It is not unusual for a company to have regular training programs within the system, not surprisingly, Apple takes its training a step further by teaching employees how to think like Steve Jobs.
The Apple secret University, founded by Jobs in 2008, is exclusive and highly selective. The program teaches employees about Apple’s culture, history and what it means to be an employee of the company.
The University offers different courses from ‘’Integrating your recently purchased company into Apple’’, an orientation that would be very useful to the likes of Dr Dre and the recently acquired Beats by Dre Team, to ‘’What makes Apple, Apple’’. This course enlightens participants on the ‘’less is more’’ approach Apple adopts in its innovation. One example of such is the comparison between Google’s failed TV initiative and Apple’s TV remote. The former had 78 buttons on its remote while the latter had only 7. Another example is a comparison between Apple and Picasso using lithographs to illustrate the Apple culture and style.
“You go through more iterations until you can simply deliver your message in a very concise way, and that is true to the Apple brand and everything we do,” One of the course attendees remarked.
The former dean of Yale School of Management, Joel Podolny, was given the task of managing the program by Jobs. The program attracts a host of members from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Havard and Stanford. The University is located at Apple’s headquarters in California with the programs being available all year round. However none of the programs are compulsory.