“It is not, as it turns out, necessary to be a micromanaging psychopath with narcissistic personality disorder (or even to pretend to be one) if you just hire smart people and give them real authority. The saddest thing about the Steve Jobs hagiography is all the young “incubator twerps” strutting around Mountain View deliberately cultivating their worst personality traits because they imagine that’s what made Steve Jobs a design genius. Cum hoc ergo propter hoc, young twerp. Maybe try wearing a black turtleneck too. For every Steve Jobs, there are a thousand leaders who learned to hire smart people and let them build great things in a nurturing environment of empowerment and it was AWESOME. That doesn’t mean lowering your standards. It doesn’t mean letting people do bad work. It means hiring smart people who get things done—and then getting the hell out of the way.”

James Siminoff.

Save it for Christmas Morning…no peeking!!

External secrecy is fairly easy to understand and is well practiced by most (although NONE as good as Apple). The basic premise is captured perfectly by Matt Drance in his blog ‘Apple Outsider’:

“The problem with talking smack (about an upcoming release) is that it immediately puts you on the clock. You almost guarantee public disappointment when the product doesnt ship exactly when promised or you have to drop features. If you just shut your mouth and let the product speak for itself -once you actually have a product- then there is a much better chance for people to be pleasantly surprised.” Apple clearly understands this, many others do not!

Early external product announcements also serve to give competitors time to respond and open you up to debate and criticism over what you have or have not built and may cannibalize too early existing products on the shelf (which will ultimately be cannibalized anyways…but timing is key). Building buzz and rumours is different from prereleasing product news. Buzz and rumours and free press is always awesome and you should encourage and support as much as possible. ANY specifics about ANYTHING should be avoided until ‘Christmas Morning’.

Internal secrecy is much more unique to Apple and they certainly take it to the extreme. Examples of this extend from the legendary removal of access to areas in the office when ‘new projects’ are beginning, to threats of termination and litigation for those who are caught or implicated in loose-lips. Often new employees when hired and for as long as a month after employment are not told and are not aware of exactly WHAT their job is or WHAT they will be working on. Examples and tactics used to ensure the culture of secrecy perpetuates everyday life and countless in this chapter….but the debate in my mind is about WHY.

Apple (and by Apple, Adam really means Steve!) again challenges the notion that transparency is a corporate virtue and instead they believe that there is a link between secrecy and productivity. Teams are purposely kept apart and encouraged to compete against each other. Employees who are not caught up in idle chit chat on whats going on in other areas of the company it is believed are ultimately more focused and productive in the project they are working on. There is a mentality that it is ok to rip someone a new asshole in the spirit of making the best product…yet another way that culturally the organization reflects and mirrors the actions of its leader. Apple is a very intense focussed environment where weekends and idle discussions and pleasantries that normally start a meeting do not exist. You get right to business! The internal secrecy should (and possibly does) make for a very unhappy workplace BUT Apple employees tend to work harder and longer under huge pressure and deadlines principally for the benefit of being able to say “I work at Apple” and to be able to walk in to a room and see that 9 out of 10 people in that room are using a devices that you had a hand in making.

So….does secrecy enhance productivity, focus and intensity in the work place?? Clearly it works at Apple but is it repeatable outside the magical land of Apple?? Productivity, focus and intensity are all traits than any and all of us want to exist in our Company’s….but at what cost? Are we prepared to risk employee happiness (through a more family culture, where we work with friends, know each others kids, talk about our weekends, feel wanted and loved) in exchange for this magic high producing environment where intrinsic value comes from pride of ownership? Are they mutually exclusive?

I think that productivity, focus and intensity can be derived and instilled in many ways and while Apple’s culture effective drives this output from employees it is not the only way and I would argue in the long term for most Company’s it is not the best strategy to deploy…

What say you???

As I reflect on this article in light of the Apple series I am currently doing it poses a bit of a chicken and egg noodling in my head but principally I agree with the notion presented.  Again, using Apple as an example of this thesis there is NO debate Culture IS King at Apple.  Culture is reflective and, in this case, directly reflective of the late Steve Jobs.  It is the uniqueness of this culture that has inspired some debate, some of which I have explored in my earlier post.  Facts that are NOT debatable are:

1. Apple’s economic success since the return of SJ
2. The Culture at Apple is deep rooted

Culture Eats Strategy For Lunch | Fast Company.

With this as the back drop several questions come to mind that need to be explored and I think at least considered by you and I…

Culture
What this drills home for me more clearly than ever seen before is that a company IS the reflection of its leader’s actions and behaviors. An organization will replicate the behaviors it sees so BE THOUGHTFUL in your actions and BE CONSISTENT in your behaviors because what you do will be repeated at every level of the organization. While this is not a new revolutionary thought it is slammed home in the first Chapter and what it does make me challenge is HOW I behave and it challenges what I think the right way of leading is. Steve was a micromanager who reviews every single ad, every product design, every outbound communication….his hand is on EVERYTHING and if he doesnt like it, it changes…he wins every time. That is not my style, I tend to delegate more. I’m from a hire the right people and let them do there job school. But is that right?? Should i be more balanced in my approach? More hands on? I certainly do not equate myself to Steve Jobs but should I, should you operate in more of a ‘thy will be done’ style?
I am curious to hear peoples thoughts on this…I have decided that I need more of a balance and there are areas I NEED to have my hand in that I have not always demanded final say on.

Do you have the right balance in your role? Remember WORDS don’t matter….that is bullshit lip service…only how you ACT.

