Clients often ask me, as a former Apple employee, for insights into Apple’s amazing success. I’ve provided some answers in prior blog posts — but Apple’s strategies are hard to emulate, because the secret sauce is in the combination of ingredients. Having said that, there’s a lot businesses can learn from their approach.
So here’s a presentation I developed for a client recently (minus the voice-over, which was confidential to the client) — some personal perspectives on key aspects of Apple’s enduring strategies.
My insights are based on almost 5 years as an Apple employee in their Silicon Valley headquarters, during a turbulent period of astounding growth — from 1 to 5 billion in annual revenues in 5 years’ time. Since then my POV has been shaped by experiences in senior roles for companies that partner with Apple. (Disclosure: 10 years ago I also consulted to Apple, but am long past the NDA period.) As friends and colleagues will tell you, I’m also a long-term brand fan.
