Steve Jobs' Legacy to Live On in 'Apple University'

[MacRumors]

Photo courtesy of Robert Scoble​

The LA Times provides some new details about an internal project at Apple designed to take the company succesfully into the future despite the premature passing of Steve Jobs.

We first heard details about this "Apple University" project back in May when it was revealed that Steve Jobs had hired dean of Yale School of Management Joel Podolny to run an internal group featuring business professors and Harvard veterans to prepare employees for life at Apple after Jobs.

The LA Times cites an anonymous former Apple executive who describes the reasoning behind the project:

"Steve was looking to his legacy. The idea was to take what is unique about Apple and create a forum that can impart that DNA to future generations of Apple employees," said a former Apple executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve his relationship with the company. "No other company has a university charged with probing so deeply into the roots of what makes the company so successful."

Podolny left his position as Yale Business School dean and moved into an office between Steve Jobs and Tim Cook after he accepted the position in 2009. Podolny, himself, was personally influenced by Steve Jobs and Apple and even described writing his first computer program on an Apple II. In his farewell to Yale students, he wrote "While there are many great companies, I cannot think of one that has had as tremendous personal meaning for me as Apple".

Jobs reportedly identified specific tenets at Apple that he believed was responsible for Apple's success. Those included accountability, attention to detail, perfectionism, simplicity, and secrecy. Jobs is said to have personally overseen the creation of the courses and had sustained an interest in it since its inception. According to the LA Times, Jobs' other successful company, Pixar, also uses a similar corporate University model.

Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday, October 5th.

Article Link: Steve Jobs' Legacy to Live On in 'Apple University'

 

[MultiMediaWill]

RIP Steve Jobs.

 

[mrockm01]

That is very interesting. Steve is gone and will not impact a product directly ever again, but seems to have laid a foundation for a long time

 

[Reach9]

Steve Jobs, prepared for everything. Even his own death.

Apple will still thrive and succeed. Thanks to Steve.

If only I could attend iUniversity..

 

[stevenshizzle]

I think that Steve has ensured that the ship is set on course and sails smoothly. The itinerary is set, and there's much more to come.

 

[Small White Car]

I think that, 50 years from now, Jobs will be a single chapter in computer classes but will be taught very heavily in business schools.

The way he ran Apple and, more importantly, the way he set it up to run after he was gone seem to be just as impressive as any electronic product he created.

 

[rdowns]

Great idea for a story, arn.

 

[Confuzzzed]

The best tribute to Steve Jobs is to celebrate (and support) the team he hand picked to succeed him.

 

[slrandall]

Serving as both a guiding light to future Apple employees and a reminder that Steve was truly a visionary in everything he ever did.

 

[ob81]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Sounds pretty weird, but it is genius. He cared for Apple more than we will ever understand.

Sad he left so early. Wish he was more like Bill though. Maybe the more laid back lifestyle could have added some years.

 

[Bevz]

I think this is such a great idea.... To go to such steps to try and find the essence of what is good about your company so that it doesn't get lost shows such vision. It has certainly worked beautifully with Pixar! I really hope it works as apple is such a great company at the moment, and long may they continue to be...

 

[Gillespie81]

I think that, 50 years from now, Jobs will be a single chapter in computer classes but will be taught very heavily in business schools.

The way he ran Apple and, more importantly, the way he set it up to run after he was gone seem to be just as impressive as any electronic product he created.

im in business school right now and we have almost half of the semester dedicated to Apple and SJ. its one of the greats that has ever happened to a company going from almost bust to on top (and now his plans laid out for years to come).

i would love to be a part of IUni

 

[iBug2]

What Jobs did are going to be covered in various areas from business to industrial design to technology to wherever.

 

[CoreForce]

Apple becomes a religion, looks like.

 

[Kid A]

Hari Seldon

Although it's been many, many years since I read Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' novels, I am immediately reminded of Hari Seldon and the Foundations....

 

[yoman]

Hopefully this will transfer into continued success for Apple.

 

[JRoDDz]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Sounds pretty weird, but it is genius. He cared for Apple more than we will ever understand.

Sad he left so early. Wish he was more like Bill though. Maybe the more laid back lifestyle could have added some years.

Unfortunately, cancer does not care whether you're laid back or not. It's an equal opportunity killer.

 

[ArchaicRevival]

Brave New World?

 

[WannaGoMac]

Did anyone else laugh when in article mentioned how the HP Way was the the way to maintain the vision -- then see how HP lost its entire way since then founders and is being stripped down to nothing like the founding company??

Let's hope Steve does it better!

 

[Rot'nApple]

That sounds like a University I would want to attend and classes I'd want to sit in on!
/
/
/

 

[AidenShaw]

The best tribute to Steve Jobs is to celebrate (and support) the team he hand picked to succeed him.

But it will also be a tribute to Jobs to hold the new team to the fire when they screw up. And there will be screw-ups, some small and some large. Even Steve screwed-up - remember the Cube and the Ipod HiFi?

"Perfectionism" and "blind worship" are in conflict.

 

[Yelmurc]

Wonder if these classes would ever be available on iTunesU or will they keep them a secret.

 

[lkrupp]

Apple becomes a religion, looks like.

Just go away will you.

 

[ob81]

Unfortunately, cancer does not care whether you're laid back or not. It's an equal opportunity killer.

Actually it does. It depends on what were the causes of his cancer and how he reacted to treatment. He lived a high stress life. Worked long hours and over thought everything.

Lack of sleep, stress, and improper dieting habits are things that can put a heavy dent into any recovery program. I am no doctor, but it doesn't take a degree to know that.

Lets be narrow-mided though so we can sound smart!

 

[Shrink]

Apple becomes a religion, looks like.

That was my first reaction, too. However, with further consideration, it seems to me that Jobs is doing what most successful corporations do - try to build their successful "philosophy" into a training system to indoctrinate new employees into that successful approach.

It's just that Jobs takes it to it's logical extreme - as he did with all things Apple. His extreme attention to detail is part of what makes Apple products what they are - simple and fun to use, and elegant to the eye and the touch.

No hero worship here, but great respect for someone who planned everything to an heretofore unheard of level of detail. In this case, this characteristic is directed toward the continuation of Apple's successful culture.