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410 PART 5: THE LEADER AS SOCIAL ARCHITECT

Exhibit 13.8 Linking Strategic Vision and Strategic Action

High
The Dreamer The Effective Leader
Vision
The Uninvolved The Doer
Low
Low High
Action

Source: Based on William D. Hitt, The Leader–Manager: Guidelines for Action (Columbus, OH: Battelle Press,
1988), p. 7.

implement the vision and strategy. For example, Steve Jobs of Apple has been
hailed as a visionary leader whose dream of merging the worlds of technology
and creative design keep Apple on the cutting edge. Yet Jobs also understand
the importance of implementation.

IN THE LEAD Steve Jobs, Apple
Steve Jobs transformed Apple from a personal computer manufacturer into a domi-
nant force in the digital entertainment business with the creation of the sleek, stylish
iPod and the iTunes music store, changing the rules of the game in consumer elec-
tronics, entertainment, and software. But now Apple faces growing competition
from Microsoft, Cingular, and other companies that are coming out with digital play-
ers and launching online music services. Jobs wants to make sure the iPod stays
a step ahead, and he wants to increase sales of Macintosh computers in direct
competition with Windows-based systems.
Jobs made a strategic decision in 2001 to get into the retail business in order
to increase visibility and sales. He hired Ron Johnson, a fast-track Target executive,
to help create a store experience that would be a physical embodiment of the
Apple brand. The showcase store in Manhattan, which customers enter through

a huge glass cube with a suspended Apple logo inside, reflects the company’s
reputation for clever design and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Jobs’s vision broke all the standard rules about computer retailing. For example,
conventional wisdom says stores selling expensive products like computers that are
purchased infrequently should be located on inexpensive sites. But Jobs wanted
to sell digital experiences, not just products. So, rather than building stand-alone
stores on cheap land, he decided to locate in expensive sites like shopping malls
and bustling downtown areas. Most employees are not there to sell but rather to
provide free help on how to use Macintosh computers, iPods, Apple software, and
accessories like digital cameras. Staff members are paid on salary rather than com-
mission, unlike employees in most other computer retailers, so they don’t feel pres-
sure to push products. Apple stores “can be seen as solution boutiques,” says Ted
Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research.
Getting into retailing was risky, but it has paid off. The Apple chain has become
a retailing phenomenon. Revenue for each square foot at Apple stores last year was
$2,489, compared to $971 at Best Buy, the huge computer and electronics chain.
Stores are buzzing with people checking e-mail, browsing the Web, or listening to
music. Think Starbucks without the lattes. Steve Jobs hopes the “Apple experience”
can grow as large and powerful as the Starbucks one has. 66