The Apple Way [Hardcover]

Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2005

Reveals the master plan behind Apple’s revolutionary business model

“We don’t underestimate people....Rather than making a far inferior product for a hundred dollars less, we gave the people the product that they want and that will serve them for years, even though it’s a little pricier. People are smart; they figure these things out.” --Steve Jobs

The Apple Way divulges the secrets and management principles that keep Apple far ahead of the curve. Find out how to implement these and other winning strategies in your organization to trigger a technological and stylistic revolution of your own:

• Make the customer and the product king
• Balance manufacturing with delivery logistics
• Motivate and inspire people outside the company to do your marketing and public relations
• Invent new distribution channels
• Decide on your company image and stick to your guns
• Leapfrog the competition
• Learn from both successes and missteps

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With more than 10 million iPods sold to date, an unprecedented 250 percent stock value increase in just one year, and a net income increase of 530 percent, Apple has skyrocketed to dizzying heights of success. But the ride has not always been smooth, and the company’s legendary cofounder, Steve Jobs, has seen it all. From its early unveiling of the unreliable, clunky $9,995 “Lisa” computer in 1983, to its recent staggeringly successful breakthrough product, the iPod, this company has not only reinvented itself many times over, but it also has revolutionized the entire computer industry. What are its secrets? Find out in The Apple Way.

In today’s fast-moving technology world, Apple has learned--often through hard-won wisdom--that you can’t do it by yourself, no matter how smart you are. Markets move quickly, technologies grow complex, and too many intelligent people invest too much time and money in innovation. The Apple Way reveals the secrets and management principles that keep Apple ahead of the curve--including innovative product development, cutting-edge marketing strategies, sleek design and packaging, and a high-performance corporate culture. You’ll discover how Apple combines consistency with continuity and follow-through, and balances vision with practicality.

Follow Apple’s example and learn how to:

• Make the customer king
• Make the product king
• Break the marketing mold
• Build the learning organization

Although Apple is a technology company, this is not a story for computer buffs, but rather a book for managers who want to learn valuable lessons from both Apple’s mistakes and triumphs--all of which have led to its continuing evolution and ultimate meteoric rise to success. Because, for Steve Jobs and the visionaries at Apple, finding the future isn’t enough--you also have to deliver it.

“We don’t underestimate people....Rather than making a far inferior product for a hundred dollars less, we gave the people the product that they want and that will serve them for years, even though it’s a little pricier. People are smart; they figure these things out.” --Steve Jobs

Reveals the master plan behind Apple’s revolutionary business model

The Apple Way divulges the secrets and management principles that keep Apple far ahead of the curve. Find out how to implement these and other winning strategies in your organization to trigger a technological and stylistic revolution of your own:

• Make the customer and the product king
• Balance manufacturing with delivery logistics
• Motivate and inspire people outside the company to do your marketing and public relations
• Invent new distribution channels
• Decide on your company image and stick to your guns
• Leapfrog the competition
• Learn from both successes and missteps

About the Author

Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is the author or coauthor of numerous books for practicing managers, including The Intellectual Venture Capitalist: John H. McArthur and the Work of the Harvard Business School (Harvard Business School Press). He also played a key role in developing several McGraw-Hill titles, including The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell and The Essential Vince Lombardi.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072262338
• ISBN-13: 978-0072262339
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author or co-author of numerous books of interest to managers. These include histories of the Harvard Business School, New England Electric, Cummins Engine Company, The Weather Channel, and Perdue Farms; a book on corporations and architecture for Herman Miller, Inc.; a history of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; the definitive guide to art in public places (Going Public); and books on numerous other subjects, ranging from logistics in the Gulf War (Moving Mountains) to entrepreneurship (Low Risk, High Reward) to the inner workings of the commercial real estate industry (The Real Estate Game, and Creating and Growing Real Estate Wealth).

In 2005, I published my first murder mystery (Murder at the B-School). Another is in the works. (Thanks for your patience.)

I'm about to publish my first biography--The Man Who Sold America--which focuses on the life and times of Albert D. Lasker (HBR Press, summer of 2010). I think it's an amazing story, of interest to a wide range of people: advertising and PR executives, baseball buffs, students of American political history, people with an interest in bipolar illness, and anyone who likes a good yarn.

I'm a graduate of Amherst College and the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School. I worked as a consultant to a number of companies and schools in the Boston area in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, I became the editor of the Harvard Business School Bulletin, beginning a relationship with that school that has continued since then, and has led to many other engagements in the worlds of education and business.

In 1989, I co-founded Kohn Cruikshank, Inc., a Boston-based consulting firm that served corporate and institutional clients until September of 2001, when we moved to Milton, Massachusetts and became The Cruikshank Company, Inc. I've worked on capital campaigns and development-related work for Harvard Law School (two campaigns), MIT (two campaigns), the University of California at Berkeley, the Boston Athenaeum, Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Massachusetts, Fenway Community Health, North Shore Medical Center, the Shackleton School, Milton Academy, Phillips Andover Academy, the Peddie School, Boston University, and many other institutions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and up to date history but doesn't live up to its premise, July 18, 2006

By 

Tech Geek (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Apple Way (Hardcover)

If you're trying to take away valuable management lessons, this book isn't for you.
If, however, you want a quick and up to date history of Apple, this book is worth considering.
Definitely repetitious and the management take aways are in most cases a stretch.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A History of Apple Marketing and Management, September 7, 2007

By 

Stephen Rowe (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Apple Way (Hardcover)

I listened to the audio version of this book. I was disappointed by it. It is actually a decent overview of the history of Apple's management and marketing, but that's not what it claims to be. The book makes the claim to contain "12 management lessons" taken from Apple. These lessons are completely lost in the history. I expected analysis of what Apple did right and wrong and some application of that to a more general market. What I got was a history book with very little actual analysis in it. The lessons might be there, but you really have to dig them out yourself. Not a bad read but not a management book. If you're looking for management advice, look elsewhere.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at the company, August 12, 2009

By 

Mariusz Skonieczny "Author" (Schaumburg, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Apple Way (Hardcover)

With all the hype about iPods, iPhones, iMacs, it is interesting to read a book that takes a little different approach. Apple's products are similar to best-selling books. There is no repeat business. The company has to keep innovating new products, thus spending a significant amount of money on research and development. It is not enough just to spend money on R&D; it is also important to hire the right people that can innovate. This means that Apple has to compete with other companies for top talent. Usually the only way to get these people is to pay them more than competitors do, and this creates a downward pressure on the company's margins. A company like Coca-Cola does not have to reinvent its product every six months; thus, it can concentrate on growing in other markets, buying shares back, and paying dividends. Apple operates in an industry where its products never go up in value. A computer sold today for $1,000 may only be worth $500 in a year. Also, the competition in the industry is intense with companies trying to outdo each other on product features and prices. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested Apple or the industry in which it operates.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market