Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

A former Senior VP of Apple shares the leadership secrets of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs managed and motivated his people to surpass their own expectations and execute the best work of their lives. Jay Elliot taps his experience serving as Steve′s right–hand man to show how anyone can shift his or her personal paradigm to become more Steve Jobs–like to assemble and lead innovative teams.

Leading Apple With Steve Jobs shares practical examples from Apple and Steve Jobs that demonstrate how to apply his management principles in the everyday world of business. Learn how to find the right talent, the people who will understand your objectives and jump at the chance to make a contribution. Determine who will be so committed to your organization′s vision that they will provide their own motivation. Attract the most dynamic thinkers and harness all of their passion to drive success for your business.

Leading Apple With Steve Jobs offers a unique insider′s view of what it was like to manage side by side with Steve. Discover what it means to be a Pirate, to "Think Different." And inspire your team to achieve more than anyone ever thought possible.

Chronology xiii

1 A Ding in the Universe: Everything Starts with an Inspiring Vision 1

2 Steve s Business Philosophy and Values 15

3 People Who Know More than You: Choosing and Leading Your Lieutenants 29

4 Steve s Secrets for Selecting Great People 41

5 Unusual Interviewing Techniques 53

6 To Protect Innovation, Create a Company within a Company 61

7 No More Crap Products : Creating Excellence 73

8 More on Product Strategy: Design Is How It Works 85

9 Entrepreneurial Confidence and High Standards 93

10 Employee Owners: Rewarding the Product Stakeholders 99

11 The Apple Workplace: Fostering Creativity 107

12 When Selling Becomes More Important than the Product 121

13 And One More Thing : Looking into the Distance 139

14 Flowers at His Doorstep: The Heritage of Steve Jobs 149

Notes 161

Acknowledgments 165

Index 167

JAY ELLIOT was a senior member of the original Macintosh development team and helped Steve Jobs develop the overall Mac design inspired by Xerox PARC. Becoming Senior Vice President of Apple reporting directly to Steve, Jay ran all corporate operations, including business planning, IT, facilities, and HR, for Apple worldwide. As a mentor to Steve, Jay was able to impart the management principles Jay had learned at IBM and Intel, which helped Steve build Apple into a multibillion–dollar company.