When Steve Jobs resigned as Apple’s CEO in August 2011, he handpicked Tim Cook as
his successor.
Cook had been with the company since 1998, and earned the reputation of being an operations
mastermind.
Dramatically Apple’s reducing on-hand inventory and delivering products to customers faster
using a technique called just-in-time manufacturing.
But his greatest work has been performed over the past decade as CEO.
When Apple’s popularity and growth exploded in a way almost no one expected.
This has led many people to wonder about the man behind the machine: Tim Cook.
And what he does on a daily basis to stay at the top of his game.
So in this video, we’re going to take a peak behind Apple’s curtain, and find out
what a day in the life of Tim Cook is really like.
This is Greg with Apple Explained, and this was the last place topic of the previous voting
poll, which means I shouldn’t even be making this video.
But I already started working on the script, so I’m just putting this out as a short
bonus video for you guys.
Alright now let’s start with Cook’s morning routine.
He wakes up at 3:45am.
And spends about an hour going through some of the 700-800 emails he receives each day.
In an interview with Axios, he explained why.
Saying, “I like to… go through user comments and things like that, and sort of focus on
the external people that are so important to us.”
For breakfast, Cook typically enjoys two scrambled egg whites, turkey bacon, and sugar-free cereal
with unsweetened almond milk.
Then, around 5am, he goes to an undisclosed gym that’s located outside Apple’s headquarters,
for maximum privacy, and works out for an hour.
In fact, Cook is a self-described “fitness nut.”
Claiming his regular exercise routine helps keep stress at bay, which is probably important
for someone in charge of running the most valuable company in the world.
Next, Cook visits a local Starbucks to read through more emails before heading to Apple
Park.
Once he arrives at the office, his day is typically filled with meetings.
And despite his laid back demeanor, Cook is known to have little patience for unprepared
staffers.
In fact, workers who are scheduled to meet with Cook are first screened by their managers,
to make sure they’re ready to answer all of his questions.
And Cook is known to ask quite a few.
Steve Doil, who used to work on Cook’s operations team, said, “He’ll ask you ten questions.
If you answer them right, he’ll ask you ten more.
If you do this for a year, he’ll start asking you nine questions.
Get one wrong, and he’ll ask you 20 and then 30.”
One staffer who wasn’t fully prepared was quickly dismissed by Cook.
Who simply said, “next.”
As he flipped the page of his meeting agenda.
But I think the story that best illustrates Cook’s expectation of excellence, is during
a meeting about Apple’s poor performance in China.
Cook said, “This is really bad, someone should be in China driving this.”
Thirty minutes into the meeting, he looked at Sabih Khan, an operations executive, and
asked, with no emotion, “Why are you still here?”
Khan immediately stood up, drove to San Francisco International Airport, and, without any luggage,
booked a one-way ticket to China.
For lunch, Cook is known to stop by the company cafeteria and sit with random employees.
This allows him to hear from people in the company who might offer a unique perspective
outside the bubble of Apple’s executive team.
Cook is also known to be the last person to leave the office.
Arriving home just in time to be in bed by 8:45.
That means he works about 12 hours a day while sleeping for 7.
So while Tim Cook has been criticized for being a much different CEO than Steve Jobs,
the two have a surprising amount of characteristics in common.
Like working long hours, focusing on their health, holding their employees to the highest
standard, and always maintaining a balanced perspective on Apple by staying in touch with
their everyday customers.
So that is the day in the life of Tim Cook, if you’d like to help decide which topics
I cover in the future don’t forget to subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next video.