[W]hat evidence is there that Apple is being engineered to operate independent of its founder? Unfortunately there is almost no organizational analysis for Apple. Unlike many of its contemporaries, there aren’t org charts or tell-all accounts on life in Cupertino. There are no anonymous “mini-aapl” blogs or tales from the disgruntled.
For this reason, a recent quote about the mysterious “Apple University” in Fortune caught my eye.
First a brief review of what was known.
Apple University was first mentioned in 2008 when Joel Podolny was hired from running Yale Management School to join Apple in creating this new “University”. I remember at the time thinking what such a thing might be. To leave the top job in one of the top business schools to join Apple must require some powerful incentives. I envisioned Apple entering into a far more ambitious iTunes project where they could be offering degree programs or teaching resources through the familiar store front.
But nothing was heard about Apple University again. Until yesterday.
According to the article in Fortune and some additional details from another source, Joel Podolny has been building an understanding of how Apple is run. He’s then been asked to codify this understanding into a curriculum that can be taught to Apple employees.
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