http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6vu2QDeHuo&list=PLh1pT5iJrkNFwQw59nusstMx6ZA5ILjzJThere are companies that are relatively transparent and then there are some that are notoriously closed off.
By far, one of the most secretive is Apple.
Fortune senior editor Adam Lashinsky recently wrote a book on Steve Jobs and the inner workings of Apple with his book “Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired and Secretive Company Really Works.”
Last week, Lashinsky was the latest guest to appear in the Zillow Speaker Series when he stopped by Zillow’s Seattle headquarters to give his take on the power player of Silicon Valley.
Lashinsky said he applied “shoe-leather investigative journalism” to paint a picture of how the notoriously private Apple works day in and day out.
He interviewed as many employees as he could, from the very bottom of the supply chain to top executives, for the book “Inside Apple,” with many of them speaking on condition of anonymity.
What he discovered was a whimsical brand run by a “work-oriented” company.
“People at Apple have a sense of mission,” Lashinsky explained. “It’s not all shiny and happy inside the doors.”
In spite of the corporation’s sometimes-harsh reputation, Lashinsky argued that every company could learn from Apple — especially in their marketing strategy.
“Every company could be better about honing its message,” he said.
See the video here.
Want to hear from influential speakers like Adam Lashinsky in person? Check out Zillow’s jobs page — we’re hiring.
Previous Z Speaker Series guests include:
- Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
- John Cook of GeekWire
- FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski
- Gordon Stephenson of Real Property Associates
- Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital
- Richard Tait of Cranium
- Adrian Hanauer of Sounders FC
- Steve Souders of Google
See a snippet of the conversation with Adam Lashinsky in a video embedded at the top of the post.