This August marks nine years since Tim Cook took over Apple after the death of Steve Jobs. And of course it is undeniable that thanks to his management, the Bitten Apple Company has become one of the largest companies in the world.
We will never know what would have happened if Jobs hadn't left because of a bloody cancer. But it is clear that Apple has not done badly since then. The Wall Street Journal he has just published an interesting analysis of Cook's work in these nine years.
The Wall Street Journal just published an interesting article where he analyzes the work done by Tim Cook as CEO of Apple since he took the reins of the company after the death of its founder Steve Jobs.
After Jobs' ill-fated disappearance in 2011, both Wall Street and Silicon Valley worried about Apple's future. They soon saw that they had nothing to worry about. Apple's revenue and profits have now more than doubled and the company's market valuation is higher than GDP of Canada, Russia or Spain.
Those gains have been made under Tim Cook, who succeeded Jobs in August 2011. According to a profile in The Wall Street Journal, the latest nine years they've seen the company change in Cook's way of thinking.
Jobs cared more about design, Cook about shareholders
Tim Cook and Steve Jobs, two different ways to lead Apple.
Compared to Jobs's outspoken devotion to the design, Cook is described as much more methodical and focused on finance and social good. Although Apple under Cook has a "more relaxed workplace" environment than Apple under Jobs, employees explain that Cook is just as "demanding and detailed."
The CEO's attention to details "Makes alternates enter meetings with trepidation." And Cook's precision has "changed the way company employees think and work," adds the Journal.
Current CEOs examine staff prior to meetings with Cook to make sure they are well informed. Beginners are advised not to speak. “It's about protecting your computer and protecting it. Don't waste his time, ”said a longtime executive.
If Cook realizes in a meeting that someone is not sufficiently prepared, he loses his patience and says, "Next," while turning the page of the meeting agenda.
Cook rarely visits the design studio Apple, which Jobs frequented very often. At a 2012 meeting to review an initial prototype of the Apple Watch, Cook was absent. Some veteran employees thought such an absence would have been unthinkable under Jobs.
Also unlike Jobs, who thought Apple's money was better directed at research and development, Cook is much more obsessed with returning cash to customers. shareholders of the company.
In 2013, Cook had a three-hour dinner with Wall Street investor Carl Icahn that ended with dessert consisting of cookies with the Apple logo.
Friends and acquaintances who spoke to the Journal said Cook was a "humble workaholic with a very special commitment to Apple." Even long-time friends rarely socialize with Cook, and former assistants explain that he rarely participates in personal events.
The proof of Apple's change may be in its products. The company has largely failed to launch the kind of products transgressors of the market that Jobs was famous for.
Instead, Apple has mastered the accessories surrounding the iPhone, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and services such as Apple Music, Apple TV + or Apple Arcade. The Apple Watch is close to one hundred million units sold, while the AirPods have accounted for more than half of all headphones sold in 2019 worldwide.