Succession Strategy

Ques.1 Please explain the succession strategy at Apple. How did the company select the successor to Jobs?

Steve Jobs was more than a business leader, with vision, passion for design and product excellence, wrapped in a perfectionist personality with amazing business savvy. His ability to lead Apple comes not only from his leadership qualities, but also his deep experience in the technology industry.

The issue Apple faced in its succession strategy is about Jobs' leadership style and philosophy, many people who work at Apple think that his force of personality is both revered and feared in the company. This style of leadership has created a strong sense of execution and excellence at the company - but will also be hard to replace. During his long career, Jobs had developed a long list of philosophies about management which need to be incorporated into the future.

Apple's Succession Strategy for Jobs: Apple University

High-Impact Succession Management® developed the following maturity model which shows, company evolve their succession strategies from replacement charts which enables people at all levels to move from role to role.

Succession only works well when there is a clear understanding of the leadership traits and competencies needed at each level, and the process is sponsored by executives at the top. Point to establish best practices for succession planning, including hiring from within, conducting an audition period, easing the successor into a leadership role and providing some level of succession disclosure to shareholders. In the case of Apple, the board and Jobs himself were planning for succession for several years.

Behind the scenes, there has been a project at Apple for several years to "capture the essence of Steve Jobs management philosophies" for generations ahead. Under the title of Dean of Apple University, Joel Podolny (former