The Science Behind Apple's Magic

(MoneyWatch) 

Apple has plenty of mystique, but what looks like magic is something a lot more calculated. What works for Apple can be distilled into principles of sound management that could (in the right culture) flourish elsewhere too. The company recognizes its most valuable employees and coddles them. (Shouldn't yours?) In the realm of product creation, it gives design an equal seat at the table with engineering (no magic there), and assures its products that distinctive look by insisting that all designers work from the same minimalist playbook. (No reason you couldn't do something similar.) To be sure, Apple is one of the world's best at leading its customers rather than following them. But it has no patent on the process.

We've pored through Apple's storied history, took the measure of its successes and its failures, and with the help of experts who've followed the company for years, parsed the Apple mystique into a handful of how-tos and a few reliable principles that you can use in leading your own team. Will these axioms turn you into Steve Jobs overnight? No. Will they help you use the example of one of the world's most inspired companies to add some inspiration to your next project? Click on and find out.

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