The Committees
Quote from Ndubuisi Ekekwe on March 12, 2018, 7:07 PMDuring the time of Steve Jobs ran Apple, there was ZERO committee in Apple. It is possible that has changed under Tim Cook. But until that information is made public, Apple could be the largest entity on earth without a committee. If you are a senior manager in an African bank, it is possible you are in at least 5 committees. Those committees consume up to 70% of your time. Just like that, the job is now producing committee reports. Customers should wait. Sure, committees are part of the structure because the systems are complicated.
But if you are running an internet startup, never attempt that path. You would likely fail. It is a sector where product “recall” can be fixed within minutes [yes, update the code]. I recommend you put ONE person who can make a decision, though that person can source insights from others. Meetings are fine but committees add marginal value as you need to move fast and break things.
During the time of Steve Jobs ran Apple, there was ZERO committee in Apple. It is possible that has changed under Tim Cook. But until that information is made public, Apple could be the largest entity on earth without a committee. If you are a senior manager in an African bank, it is possible you are in at least 5 committees. Those committees consume up to 70% of your time. Just like that, the job is now producing committee reports. Customers should wait. Sure, committees are part of the structure because the systems are complicated.
But if you are running an internet startup, never attempt that path. You would likely fail. It is a sector where product “recall” can be fixed within minutes [yes, update the code]. I recommend you put ONE person who can make a decision, though that person can source insights from others. Meetings are fine but committees add marginal value as you need to move fast and break things.