Accountability
Adam captures Steve theory of accountability crisply in a janitor story he shares that Steve shares with and remind all employees once they reach a certain level of the organization.

The basic tenant on the story is that when you are a janitor and you cant access an office to clear the trash because you key no longer works, that is an acceptable answer with an easy fix. Some where between the janitor and the CEO REASONS STOP MATTERING, and that level is senior executive. Steve was a charismatic bully who insisted (as did Yoda) that they should ‘Do or don not, there was no try’. Everyone knew that shit would quickly roll downhill at Apple starting from Steve and rippling down the organization. Apple didnt disappoint its customers…execs would not disappoint Steve and there reports would NOT disappoint them…etc, etc, etc.

How do you instill accountability in your organization? What do you expect from your reports, what is acceptable and not acceptable? Do you shy away from confrontation or instill the principles of acceptable behavior clearly and unquestionably? What is the right balance? This will set the cadence, pace, performance level of your organization and requires thoughtful consideration. I have made pages on notes personally on my individual assessment of myself in this area and am building a detailed plan for change to get me from where I am to where I want to be and where I want our Company to be. Think through this in your own situation…changes may not be requires but it is good to validate that you are on the right path in instilling accountability in your organization.

FOCUS
Adam tells the story of life at Apple leading up the launch of the iPhone. During this time the massive organization concentrated ALL of its BEST on a single product. All other projects were delayed (although Steve expected others would just work more and harder to pick up the slack) at the expensive one new, unproven proven product. Think about the confidence and belief required to make that call in your organization. All your bread and butter products that make you what you are and all the legions of customers behind those products are going to be ‘risked’ to put almost all of your eggs in the basket of a product that has no equivalent, no real market research to speak of, no pivots, no A/B testing….just Steve’s belief that it was the right product at the right time. What huge balls!

Focus is something that I believe is a challenges for every one of us….thats because its hard. We get pulled in different ways, by different people, with different ideas and we have to get better at saying NO! Focus is important for many reasons but principally because you need to be obsessive about every detail of what it is you are doing. That can’t be done if you are spread too thin. FOCUS on Design, on channels, on campaigns on PR on packaging on UX on everything that matters. Obsess on the details…know them, manage them, micro manage them if necessary.

Summary and Call to Action
None of us are Steve Jobs, period. Is what Steve instilled as Culture, Accountability and Focus repeatable? Should it be repeated? All things Adam has made me think about in this Chapter.

Take the time to really reflect on what you do in your role and make sure that you consciously decide where you want to be on these scales and push yourself to align you words, actions and communication in a manner consistent with what you have consciously decided you need for your company. Focus on the details of this assignment….and apply and approve in real life…do it now, Adam has made me reconnect with just how important this really is and the far reaching effect it has in an organization…

• an Apple geek
• running or starting a business of any size
• interested in Management philosophy and topics (prepare to think differently)
• just curious to peek inside…

While not everything that goes on at Apple is or should be recommended for most (hell maybe any) companies.  The success of the culture, the hiring practices, the secrecy, the employees, the products, the design and ultimately the Company as a whole can NOT be disputed.

What Adam describes is a company that operates in a manner that flies in the face of anything you would have learned in your MBA programs…it is counter to almost anything that Jim Collins has expounded in most of his (equally fantastic) books.  Steve Jobs is FAR from a Level 5 leader no matter how far you stretch that definition!  In fact at most times he was a flat out asshole in many regards.

The book describes a culture and a focus and a passion that is second to none.  It talks about Leadership and provides examples and leaves you with new ways to ponder your role.  It discusses the secrecy that exists and explains that it is not just secrecy for secrecy sake but the reasons behind it that serve to amplify the laser like focus that is expected by all employees at all levels of the organization.

In this series I plan to break down Chapter(s) and identify some of the take aways that I got from the book and things that I think are relevant for guys and gals running a small technology company.  I will leave you with some things to think about, work on and maybe experiment with at your company and in your life.  Look forward to discussing your thoughts as we go along as I am CERTAIN not everyone will agree with all or many of the inner workings of one of America’s most successful Company’s.

We can agree or disagree with many of the methods used at Apple what we cannot disagree with is the success from a business perspective they have attained.  To that end it is absolutely worthy of breaking down, reviewing, learning, implementing and improving.  Grab a copy of the book and follow along!!

A real life example to validate.   My wife and I enjoy Euchre and play on our iPhone’s.   One of the interesting features is a stats page that tracks your percentages.   In looking at my stats I notice the following:

Hands         349 Won         318 Lost

Tricks       1,557 Won   1,437 Lost

Pretty mediocre performance but the interesting stat is this:

I called trump 165 times and won 141 (85%) of the time.   So 25% of the hands I played I called trump  (which seems statistically predictable with 4 players).   This suggests to me that I HAVE NOT been overly aggressive in calling trump given you would think  that if you are neither conservative nor aggressive you would call trump about 25% of the time.

The risk in being more aggressive in Euchre (as in business) is the unknown variable…in this case what does your partner have in their hand.   I will repeat this experiment making a concerted effort to be more aggressive.   Not STUPID aggressive but in a calculated way where I trust more that my partner has a trick up their sleeve.   I’ll report back on the results and see what conclusions the data present.

Here is my question and my challenge….ARE YOU AGGRESSIVE ENOUGH???   I’m not talking about turning the dial from 2 to 9, I means moving from a 3 to a 4 and seeing what happens, then moving from 4 to 5 and seeing what a difference it means to your business or your life.

I intend to start to turn the dial…join me and lets track our journey together here.

Posted via web from Paul’s posterous