So management by fear is right after all!!
A very interesting article in Wired magazine (click) shows how Apple's founder and CEO Steve Jobs has driven his company to the top the old way. No cuddly, buddy-buddy relations with staff - rather, relentless attention to detail and results, and a legendary temper that has people quaking in their boots. Apple was practically dead in 1997, but according to the article it's now worth more than Dell. As a brand it's certainly a lot sexier.
Does this all mean that bosses can forget all that tiresome stuff about management by persuasion? Does it mean that "do as I say, or else..." is this most effective approach? It may well be so if you've got a proven track record of creating industry-leading products, as Steve Jobs has. It may well be so if you are the founder and guardian of a brand that inspires deep devotion among its users, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be so if you are a master of PR, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be if you are acknowledged to be many, many times smarter than the average bear, as Steve Jobs is.
A while ago I had dealings with a global organization that was headed up by an inspirational, visionary leader. He was something of a Steve Jobs in a very specialised industry segment. Charismatic, autocratic, involved in every aspect of the business from the science and marketing to the HR and lay-out of the canteen. He talked well but listened badly. He decided what everyone needed to do and told them, without actually getting them on board. His company worked well for a while then things went badly wrong.
Do I wish I had bought shares in Apple in 1997? Absolutely. Would I now invest in any other company run as Apple is run? Probably not. Management by fear and diktat is a high-risk approach and there's only a handful of people as good as Steve Jobs who can pull it off.
Monday, 7 April 2008
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1 comment:
Spot on Stuart. I am so used to looking for patterns to give some sort of magical key to understanding complex situations that I sometimes forget that significant exceptions always exist. I think you have put your finger on just one such wonderful glorious (kratophanous) exception in the shape of Steve Jobs. I had occasionally puzzled about Steve but had never pushed my thinking enough (or was mentally unable) to get to this degree of clarity. If I manage to get this up onto your blog (I never usually get past the most elementary web sign on requirements) then I would be delighted to hear from you again, Stuart — can't track down your address, old emails not working, and would have long ago liked to send the girls and boys some entertaining books and yourself and Caroline thanks and greetings All best James j.fairhead@ucc.ie
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