The R6 model rests on three fundamental axes of tension, present at every level of the organisation — strategy, organisation, individual. But a tension is not a problem to be solved: it is a balance to be calibrated. To illustrate concretely what it means to "position oneself" on each of these axes, here are six emblematic figures from the business world — two per axis, each embodying one of the poles in an exemplary way.
None of these figures is "right" against the other. They show that both poles are legitimate, necessary, and that performance consists in consciously choosing where to stand — according to context, maturity and objectives.
The first axis questions the organisation's relationship to its own identity. Should it preserve what sets it apart, or reinvent itself to survive and grow? Both answers are valid — provided they are chosen with clear eyes.
Pole 1a — Stability: Bernard Arnault (LVMH)
Bernard Arnault embodies the capacity to durably anchor an organisation in its founding values. His strength lies in the coherence between strategic discourse and operational decisions, sustained over decades and across dozens of houses with distinct cultures. Under pressure from markets or trends, he does not waver: identity and prestige are non-negotiable. This setting stabilises the system through clear direction and unwavering fidelity to brand principles.
His setting: permanence of identity and strategic coherence.
Pole 1b — Change: Steve Jobs (Apple)
Steve Jobs represents strategic plasticity taken to its extreme. He illustrated the capacity to systematically challenge existing practices — pivoting from computing to music, then to mobile — without ever losing the organisation's momentum. This setting transforms obsolete routines into opportunities, and turns uncertainty into a learning ground rather than a threat.
His setting: disruption through innovation and structural plasticity.
The second axis concerns how decisions flow through the organisation. Should power be distributed to gain speed and responsiveness? Or should interdependencies be structured to ensure global coherence? Both postures coexist in any healthy organisation — the question is which to prioritise, and at what level.
Pole 2a — Autonomy: Richard Branson (Virgin Group)
Richard Branson built Virgin on a principle of radical subsidiarity: each entity within the group holds its own legitimacy to decide as close to the action as possible. This model optimises decision speed and local initiative, while maintaining an explicit framework of accountability. Authority is not absent — it is deliberately distributed.
His setting: subsidiarity and distributed autonomy.
Pole 2b — Interdependence: Tim Cook (Apple)
Tim Cook is the symmetrical opposite: where Branson distributes, Cook synchronises. He built his success on integrating an extraordinarily complex global ecosystem — suppliers, internal divisions, partners — transforming potentially conflicting interactions into fluid synergy. This setting ensures global coherence through rigorous dialogue mechanisms and carefully designed interfaces.
His setting: systemic synergy and ecosystem management.
The third axis concerns how the organisation brings its strategy to life. Should it own and control its means of production to guarantee execution? Or create the conditions for others to produce on its behalf, at a scale it could not reach alone?
Pole 3a — Production: Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX)
Elon Musk embodies vertical integration pushed to its limit. His approach consists of owning and controlling the means of production internally — factories, software, supply chains — to ensure that strategy materialises without external dependency. This setting anchors the organisation in operational reality through direct technical mastery and an absolute focus on tangible results.
His setting: industrial verticality and mastery of execution.
Pole 3b — Orchestration: Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
Jeff Bezos built Amazon on the inverse principle: not owning, but orchestrating. The Marketplace, AWS, shared logistics — systems that coordinate millions of external actors without permanent direct control. This setting enables rapid scaling by managing complexity through clear objectives and mediation systems, rather than through personal execution.
His setting: platform leverage and resource networking.
None of these leaders is reducible to a single pole. Arnault is not solely stability, nor Jobs solely disruption — and that is precisely where the R6 model becomes interesting. Each profile has a legible dominant, but it also reveals, in negative space, how the other axes are managed, compensated, or sometimes neglected.
We have dedicated a detailed analysis to each of these leaders: how their style articulates the three axes, where their structural strengths lie, and what their trajectory teaches about the real trade-offs of leadership. These portraits are more nuanced than their reputations — and often more instructive.