Reprint r2006F

THREE LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS
Ever since Steve Jobs implemented the functional organi-
zation, Apple’s managers at every level, from senior vice 
president on down, have been expected to possess three key 
leadership characteristics: deep expertise that allows them 
to meaningfully engage in all the work being done within 
their individual functions; immersion in the details of those 
functions; and a willingness to collaboratively debate other 
functions during collective decision-making. When manag-
ers have these attri butes, decisions are made in a coordinated 
fashion by the people most qualified to make them.
Deep expertise.
Apple is not a company where general 
managers oversee managers; rather, it is a company where 
experts lead experts. The assumption is that it’s easier to 
train an expert to manage well than to train a manager to be 
an expert. At Apple, hardware experts manage hardware, 
software experts software, and so on. (Deviations from 
this principle are rare.) This approach cascades down all 
levels of the organization through areas of ever- increasing 
2019
DESIGN
OPERATIONS
SA
LE
S
HARDWARE

ENGINEERING
RETAIL
PEOPLE
SOFTWARE
FINANCE
SERVICES
LEGAL
MACHINE LEARNING & 
AI
CORPORATE COMM.
HARDWARE
SOFTWARE
MARKETING
OPERATIONS
SERVICES & SUPPORT
SALES
FINANCE
LEGAL
MARKETING
ENVIRONMENT,

POLICY & SO
CIAL
HARD
W
ARE

TECHNOLOGIES
MARKETING COMM.
CORPORATE DEV.