Page 59 - The Apple Experience

CHAPTER 4

Build Trust

Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them
greatly and they will show themselves great.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Apple does not like to hire arrogant techies who think they know it all,

because as star employees will tell you, you can’t know everything. Just when

you think you have it figured out, the demanding Apple customer will throw

you a question, concern, or situation you simply haven’t prepared to address.

The goal is not to impress customers with knowledge. The goal is to leave

customers feeling special and to enrich their lives.
Apple looks for personality and for those who can handle “ambiguity.” If

an employee has internalized the vision, knows the messaging, has engaged

in fearless feedback, and trusts her team and her managers, she will be much

more effective in dealing with unexpected questions, demands, and concerns.

She will confidently make on-the-spot decisions for the good of the customer

relationship.

Building a Trusting Relationship

Although Apple does not require that its managers read Speed of Trust by

Stephen M. R. Covey, I’ve met several managers who are familiar with

Covey’s thirteen behaviors of “high-trust leaders” and try to instill these