In the Clear Lessons video featured below, Julian Wilson describes working for Apple in the 1980s and how their inclusive, ‘grown-up’ approach has influenced his management style ever since.
When walking into the Apple office in the mid '80s one day, Julian Wilson noticed no familiar faces - everyone on reception and the switchboard was new: "There was an important announcement being made, coming from the CEO, and the way Apple handled those things was to allow all people, all employees, all geographies, from Japan to the UK, to Europe, to North America to hear the same information at the same time.
“And the company facilitated that by putting in place global video conferencing networks and links, gathering people in the same place, replacing the staff who had to be there in the operational functions with outsiders or third-parties where possible, to deliver that information at the same time. And it was very powerful. It gave me goosebumps when it happened.
“There's a sort of 'grown-upness' about this which I like. It's not condescending. It assumes people can assimilate information and deal with it themselves. And I would say that that's impacted not only the way I work in business, but it’s certainly impacted the way I am as a father - or I try to be - at home.”
Watch the full video here
More on Julian...
Julian Wilson is the Product Owner Group Innovation at Barclays. He has spent his entire career working in information technology and turning ideas into software services or businesses at Apple, AT&T Unisource, the UK Government and as the founder of his own Internet software companies. Now at Barclays, his current focus is on the building blocks of crypto currency [blockchain et al] and their potential to improve the ways to move money, manage identity and enable participation.
