Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

Succeeding the Founder

Monday, February 20th, 2012 by Ben Anderson-Ray

On August 24, 2011, Steve Jobs resigned his role as Apple CEO and was replaced by Tim Cook. This followed a seven-month period in which Cook was already functioning as CEO while Jobs focused on fighting the health problems that ultimately took his life on October 5.

Many are watching to see how this unique leadership transition will work out for Apple, but it is not the first unique leadership transition they have faced. Jobs, of course, was the cofounder of Apple, but organizational infighting led to his ouster when John Sculley took over in the mid-1980s. Sculley oversaw the growth of the Macintosh and thus the company, but when that growth slowed and new internal issues arose, a series of CEOs failed to get the company back on track. In 1997, a more experienced Jobs returned and drove tremendous growth.

The leadership history of Apple is a good reminder that a leadership transition–particularly one involving the founder–presents both risk and
opportunity to any organization. If done poorly, it spawns uncertainty, conflict, and stress, stalling growth and exacerbating misalignment that may or may not have already been there. If done well, it brings new vision and strategic clarity to the organization. Indeed, success for an organization begins with the leader and the culture he or she creates and nurtures.

Much has been written about how to manage effective transition, but most of it focuses on the outgoing founder or CEO. Our work as advisors to midmarket companies has enabled us to closely observe numerous transitions, and we would like to look at this issue from the perspective of the successor.

(Read this full article, which was recently published in The CEO Advantage Journal.)

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The Power of Persistence

Monday, September 12th, 2011 by Troy Schrock

In May 2009, I had the pleasure of attending a Maximum Impact simulcast, which included an interview with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In my notes from that interview, I wrote the following:

3 Qualities of People at the Top Level of Any Organization:

  1. Self-belief
  2. Hard worker
  3. Able to rise from failure

That last one caught my attention. Who has not failed at something? Whatever achievement one pursues, obstacles are as sure as the sun rising. How people respond to obstacles is what sets the great ones apart.

I think the key ingredient to rising from failure is persistence – the stubborn will to keep pressing. (Click here for my previous blog on “pressing the initiative.”) Great businesses respond to failure by following the advice from the old song: “pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and start all over again.” That’s good advice whether “starting over” means starting from scratch or just making a tweak. The point is to not stand idle. If you just keep churning with the best decisions you can make, odds are that your efforts will eventually bear fruit – and it’s likely that future yields won’t be as difficult as the first.

Ironically, failure is often just as likely to come from success – or more specifically, from resting in success. Pioneers such as Wang Labs, Alta Vista, and Rio’s MP3 player are largely unknown to us today, but the products they created live on in Hewlett Packard, Google, and Apple’s iPod. These pioneers died not because their products failed, but because they failed to persist in the efforts that make them successful in the first place. Their innovative competitors quickly passed them by and took over the market.

Whether you have succeeded or failed, you must persist in your endeavor to be great. There is no silver bullet. Great achievements result from hard work over the long term.

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In 100 Words: Press the Initiative

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 by Troy Schrock

World chess champion Garry Kasparov attacks in two ways: “direct assault” and “creating and maintaining the initiative.”  The latter is preemptive, methodically putting the player in a position of leadership and control.

Many market leaders, including Boeing, Google, and Apple’s iPod, were not the pioneers of their industry.  They simply outperformed the pioneers by pressing the initiative – continually improving, investing in people and research, and developing strong organizational vision.  Meanwhile, the pioneers lost an opportunity, not because they started badly, but because they stopped pressing.

How is your organization’s discipline in strategy execution?  Create the initiative, and then keep pressing.

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Press the Initiative

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 by Troy Schrock

At the October 2007 World Business Forum in New York, Garry Kasparov, the great world chess champion, noted that a player attacks in two ways.  The first, “direct assault,” occurs when he is backed into a position he doesn’t like.  Those who succeed are admired for their resilience and celebrated as a “come from behind” story.  The second, which Kasparov called “creating and maintaining the initiative,” is preemptive in nature, putting the player in a position of leadership and control.  It may lack the excitement of a surprise victory, but the persistent mastery is admired by all. 

Many market leaders were not the original pioneers of their product.  Examples include Boeing, Hewlett Packard, Google, and Apple’s iPod.  In each of these situations, the market leaders outperformed the pioneers because they pressed the initiative.  They continually improved, invested in people and research, and developed a strong organizational vision.  Meanwhile, the pioneers lost an opportunity, not because they started badly, but because they stopped pressing.

How is your organization’s discipline in strategy execution?  Create the initiative, and then keep pressing.

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