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Apple as an organizationJoe Allison1How Does Apple Do It?50,000 employees$100 billion60% growthTim CookWell, that is a part of the magic of Apple, he said. And I dont want to let anybody know our magic because I dont want anybody copying it.Former employees

How does Apple do it? How does a company with more than 50,000 employees and annual revenue of $100 billion continue to grow by 60% per year?

Recently a Wall Street analyst asked Tim Cook this very question.

His answer: (CLICK) Well, that is a part of the magic of Apple. And I dont want to let anybody know our magic because I dont want anybody copying it.

Fortune asked several former employees the same question. Few agreed to talk about it out of fear even years after they left the company. Those that did told of a company that prized itself on thumbing its nose at modern corporate thinking and behaving more like a cutting-edge start-up than a large corporation. Whether Apples startup ways are sustainable or the result of the sheer will of Steve Jobs is the question that we all will get the answer to now that Jobs has passed on.2JobsPersonalityPassionPerfectionismDemonsDesiresArtistryControlIntensity

Jobs personality is reflected in the products that he created. His passions, perfectionism, demons, desires, artistry, obsession for control and probably the most important, his intensity is what has built Apple into the company that is today.

His intensity encouraged his view of the world. Something was either the best thing ever, or it was garbage.3PerfectionComplete controlOpen vs. closedMicrosoftHuge profitsDownsideWe do these things not because we are control freaks, Jobs explained. We do them because we want to make great products, because we care about the user, and because we like to take responsibility for the entire experience rather than turn out the crap that other people make.

His intensity was evident in his desire for perfection.

His quest for perfection led to his compulsion for Apple to have end-to-end control of every product that it made. This desire for control put Apple on one side of the most fundamental divide in the digital world: open versus closed.

Microsoft pursued the opposite strategy. After Apples market share shrank to less than 5%, Microsofts approach was declared the winner in the personal computer realm.

In the longer run, however, there proved to be some advantages to Apples model. Even with a small market share, Apple was able to maintain a huge profit margin while other computer makers were struggling.

In May 2000 Apples market value was 1/20th that of Microsoft. In May 2010 Apple surpassed Microsoft as the worlds most valuable technology company. By September 2011 it was worth 70% more than Microsoft. In the first quarter of 2011 the market for Windows PCs shrank by 1%, while the market for Macs grew 28%.

The downside of Jobss approach was that his desire to delight the user led him to resist empowering the user.

For Jobs, belief in a closed system was a matter of righteousness.

(CLICK) We do these things not because we are control freaks, Jobs explained. We do them because we want to make great products, because we care about the user, and because we like to take responsibility for the entire experience rather than turn out the crap that other people make.

4FocusNoZen trainingBrutally honestMy job is to say when something sucks rather than sugarcoat it.Change

His intensity was also evident in his ability to focus.

His focus allowed him to say no. He got Apple back on track by cutting all except a few core products. He made devices simpler by eliminating buttons, software simpler by eliminating features, and interfaces simpler by eliminating options.

He attributed his ability to focus and his love of simplicity to his Zen training. Unfortunately his Zen training never produced a Zen-like calm.

He made a point of being brutally honest. (CLICK) My job is to say when something sucks rather than sugarcoat it.

His nasty edge was not necessary. In fact it hindered him more than it helped. It did, at times, serve a purpose though. Kind, polite leaders who try to not upset others are usually not as good at forcing change5Inventions?Apple IIMacintoshApple storesiPodiTunes StoreiPhoneApp StoreiPadiCloudApple

Jobs didnt invent many things, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art and technology in ways that invented the future. As a result Apple launched a series of products that transformed whole industries.

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And Apple itself, which Jobs considered his greatest creation6

7CultureInstitutionalizing his waysCulture of responsibility and accountabilityDifference Between the Janitor and the VPWeekly meetings DRISimplicity

Before he passed, Jobs began institutionalizing his way of doing business. He attempted to put processes in place that would ensure Apples excellence far into the future. He tried to build an organization that mirrored his thoughts. As one former insider put it You can ask anyone in the company what Steve wants and youll get an answer, even if 90% of them have never met Steve.

To build a culture that stressed responsibility and accountability, Jobs like to tell his new VPs the story of the Janitor and the VP.

In the story Jobs imagines that the garbage in his office is not being emptied. When he asks the janitor why, he gets an excuse: The locks have been changed, and the janitor doesnt have a key. This is an acceptable excuse coming from someone who empties trash bins for a living. The janitor gets to explain why something wrong. Senior people do not. When you are the janitor reasons matter. Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering. That line is crossed when you become a VP.

