Photo: Apple
In an interview on LinkedIn’s “Hello Monday” podcast, Angela Ahrendts, former CEO of Burberry and then head of Apple’s retail business, discussed her career journey from her roots in Indiana and the role that intuition has played in her decision-making in business.
Ms. Ahrendts, who was credited with repositioning a struggling Burberry brand with a digital focus on younger consumers before joining Apple, talked about three lessons she learned while at the tech giant.
“One,” she told Jessi Hempel, host of the podcast, “never forget where you came from. And what I mean by that is no different than at Burberry. We looked back, because that's your foundation, right? That’s who founded the business, etc. When I came into Apple, I'd go out in the field and they’d talk about, ‘Steve [Jobs] said our job was to enrich lives’ and ‘Steve said this,’ right? I could have thrown all that out, but I thought no, let's codify that. Let's protect that.”
Ms. Ahrendt’s second lesson was “move faster than you could ever fathom.” She talked about Apple’s workforce (and consumers) who are “living” on Instagram, YouTube, getting rides from Uber and staying at Airbnb locations. “I told leaders early on to move fast. And then the team is begging for it.”
The third lesson Ms. Ahrendt’s learned at Apple “was never forget you have a greater responsibility.” She said Apple’s business was more than just operating stores and selling iPhones. She pointed to Mr. Job’s “enriching lives” philosophy. “Maybe that's what Steve meant when he talked about ... liberal arts and technology and the impact it could have on humanity.”
Having a positive impact on the community is central to Apple’s corporate and retail philosophy.
“That's what the Today at Apple experience, which is free of charge, teaches,” said Ms. Ahrendts. “It's not a coincidence that it's only teaching liberal arts: how to make you a better videographer or photographer or app developer or musician. Because I do believe that that's what you're going to need in the future.”
Harking on the “never forget where you came from” theme, Ms. Ahrendts described her role as a “steward” of Apple’s retail business while at the company.
“I’ve never asked for a title. I’ve never asked for a raise. I’ve never asked for anything,” said Ms. Ahrendts. “All I’ve done is always try to do what’s best for the company at that point in time and everything else just falls into place.”
She advised younger people in the workforce to “be selfless and you will make an incredible impact.”
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