Renaissance for Leaders

Reference library exploring leadership & human performance

How Apple Is Organized for Innovation: Leadership at Scale

By

On June 9, 2023

In Business & Entrepreneurship

This is part 3 of 3.

Part 1: The Functional Organization

Part 2: The Leadership Model

Deciding how to organize areas of expertise to best enable collaboration and rapid decision-making has been an important responsibility of the CEO.

The adjustments Tim Cook has implemented in recent years include dividing the hardware function into hardware engineering and hardware technologies; adding artificial intelligence and machine learning as a functional area; and moving the human interface out of software to merge it with industrial design, creating an integrated design function. Based on the HBR article, “How Apple Is Organized for Innovation” by Joel M. Podolny and Morten T. Hansen:

https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-apple-is-…

How Apple Is Organized for Innovation: The Leadership Model

By

On June 8, 2023

In Business & Entrepreneurship

This is part 2 of 3.

Part 1: The Functional Organization

Part 3: Leadership at Scale

Ever since Steve Jobs implemented the functional organization, Apple’s managers at every level, from the senior vice president on down, have been expected to possess three key leadership characteristics: deep expertise that allows them to meaningfully engage in all the work being done within their individual functions; immersion in the details of those functions; and a willingness to collaboratively debate other functions during collective decision-making.

When managers have these attributes, decisions are made in a coordinated fashion by the people most qualified to make them. Based on the HBR article, “How Apple Is Organized for Innovation” by Joel M. Podolny and Morten T. Hansen:

https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-apple-is-…

How Apple Is Organized for Innovation: The Functional Organization

By

On June 7, 2023

In Business & Entrepreneurship

This is part 1 of 3.

Part 2: The Leadership Model

Part 3: Leadership at Scale

Adopting a functional structure may have been unsurprising for a company of Apple’s size at the time. What is surprising—in fact, remarkable—is that Apple retains it today, even though the company is nearly 40 times as large in terms of revenue and far more complex than it was in 1998. Senior vice presidents are in charge of functions, not products.

As was the case with Jobs before him, CEO Tim Cook occupies the only position on the organizational chart where the design, engineering, operations, marketing, and retail of any of Apple’s main products meet.

Besides the CEO, the company operates with no conventional general managers: people who control an entire process from product development through sales and are judged according to a P&L statement. Based on the HBR article, “How Apple Is Organized for Innovation” by Joel M. Podolny and Morten T. Hansen:

https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-apple-is-…

12 Principles of Forgiveness

By

On May 1, 2023

In Health & Vitality

The acclaimed author and teacher explains the principles that are integral to the process of forgiving according to Buddhist philosophy.

This is Water by David Foster Wallace

By

On November 2, 2022

In Health & Vitality

David Foster Wallace‘s 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College is a timeless trove of wisdom.

This is Water

“Greetings parents and congratulations to Kenyon’s graduating class of 2005. There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?”

Read More

Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life

By

On November 1, 2022

In Leadership & Influence

In April of 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was 22 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice.

Thompson’s letter, found in Letters of Note, offers thoughtful and profound advice.

April 22, 1958
57 Perry Street
New York City

Dear Hume,

You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal— to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself.

Read More

Leadership Advice from Marcus Aurelius

By

On October 22, 2022

In Leadership & Influence

woman wearing white sleeveless top and black pencil skirt facing woman wearing pink sleeveless top and black pencil skirt leaning on wall

Dominance, Trustworthiness, and Competence in Body Motion During Speeches

By

On October 18, 2022

In Leadership & Influence

Highlights

  • Body movements of politicians giving speeches were turned into stick-figure videos.
  • Stimuli were rated on dominance, trustworthiness, and competence.
  • Simple nonverbal cues were linked to perceptions of dominance and trustworthiness.
  • Male speakers from opposition parties received the highest ratings on dominance.
  • Body motion has ecological validity and is a nonverbal cue of social relevance.

People read dominance, trustworthiness, and competence into the faces of politicians but do they also perceive such social qualities in other nonverbal cues? We transferred the body movements of politicians giving a speech onto animated stick figures and presented these stimuli to participants in a rating experiment.

Analyses revealed single-body postures of maximal expansiveness as strong predictors of perceived dominance. Also, stick figures producing expansive movements and many movements throughout the encoded sequences were judged high on dominance and low on trustworthiness.

In a second step, we divided our sample into speakers from the opposition parties and speakers that were part of the government, and male and female speakers. Male speakers from the opposition were rated higher on dominance but lower on trustworthiness than speakers from all other groups.

In conclusion, people use simple cues to make equally simple social categorizations. Moreover, the party status of male politicians seems to become visible in their body motions.

References:

woman pointing at sky on seashore

ZONE Tips > Hand Gestures Increase Influence

By

On October 18, 2022

In Leadership & Influence

A team of researchers from the Netherlands found that hand gestures, when used strategically, influence how certain words are heard. 

Participants were 20% more likely to hear and interpret the words being spoken when accompanied by a matching hand gesture and 40% as likely to hear the wrong word when the gestures did not match. 

Previous research has suggested that certain hand gestures can signal extraversion and dominance and that speaking with gestures, in general, tends to lead to being evaluated as warm, agreeable, and energetic.

– Molly Hanson

Expressing yourself with your voice, body, and hands can help you to get into the zone. Animating your communication helps you feel your message and transfer this same feeling to your audience.

Sadly, most people speak in a monotone and use little to no gestures. Boring!

Let’s get into the zone and express ourselves!

References:

  1. Beat gestures influence which speech sounds you hear.
  2. How hand gestures alter the perception of your speech.

Who’s On Your Team?

By

On October 14, 2022

In Leadership & Influence

Have you ever wondered why some leaders have lots of free time, make more money each year, and seem to have the golden touch?

Are they smarter or luckier?

If you are struggling more than you would like, have no time, and continually lurch from crisis to crisis, there is a way out.

The difference that makes the difference is the team. We all know that life is a team sport.

You are only as good as your team!

Your team isn’t limited to your employees. Who is on your board of directors? Do you have a formal board of advisors? Do you have a personal mentor or coach? These people will tell you what you need to hear versus what you want to hear.

Unless you are willing to be surrounded by people who expect more of you than you do, you will have people telling you what you want to hear and confirming that you are right — when you may be wrong.

Your team includes your suppliers and customers.

You work too hard if you aren’t part of a winning team.

The company’s leadership is the key person whose vision, energy, drive, and enthusiasm (or lack thereof) are the vital element, Lifeforce and the driving force behind the company and everything it does. A change at the top reverberates throughout the organization.

For most leaders, the responsibilities, fast-paced work environments, and constant challenges create stress and pressure to perform at higher and higher levels.

Who do you go to for support?

Who do you go to when there are conflicts and upsets with colleagues? How do you balance your work life with your family life? How does the work you take home impact your family?

Most leaders bottle all these conflicting agendas and emotions within themselves, causing additional stress and potential burnout. 

The world’s best athletes, actors, and musicians have coaches to fine-tune their performance, motivate them, keep them in check and balance, and provide a sounding board for ideas and problem-solving.

Likewise, an experienced coach can provide you with a competitive edge, a sounding board, and general counsel for problem-solving. Traditional therapists, counselors, and psychologists don’t work for most leaders, as their knowledge of business and organizations is limited.

Goldzone’s coaching service is very discrete support provided by experienced executives, highly trained in leadership, coaching, business, and personal development.

If you are sick and tired and ready for a change, contact a Goldzone Coach today!

Page 3 of 56

Previous

Next

© 2000–2026 Goldzone Corporation

0