Good firms rely on its collective talents, writes Paul Hunt, managing director of Phoebus Software
Like the eponymous biblical character, Steve Jobs looks set to become a figure revered and ultimately very well rewarded for his faith in his principles. The company he built defines what is stylish in electronic products and has turned computers from mere tools to integral parts of many people’s lifestyles. Jobs’ genius, so the eulogies go, was to understand where demand existed before it was even there.
But unlike the fastidiously moral Job of biblical fame, the former Apple CEO’s is not quite deserving of a panegyric. Brilliant marketer and creative mind that he was, there was a darker side too. Many stories have emerged which paint Jobs as the last man everyone dreaded getting stuck in a lift with. Alan Deutschman, a former colleague, wrote that Apple’s rank and file genuinely feared that such meetings would mean they ‘might not have a job when the doors opened’.
Of course, anyone who shakes up a failing company has to be prepared to make enemies of the dead wood to become the friend of investors. Many of the wilder stories about Jobs, Deutschman’s included, are likely to be exaggerated. But the point remains that the outpouring of respect and adulation for Jobs’ remarkable achievements runs the risk of overstating the extent to which he was responsible for changing the company and the way people interact with computers.
In terms of explaining what made Apple the exceptional success story it is today, the adulation of Jobs goes too far. In October, research by the IT and Telecoms recruiter Greythorn showed only a quarter of IT professionals in the UK expect Jobs’ absence to cause any permanent damage to Apple. Two thirds stated they expected Apple to continue to thrive. The suggestion that Apple will without Jobs be unable to maintain its preeminent market position was supported by less then a quarter of respondents. Clearly, those working in the IT industry feel work as good as that done by Apple cannot be done by an army of mindless automatons being commanded by a turtlenecked genius.
One of the things which makes Jobs’ lift terror so surprising is that people in lifts at Apple are no slouches. Talent is something Apple has in abundance. Design guru Jonathan Ives, marketing chief Phil Schiller, and mobile-software head, Scott Forstall, are three of the most important players. Schiller has even filled in for Jobs on several product launches.
While Steve Jobs earned a reputation as a hard-driving perfectionist, so has his successor, Tim Cook. As Apple’s head of global sales and supplier relationships and having brilliantly wrought concessions from Asian production partners, he has a lot of credibility in the company and the industry as a whole. Cook’s 13 years of experience at Apple have placed him in a strong position to take on the top job. Alongside Ives, Schiller and Forstall, Cook’s track record is testament to the fact that Apple’s success was built on the shoulders of multiple highly talented people.
When building a company which can only be successful due to the input of a single person is not building a successful company at all. Fortunately for Apple, Jobs alone was not responsible for Apple’s growth. Healthy companies rely on the collective talents of those who work in them. That’s why Phoebus values the input of experienced professionals. Our nine most experienced employees have between them 290 years’ experience of the lending market. This is what allows us to understand our clients’ needs and refine our product to serve them best.
Unless Apple under Jobs was run on the same collaborative basis, the company will return to the derision from which Jobs rescued it.
