To maximize strategy, your competitor needs to have the right people driving its operations. Understanding the moves at the top of its org chart will clue you in on the momentum its board wants to create. Let’s look at Apple, for example, one of the world’s most secretive companies.
Apple org chart
Paul Deneve comes from YSL. He has recently joined as Senior Vice President Special Projects reporting to Tim Cook. Angela Agrenght comes from Burberry. She is joining as Senior Vice President Retail & Online also reporting to Tim Cook. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, is one of the busiest executives on earth. Yet he takes the time to be a Director at Nike, the sport apparel leader. Let’s see whether the market numbers match.
Apple market data
A growing number of wearable technology devices such as the FitBit Flex, the Nike Fuelband or the Google Glass are making headlines. In 2013, the installed-base of fast-growing phones is outpaced by the installed-base of connected devices helping health, security, heating or traffic regulation (source Business Insider). You can use the information to predict what the company might do next.
How can we apply this to your next-door competitor ?
1. Watch your competitor’s company org chart
Be alerted weekly or monthly with the movements within the org chart. Then, examine whether the new hires have different professional profiles from the quitters. If they are consistently different, something strategic is happening. In our case we have seen several IT profiles being replaced by profiles coming from the fashion and luxury industries.
2. Watch the industry org charts
Be alerted weekly or monthly about movements within the industry. Look for new titles to emerge. Examine business titles for key words that seem new, weird or odd such as digital, sustainable, governance, risk… Draw your conclusions based on the shifts that are happening.
3. Dig into the org charts of the 5 leaders
Then it might be time to understand the difference of organization between the leaders at the corporate level and at the regional or divisional levels. You will be able to determine the main industry business models and the most efficient go-to-markets.
Org charts cannot lie
Whether you are a board member, a senior executive, or a job applicant, the org chart will never lie to you. Why? The company needs to have the right leaders to consistently deliver its products, services and results. The org chart displays on single picture the relative position of each executive. Each piece of the jigsaw has to match to make it work.
Picture credit Manu Cornet
