Just to start things off I thought I would give my thoughts on this very insightful article that can be found in the April issue of Wired magazine or online on Wired’s website. Essentially the article explains how Apple bucks the general philanthropic management style and friend like attitude toward customers that most web and tech companies stand by (think Google’s “Don’t be evil” mantra) by operating like an “old-school industrial manufacturer” from the early twentieth century complete with a taylorist management style that treats its designers merely as cogs in a chain that only get a very small view of the overall process and is happy to lock its customers up to proprietery contracts which if they want to use apple products they cannot escape from.
I for one am an advocate of the democratic and open view of the tech industry, its is certainly one of its most attractive features and I’m sure a source of much innovation, but whats interesting to me here is the idea of a “single creative vision”. Ever since I first read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead I have been obsessed by this theorywhich she calls Objectivism. Essentially it states that one that can only attain creative brilliance or perfection when its the result of one uncensored, unaltered, pure creative vision.
Although I’m sure there are thousands of talented people at Apple, the particularly well known head of product design springs to mind, the idea that this “tyranical boss” can have input into all aspects of the design process starts to give an idea into why their products are so desirable. You could argue that this obsession with having control over all parts of the company is part of his pure creative vision that is driving apple, and its this obsessive creative vision thats is in search of perfection. Jobs doesn’t cloud his vision with issues such as customers getting a fair deal or staff motivation, he knows what he wants to achieve, and staff or customer you are either with him or against him… much like Howard Roarke.
I am not advocating that this is how all businesses should be run but it certainly sparks a debate; does perfection or near perfection only stem from this brutal style of individualism? Is this true for everybody? Or only for the very few? Or is Apple an enigma and collaboration is the only way forward?
