Many of you are probably familiar with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple.
But you may not be familiar with how he got there.
After all, Steve Jobs was the most iconic businessperson during his tenure at Apple.
With the ability to create blockbuster products like the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, and build
multi-billion dollar companies like Apple and Pixar.
He was often described as being an innovator, visionary, and genius.
With such a high level of charisma that he could distort reality and convince anyone
to do exactly what he wanted.
So, why then, did someone like Tim Cook become his successor?
At first glance, Cook was the complete opposite of Jobs.
Quiet and reserved, with a background in operations and data analysis instead of products.
And prior to becoming CEO, he wasn’t really one of the star players in Apple’s executive
lineup.
That title usually went to Jonathan Ive or Phil Schiller, who were often featured in
Apple’s keynotes and promotional videos.
So how did he end up taking the top spot at Apple, by becoming the company’s CEO?
Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to explain in this video.
This is Greg with Apple Explained, and I just want to take a moment to point out that yesterday
was Apple’s 45 year anniversary, being founded on April fools day back in 1976.
And while Jobs was there from day one, Tim Cook didn’t join the company until 1998.
But in order to really understand Cook’s qualifications, we have to go back further.
He began his career in 1982, when he was hired onto IBM’s personal computer division.
Cook worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming the director of North American fulfillment.
His success at IBM caught the attention of Intelligent Electronics, who offered Cook
a position as chief operating officer of their computer reseller division.
He took the job, and developed a reputation of being a logistics mastermind.
Implementing a production methodology called just-in-time manufacturing, where products
spent as little time as possible in the production phase, and as little time as possible sitting
in warehouses.
Resulting in less cost for the company, but also faster delivery times for customers.
Cook became a well-known logistics figure in the computer business, and was eventually
offered an executive position at Compaq as their vice president for corporate materials.
He took the job, but didn’t stick around for long.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, he realized that the company was in need of
a production overhaul.
Competitors like HP were already entering the e-commerce space by selling computers
online, and experiencing success thanks to their tightly integrated production.
So Jobs set out to find someone who could do the same at Apple, quickly deciding Tim
Cook was just the man he needed.
So Jobs invited him to Apple’s campus for an interview.
Cook accepted.
Not because he was looking to leave his executive position at Compaq, the most successful computer
company in the world at the time.
But because he simply wanted to meet Steve Jobs.
The guy who helped pioneer the entire computer industry.
But when he arrived at the meeting and listened to Jobs speak, Cook experienced something
he least expected.
A desire and excitement to work for Apple.
And there were countless logical reasons why that was a bad idea.
Apple had been hemorrhaging money for years, releasing one failed product after another,
and replacing CEOs on a regular basis.
Not to mention they were estimated to be ninety days away from bankruptcy.
And while Jobs was back with Apple, even he wasn’t sure the company could be turned
around.
He sold all his stock in Apple except for one symbolic share.
At the time of Cook’s interview, there were no signs of Apple’s recovery.
In fact, their survival depended entirely on the success of their next product, the
iMac.
And considering Apple hadn’t released a big hit since the Apple II, most people were
betting against them.
And that’s what made Tim Cooks’ decision to join Apple so insane.
He was jumping ship from the most popular computer company in the world, which he’d
just joined six months prior, to one that was in the process of sinking.
It was a move that stunned his family and colleagues, since it made no logical sense
whatsoever.
But it wasn’t logic that guided his decision.
Looking back in an interview with David Rubenstein, he said, “it wasn’t a decision that you
could sit down and do the engineering analysis saying here are the pluses here are the minuses,
because that analysis would always say stay put.
It was sort’ve this voice in your head that was saying ‘go west, young man, go west.’”
Now when I heard that, it reminded me of Steve Jobs saying intuition is more important than
intelligence.
And the fact that both Jobs and Cook share that ability to not only be in touch with
their intuition, but to have the guts to bet their career on it, makes it easier to understand
how Cook ended up replacing Jobs as CEO.
They were both guided by similar personal and professional philosophies, and probably
identified with each other on a very deep level.
