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Steve Jobs and Management by Meaning8:23 AM Friday October 7, 2011by Roberto Verganti

Steve Jobs has always been considered an anomaly in management; his leadership style

was something to admire or to criticize, but definitely not to replicate. He did not fit into theframeworks of business textbooks: there was orthodox management, and then there wasSteve Jobs.The reason why institutional management theories have always looked at his style as anexception is that he was navigating a territory that is often obscure to management: thecreation of meaning, both for customers and employees.He put people at the center. Which does not imply that he gave users what they wanted, nor

that he created a flat playful organization where ideas flew from the bottom up. Apple'sapproach to innovation is definitely not user-driven: it does not listen to users, but makes

proposals to them (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/01/how_apple_innovates_by_telling.html) .And narrations on Jobs's leadership style tells of a vertical, top-down approach, often harsh.At new product launches, he, not the team, was the protagonist."Managing by meaning" is recognizing that people are human: they have rational, cultural,and emotional dimensions, and they appreciate the person who creates a meaning for themto embrace. We know customers do not buy Apple's product simply because of utility orfunctionality; people are even prone to forgive some of Apple's technical limitations inexchange for great design and identity. For Jobs, design was not only beauty, but creatingnew meanings for users.Jobs was constantly driven by the search for products that made more sense to people. AndApple has been a champion in creating new product meanings(http://hbr.org/2011/10/designing-breakthrough-products/ar/1): the iMac G3, released in 1998,with his colorful translucent materials inspired by modern households products, changed themeaning of computers from office objects to home devices; the iPod plus the iTunesapplication and store created a new meaning in the world of music accessibility bymaking it easier to search, discover, buy, listen to, and organize music wherever a customer

was; the iPhone turned the meaning of smart phones from objects for business to objects ofsocial entertainment. These products where not necessarily best in class in terms of

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performance, but they were more meaningful to users.Jobs also offered meaning to his employees. It is known that Apple's employees worked hardon visionary projects, striving to meet targets and to satisfy their leader's maniacal attention todetail. Jobs infused them with a sense of mission. Apple had to leave a mark in the world of

computing, improve people's lives, be bold and, of course, "think different."

Experts and academics in business schools have often dismissed this approach asthe outcome of the unique personality of Steve Jobs. A kind of "guru process," as acolleague once told me. Nothing to be considered as a role model. The reason is thatinstitutional management is rooted into analytics, engineering, and the social sciences. Jobs

had no disdain for these, but meaning is connected to other, more slippery territories: cultureand the humanities, which unfortunately business schools hardly master. During an interview,Jobs stated that (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs) "The only problem with Microsoft is

that they absolutely just have no taste. I mean that in the big way. [...] They don't bring muchculture into their product. Proportionally spaced fonts come from typesetting and beautiful

books." And in 2010, during his keynote for the launch of the iPad, he said(http://live.gdgt.com/live-apple-come-see-our-latest-creation-tablet-event-coverage/) , "Thereason we've been able to create products like this is because we've tried to be at theintersection of technology and liberal arts."Institutional management is scared by culture and the humanities. They are not measurableand cannot be codified in processes. They depend on the person. What Jobs taught us is thatmanagers are people before being managers. They have a personal vision of the world,painstakingly developed through years of research and exploration in life. Why shouldmanager forget about culture? No method, tools and process can give you the capability tocreate meaning, to create visions. Only your personal culture, that no one can imitate, can.

Jobs showed that business and culture are not in contradiction, but rather they sustain eachother. Isn't it time to consider this as a model instead of an anomaly? Can't Jobs becomeinstitutional and "management by meaning" become a core chapter in the future textbooks ofmanagement?

For more commentary, see our special section The Legacy of Steve Jobs (http://hbr.org/special-

collections/steve-jobs) .