Page 44 - The Apple Experience

in a person’s demeanor and mannerisms; it’s in their smile. Is it sincere? It’s
the way you shake my hand, look me in the eye, the way you say hello.”

If you want to know what makes Apple great, Steve Jobs had an answer.

“Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it

were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also

happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.” If you hire
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cookie-cutter employees, you’ll create a plain vanilla brand. In some cases

plain vanilla might suit you just fine, and if you’re happy with it, that’s
perfectly OK … especially with your competitors. According to Jobs’s

biographer Walter Isaacson, “Jobs’s primary test for recruiting people in the

spring of 1981 to be part of his merry band of pirates was making sure they

had a passion for the product. He would sometimes bring candidates into a

room where a prototype of the Mac was covered by a cloth, dramatically

unveil it, and watch. If their eyes lit up, if they went right for the mouse and

started pointing and clicking, Steve would smile and hire them. He wanted
them to say wow!”
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Ron Johnson once said that Apple wants to reach your heart instead of

your wallet. If you can touch your customers’ hearts, profits will follow. But

no company can touch hearts with heartless staff. Hire nice, friendly

employees who have a passion for service and enthusiasm for your product.

Hire those who say “wow!” They are the soul of your company.

CHECKOUT

1. Visit an Apple store and watch the employees. Take note of their personalities,

watch the way they behave and interact with each other and the customers. Visit

Disneyland or Disney World with kids. Take note of the smiles you see on the
faces of the staff and how they interact with you, the children, and with each

other.