Now Cook did end up joining Apple as served as their senior vice president for worldwide
operations.
Where he closed factories and warehouses and replaced them with contract manufacturers.
This dramatically reduced how much inventory Apple needed to have on hand.
From a few months-worth of product, to just a few days-worth.
He was also responsible for securing crucial parts for upcoming products.
Like creating long-term deals with suppliers for flash memory cards back in 2005.
Years before the technology went mainstream.
That deal allowed Apple to release three high-volume products in just five years: the iPod nano
in 2005, iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010, since there weren’t any supply contracts
or bottlenecks.
That gave Apple a competitive advantage over companies like HP, who released an iPad competitor
in 2011 called the HP TouchPad, which workers said was made from, quote, “cast off, reject
iPad parts.”
It also saved Apple money, since demand for those parts were lower in 2005 than 2011 when
everyone was playing catch-up with the iPhone and iPad.
Cook’s incredible job performance earned him a promotion in 2007 to Apple’s chief
operating officer.
He worked closely with all of the company’s executives and made the visions of Steve Jobs
and Jonathan Ive possible by ensuring a means of mass production of their products and a
steady supply of parts.
Something that often hampers the final design of consumer products.
In fact, logistics is perhaps the most challenging and difficult part of a company.
That’s why, traditionally, all departments report to the production team.
The designers, marketers, and engineers, are all limited by whatever the production team
can manage to manufacture.
It’s easy to create one concept car, but it rarely enters mass production since it’s
impossible to manufacture at scale.
But Jobs ran Apple differently.
All departments there reported to the design team.
Who always had the final say.
So Cook was forced to plan ahead, and figure out a way to mass produce all their products
without any slowdowns and at the lowest price possible.
This is incredibly difficult work, that’s sadly rarely ever seen or acknowledged.
Logistics isn’t a sexy job like product design or software engineering.
So people like Tim Cook making it all run smoothly behind the scenes, don’t often
receive much of the limelight.
That’s why, whenever there were talks about who would replace Jobs, Cook’s name was
rarely mentioned.
Instead, people suggested Jonathan Ive, Apple’s iconic industrial designer.
Or Scott Forstall, their legendary software engineer that designed the Mac’s Aqua interface.
But neither of those people would’ve been a good choice.
Because the job of CEO isn’t to be the best product designer, or software engineer, Steve
Jobs himself was neither of those things.
It’s to be the best leader.
Who can recognize great people, make great decisions often based on intuition, and bring
the best out of their workers, all to ensure the company runs smoothly and is headed in
the right direction.
And when it comes to those qualities, no one at Apple was better than Tim Cook.
In the same interview I mentioned earlier, Cook was asked if he was a star athlete, star
scholar, or tech nerd growing up.
And Cook responded, “I’m not sure I would say I was a star anything.”
And I think that happens to be his defining characteristic and biggest strength.
Cook is one of the most well-rounded executives Apple’s ever had.
He may not be designing products, but he does have a degree in industrial engineering.
He may not build machinery for assembly lines, but he did have a hand in employing robotic
manufacturing at IBM.
And he may not have the most charismatic personality, but his abilities as a team leader and manager
have earned him praise from workers.
Who say he’s less aggressive and more likely to reward someone for a job well done, whereas
Jobs assumed doing great work was reward enough.
He even avoided the number one pitfall of CEOs replacing legendary leaders like Walt
Disney or Steve Jobs who’ve been deemed irreplaceable.
The new CEO often tries making decisions based on what the previous CEO might do, instead
of doing what they think is right.
And Cook has proven to be his own leader, with his own style, and his own priorities.
He’s much more focused on human rights, philanthropy, and environmental efforts than
Jobs, but he shares the same love and unwavering commitment to Apple.
And the decisions he’s made so far, have led to the company becoming the most valuable
in the world, and the most popular among customers.
Something I’m sure Jobs would be very proud of if he were around today.
Alright guys thanks for watching till the end, and don’t forget to subscribe to help
decide which topics I cover.