigs 15y ago
Yes, it will be. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2011/05/23/toc.html http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2011/...
- daimyoyo 15y ago
  Thank you.
melling 15y ago
The app is free. You can download the issues for free if you get the dead-tree edition. Hopefully, we'll get a discounted iPad edition soon.

viraptor 15y ago

> “Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering.” Anyone cares to explain that one? It left me confused really... The way I read it, he's a visionary and doesn't care how things are achieved as long as business is good. And to be honest that doesn't sound good for me - more like a dictator who will eliminate failing VPs whether the fault is on their side or somewhere else in the organisation.

ajessup 15y ago
It means you can't hide behind excuses. If for example theres a problem with a vendor shipping components for a product line you're a VP for, it means you're responsible. It means the only acceptible answer is that you found a new supplier and we got the product out on time. Not 'we're late because our manufacturer couldn't hold up their end of the deal'. It's a great philosophy, to my mind it's what defines a true manager in any org. If only AT&T implemented it too.
- viraptor 15y ago
  Yeah, I get the idea of more responsibility, but don't really agree with how it was put... There are always things which simply cannot be resolved in a given timeframe and the reasonable decision might be to plan for a delay / propose an alternative plan instead - it looks like the VP gets the blame in that case instead of reconsidering the strategy, since reasons don't exist any more. More to the point - that sentence paints the world black/white, even though the world never works like that. However, I think it also explains some actions of that company...
  - danilocampos 15y ago
    Sure, and if that's so, a good VP is ahead of the problem with that new proposal, well in advance, instead of rationalizing the failure after the train goes off the rails.
  - babar 15y ago
    I think the idea is that the VP is involved in setting the goal, so if they fail to achieve it they take the responsibility for not having planned correctly. If they agree to an impossible goal, it is on them. If conditions change and they see the goal will not be met, they need to manage the expectations and not allow the situation to surprise anyone, especially Steve Jobs, like the example in the article.

leoc 15y ago

Good stuff, but it seems to be taunting the In Search of Excellence jinx.

arkitaip 15y ago

"Steve Jobs hired dean of Yale School of Management Joel Podolny to run the Apple University, an internal group also featuring business professors and Harvard veterans that are writing a series of case studies to prepare employees for the life at Apple after Jobs." I would seriously pay to read that material.

lautenbach 15y ago
Amen. Could be the greatest case of corporate succession planning there ever was - wonder if it will work...
lancewiggs 15y ago
Podolny was a star at Yale - presiding over a massive change in the MBA curriculum that made it a a lot more useful than the traditional subject by subject based approach.
- aik 15y ago
  Interesting. Do you know when that MBA curriculum change happened? Have details on how it is structured now? Have any studies been done on the effectiveness of the program post-restructuring?

blinkingled 15y ago

"Mossberg, our friend, is no longer writing good things about us." Haha - Wonder what the consequences for Mossberg are here - of being called a friend by Jobs!

sdghjkyuk 15y ago

^__^hello:________( http://bloq.in/577 http://bloq.in/577 )________ Christan Audigier bikini $23 Ed Hardy Bikini $23 Smful short_t-shirt_woman $15 ed hardy short_tank_woman $16 Sandal $32 christian louboutin $80 Sunglass $15 COACH_Necklace $27 handbag $33 AF tank woman $17 puma slipper woman $30 ^__^hello:________( http://bloq.in/577 http://bloq.in/577 )________

lautenbach 15y ago

Is this amount of an article being reproduced/summarized really within the bounds of fair use? I'm not complaining, but I felt no need to pay to read the actual article after reading this summary, and I can't imagine Fortune would be happy about that.