In luna iunie revista Fortune Magazine va lansat in SUA un numar in care descrie o parte dintre schimbarile nepublice pe care Tim Cook le-a facut in cadrul companiei Apple, insa acum ne ofera un preview pentru ceea ce vo gasi acolo. Desi multa lume credea ca Apple va ramane asa cum a lasat-o Steve Jobs, in realitate multe lucuri s-au schimbat, insa totul tine de felul in care functioneaza compania in interior. Totul incepe cu o restructurare a departamentului care se ocupa de incheierea intelegerilor importante, acel departament fiind condus de catre Steve Jobs si un fost angajat al Goldman Sachs pana la venirea lui Cook, iar acum fostul angajat al celebrei banci americane are angajati inca 3 profesionisti care lucreaza simultan la mai multe intelegeri.
Elsewhere there are signs of Apple becoming a more normal company. When Adrian Perica, a former Goldman Sachs banker, joined Apple several years ago, he was the only executive whose sole remit was dealmaking. Steve Jobs basically ran M&A for Apple. Today Perica heads a department with three corporate-development professionals under him and a staff supporting them, so that Apple can work on three deals simultaneously. Indeed, the vibe, in the words of a former employee, is of an Apple that is becoming “far more traditional,” meaning more MBAs, more process, and more structure. (In point of fact, 2,153 Apple employees reference the term “MBA” in their LinkedIn profiles out of a nonretail workforce of nearly 28,000. More than half the employees who reference “MBA” have been at Apple less than two years.)
Schimbarile pe care Tim Cook le impune afecteaza modul in care functioneaza compania, aceasta devenind una “traditionala” in care angajati profesionisti ocupa pozitii cheie in departamentele importante. Trecand de la noi angajati la echipa care concepe produsele, un fost vicepresedinte al echipei de ingineri care concepe viitoarele produse ale Apple sustine ca accentul nu se mai pune acum pe depasirea limitelor, ci pe dezvoltarea unor produse care sa poata fi vandute in cantitati mari la nivel global. Practic Apple se concentreaza pe produse care ar putea fi dezvoltate usor, rapid si in cantitati mari, iar iPhone 4S este cea mai buna dovada a acestui lucru.
“It looks like it has become a more conservative execution engine rather than a pushing-the-envelope engineering engine,” says Max Paley, a former engineering vice president who worked at Apple for 14 years until late 2011. I’ve been told that any meeting of significance is now always populated by project management and global-supply management,” he says. “When I was there, engineering decided what we wanted, and it was the job of product management and supply management to go get it. It shows a shift in priority.
Trecand in final chiar la Tim Cook, un presedinte al unei alte companii tech spune ca spre deosebire de Steve Jobs, Tim Cook este mult mai abordabil, nu are atitudinea unui presedinte de companie, iar aceste lucruri nu se regaseau in comportamentul regretatului CEO. Tim Cook trebuie sa isi puna amprenta asupra companiei Apple si o face prin schimbari interne importante care afecteaza atat clientii cat si angajatii.