“Most CEOs are focused on achieving their financial and operational goals, and on executing a strategy. But Apple’s Steve Jobs believes his company’s ultimate advantage comes from its ability to make unique, or as he calls them, ‘insanely great’ products,” Peter Burrows writes for BusinessWeek. “Jobs’ entire company is focused on that task. That means while rival computer makers increasingly rely on so-called outsourced design manufacturers (ODMs), for key design decisions, Jobs keeps most of those tasks in-house. Sure, he relies on ODMs to manufacture his products, but the big decisions on Apple products are made in Silicon Valley.”
“Jobs himself is a crucial part of the formula. He is unique among big-time hardware CEOs for his hands-on involvement in the design process. Even product-design experts marvel at the power of the Jobs factor. ‘I’ve been thinking hard about the Apple product-development process since I left,’ says design guru Donald Norman, co-founder the design consultants Nielsen Norman Group, who left Apple in 1997. ‘If you follow my [guidelines], it will guarantee good design. But Steve Jobs doesn’t want good design. He wants great design, and my method will never give you that. That takes a rare leader, who can bring both the cohesion and commitment and style. And Steve has it,'” Burrows writes.
“Many executives believe that outsourcing design allows them to lower the salaries they must pay, and lets them have engineers working on the products across all time zones. Jobs thinks that’s short-sighted. He argues that the cost-savings are not worth what you give up in terms of teamwork, communication, and the ability to get groups of people working together to bring a new idea to life. Indeed, with top-notch mechanical, electrical, software and industrial designers all housed at Apple’s Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, Calif., the company’s design capability is more vertically integrated than almost any other tech company,” Burrows writes.
“Even more important, Apple’s products are designed to run a particular set of programs or services. By contrast, a Dell or Gateway PC must be ready for whatever new features Microsoft comes out with, or whatever Windows-program a customer opts to install,” Burrows writes. “But Apple makes much of its own software, from the Mac operating system to applications such as iPhoto and iTunes. “That’s Apple’s trump card,” says one Apple rival. ‘The ODMs just don’t have the world-class industrial design, the style, or the ability to make easy-to-use software — or the ability to integrate it all. They may some day, but they don’t have it now.'”
Full article with much more here.
Well in theory you can outsource everything and become a truly virtual organization…but then where is the “thing” , the rationale that motivates really talented people to come together in an organization to work long hours for more than material reward and in the end be able to stand back and take pride in what they have created. Truly great companies understand that rationale and make it the focus of everything that they do.
The attention to detail all started with the Apple II and hasn’t stopped since whenever Steve’s been in charge.
Something very odd here. This is one of the very few articles in recent years that discusses so much of the industrial design aspects of Apple and has not one mention of Jonathan Ives. I realise it is more a Jobs piece but still…
Someone recently posted that Ives was conspicuous by his absence. Where is he?
One theory maybe that Jobs wasn’t so happy at all Ives’ publicity and now has him chained to his desk designing Apple’s 2010 product-line!
Jobs truly is one of a kind, which is what makes Apple one of a kind. I fear for Apple without him. Very big shoes to fill.
i think steve jobs screens for Ives to let him get on with the job at hand! and that to me is the best thing he can do…we want more insanely great products!
Jonathan Ives “Gets it” too. That is why Steve hired him. Great synergy going on.
To outsource your products AND to have great Industrial Design, you would have to go to the absolute best vendors in every category, and they you’d have to make them work together throughout the design/engineering/manufacturing process. And then have them communicate what they’ve done to marketing.
That would mean MORE expensive computers than Macs. THAT’S what it would take to compete with Apple in design.
It would be impossible, even with a room full of Harvard MBAs (or dropouts and the case might be.)
It’s funny, there isn’t really a magic Apple business formula for other companies to copy because Apple is unique… gifted people coming together just right to make great things… you can recognize it but you can’t replicate it. Kind of like the Beatles, I suppose.
Now if only they could find someone equally gifted to handle sales and (especially) customer service. Jeff Bezos, do you want to try something new?
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