Jobs would also hold weekly meetings. One with his executive management team to discuss results and strategy as well as to review every important project in the company, and a marketing and communications meeting. These meetings ensure that the whole company is on the same page.

The accountability mindset extends down to everyone. There is never any confusion as to who is responsible for what. Apple even has a name for it, the DRI, or directly responsible individual.

Simplicity is also key to Apples organizational structure. The org chart is straightforward, with no dotted-line responsibilities. There are not any committees, the concept of general management is looked down on, and only one person, the CFO has access to the profit and loss statement, or responsibility for costs and expenses. Most corporations believe that the P&L is a way to measure the success of a manager. At Apple, the P&L is considered a distraction that only the CFO needs to consider. This allows Apple to be very flexible despite its size.8Top 100SecreteManagerial toolA honorTemporary membership

Every year or so Jobs get together a select few for a three-day strategy meeting. The meeting is shrouded in secrecy, starting with its very existence. Those that are invited to attend are told not to put the meeting on their calendars. Talking about the meeting is a no-no, even internally. Attendees are not even allowed to drive themselves to the meeting. Instead they are required to ride busses from their headquarters. They even go so far as to have the meeting rooms checked for bugs.

The meeting is an important managerial tool. It is used to inform a supremely influential group about where Apple is going. It also gave Jobs the opportunity to share his grand vision with Apples next generation of leaders.

The attendees were always chosen by Jobs, an honor not necessarily based on rank. Some of the attendees were just key individual contributors. Jobs like to say that if he had to recreate the company, these are the 100 people he would bring along.9Apple as an EmployerGrownupStartupResource pour?Does it their waySpecializationTurnoverShut up and do your job, and you might get to stay.

When compared to companies like Google with their shorts, flip-flops and decorated cubicles, Apple has a grownup atmosphere. Yet they try to act like a startup by putting small teams on crucial projects. Jobs believed in trying to do more with less. He was once quoted as saying, Apple is a company that does not have the most resources.

Weve always fought for resources, says a former executive. Steve and Tim in general want to be sure you need what you are asking form. Apple insiders say that the notion of scarce resources has less to do with money than it does with finding enough people to perform critical tasks. Once Apple moves though, it spends whatever it takes.

Learning to work at Apple takes time. Unlike companies like Microsoft that look for pockets of unrealized revenue and then figures out what to make. Apple is just the opposite. Apple thinks of great products, then sells them. Prototypes and demos always come before spreadsheets. They do it their way.

Specialization is the norm at Apple, and as a result, Apple employees are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise. Jobs saw specialization as a process of having best-in-class employees in every role.

You would think such rigidity , an environment that shuns coddling and a company whose attitude is, You have the privilege of working for the company that is making the coolest products in the world coupled with the threat of being called on the carpet by Jobs would make Apple an impossibly hard place to work, yet turnover is low. People join and stay because they believe in the mission of the company. They believe in what the company is doing.

10Preparing for the FutureJobs and human resourcesHired business professorsInternal case studiesThe future of Apple?

As you can probably imagine, Jobs never had much interest in human resources. That is why it was a complete surprise when he hired, Joel Podolny, the dean of the Yale School of Management and named him vice president of human resources just before his second medical leave. Joel was tasked to head something called Apple University. At Jobss request, he hired a team of business professors. This newly created team was to write a series of internal case studies about significant decisions in Apples recent history. Top executives would then teach the cases. The goal is to expose the next layer of management to the executive teams thought process.

The question now on everyones mind is whether Jobs has adequately prepared Apple to continue on now that he is gone. Before his passing, Jobs himself believed that he had set Apple on a course to survive without him. He had created a culture that has internalized his ways. He had even ensured that his teachings were collected and preserved for future generations of Apples leaders. Now only time will tell.11Resourceshttp://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/08/24/steve.jobs.team/http://blog.iyogi.com/technology-today/tech-news/business/steve-jobs-rebel-rockstar-radical.htmlhttp://maybeimdreaming77.blogspot.com/2012/08/welcome-to-perfection.htmlhttp://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/20-most-memorable-quotes-from-steve-jobs.html/?a=viewallhttp://www.igniteyourmarket.com/monday-morning-moment-focus/http://calligraphy-expo.com/EditorFiles/image/News/2011/10/2011-10-06_b_b14.jpg