Why ‘Apple University’ teaches new hires Picasso
Steve Jobs established Apple University to teach employees about Apple’s history and culture. Although the courses are not required, Apple’s new recruits usually do enroll.
“This training program is a lot more extensive than pretty much every other corporate training program that I’ve heard of,” says Brian Chen, technology reporter at The New York Times.
One class instructor compared the 11 lithographs of Pablo Picasso’s “The Bull” to the way Apple builds their devices, as a way to teach the class how to communicate at Apple.
“They like to start out with an idea and whittle it down as much as possible, until it speaks just clearly enough for the consumer,” says Chen. “It’s just a general way that they try to teach employees to think about communicating.”
Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
