A Top CEO’s Playbook for Association Leaders

There isn't much that associations have in common with Apple. Associations generally aren't typically in the business of manufacturing; don't have to appeal to the masses or have millions of dollars handy to test out new ideas. 

But with longtime Apple CEO Tim Cook announcing this week that he intends to step down, his tenure does have a few things to say about matters that are core concerns to associations—stewardship of a mission, treatment of core constituencies and navigating difficult transitions. Associations can still be stuck in "we've always done it that way" thinking, and Apple was in many ways the ultimate "we've always done it that way" company—its vision was closely tied to whatever Steve Jobs, its cofounder and previous CEO, said it was.

So, unsurprisingly, many predicted that Cook would fail when he took the reins after Jobs' death in 2011. But an analysis in the Wall Street Journal points to a few things Cook did well right out of the gate. Some were crowd-pleasing gestures (paying out stock dividends, something Jobs resisted), while some were personality-driven (he made a point not to try to imitate Jobs’ often-brash leadership style). 

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.