How Apple Is Organized for Innovation
Apple 如何组织创新

From the Magazine (November-December 2020)
来自杂志（2020 年 11 月至 12 月）

Mikael Jansson/Trunk Archive
Mikael Jansson/Trunk 档案

Summary. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, in 1997, it had a conventional structure for a company of its size and scope. It was divided into business units, each with its own P&L responsibilities. Believing that conventional management had stifled innovation, Jobs laid off the general managers of all the business units (in a single day), put the entire company under one P&L, and combined the disparate functional departments of the business units into one functional organization. Although such a structure is common for small entrepreneurial firms, Apple-remarkably-retains it today, even though the company is nearly 40 times as large in terms of revenue and far more complex than it was in 1997. In this article the authors discuss the innovation benefits and leadership challenges of Apple’s distinctive and ever-evolving organizational model in the belief that it may be useful for other companies competing in rapidly changing environments. close
总结。当史蒂夫乔布斯于 1997 年重返苹果公司时，对于其规模和范围的公司来说，苹果的结构很传统。它被划分为多个业务部门，每个业务部门都有自己的损益责任。乔布斯认为传统管理扼杀了创新，因此（在一天内）解雇了所有业务部门的总经理，将整个公司置于一个损益表下，并将业务部门的不同职能部门合并为一个职能组织。尽管这种结构在小型创业公司中很常见，但 Apple 今天仍然保留着它，尽管该公司的收入规模几乎是 1997 年的 40 倍，而且要复杂得多。在本文中，作者讨论了 Apple 独特且不断发展的组织模式的创新优势和领导力挑战，他们相信它可能对在快速变化的环境中竞争的其他公司有用。关闭

Apple is well-known for its innovations in hardware, software, and services. Thanks to them, it grew from some 8,000 employees and $\mathrm{\$}7$$\mathrm{\$}7$$7\$ 7 billion in revenue in 1997, the year Steve Jobs returned, to 137,000 employees and $\mathrm{\$}260$$\mathrm{\$}260$$260\$ 260 billion in revenue in 2019. Much less well-known are the organizational design and the associated leadership model that have played a crucial role in the company’s innovation success.
Apple 以其在硬件、软件和服务方面的创新而闻名。多亏了他们，它从 1997 年（史蒂夫乔布斯回归的那一年）的约 8,000 名员工和 $\mathrm{\$}7$$\mathrm{\$}7$$7\$ 7 10 亿美元的收入增长到 2019 年的 137,000 名员工和 $\mathrm{\$}260$$\mathrm{\$}260$$260\$ 260 10 亿美元的收入。鲜为人知的是，在公司创新成功中发挥关键作用的组织设计和相关的领导模式。

When Jobs arrived back at Apple, it had a conventional structure for a company of its size and scope. It was divided into business units, each with its own P&L responsibilities. General managers ran the Macintosh products group, the information appliances division, and the server products division, among others. As is often the case with decentralized business units, managers were inclined to fight with one another, over transfer prices in particular. Believing that conventional management had stifled innovation, Jobs, in his first year returning as CEO, laid off the general managers of all the business units (in a single day), put the entire company under one P&L, and combined the disparate functional departments of the business units into one functional organization.
当乔布斯回到 Apple 时，对于这种规模和范围的公司来说，它有一个传统的结构。它被划分为多个业务部门，每个业务部门都有自己的损益责任。总经理负责 Macintosh 产品组、信息设备部门和服务器产品部门等。与分散的业务部门一样，经理们倾向于相互争论，尤其是在转让价格上。乔布斯认为传统管理扼杀了创新，因此在他担任 CEO 的第一年，他（在一天内）解雇了所有业务部门的总经理，将整个公司置于一个损益表下，并将业务部门的不同职能部门合并为一个职能组织。

In 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, it had a conventional structure for its size and scope. It was divided into business units, each with its own P&L responsibilities. After retaking the helm, Jobs put the entire company under one P&L and combined the disparate departments of the business units into one functional organization that aligns expertise with decision rights-a structure Apple retains to this day.
1997 年，当史蒂夫·乔布斯 （Steve Jobs） 重返 Apple 时，它的规模和范围采用了传统的结构。它被划分为多个业务部门，每个业务部门都有自己的损益责任。重新掌舵后，乔布斯将整个公司置于一个损益表下，并将业务部门的不同部门合并为一个职能组织，使专业知识与决策权保持一致——苹果公司至今仍保留着这种结构。

$\overline{\mathrm{\nabla }}\mathbf{H}\mathbf{B}\mathbf{R}$$\overline{\mathrm{\nabla }}\mathbf{H}\mathbf{B}\mathbf{R}$bar(grad)HBR\bar{\nabla} \mathbf{H B R}

See more HBR charts in Data & Visuals >
在数据和视觉>中查看更多HBR图表

The adoption of a functional structure may have been unsurprising for a company of Apple’s size at the time. What is surprising-in fact, remarkable-is that Apple retains it today, even though the company is nearly 40 times as large in terms of
对于当时 Apple 这种规模的公司来说，采用功能结构可能并不令人惊讶。令人惊讶的是——事实上，值得注意的是——苹果今天仍然保留着它，尽管该公司在以下方面规模几乎是 40 倍