Book Excerpt: Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple To The Next Level, by Leander Kahney
Less than two weeks after he asked Cook to take over as CEO, Jobs resigned and publicly announced him as his successor. A lot of Apple watchers assumed that Jobs wasn’t really leaving and that this change wouldn’t have a significant impact on Apple, since Jobs would still be a huge part of the company. He had taken leaves of absence before and had always returned. And after stepping down, he was immediately named the Chairman of the company, which implied his continued oversight of Apple’s future.
But Apple’s board was concerned about public opinion— they wanted the world to see what they saw in Cook. He might not have been as beloved a figure as Steve Jobs, but it was important that the public learned to love him for his unique strengths— and to have faith that though it would be different, he would run the company just as well as Jobs had done.
An Apple press release announced Jobs’s resignation and Cook’s ascension to CEO. “The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” said Art Levinson, chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s board. “Tim’s years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”
The same day that Jobs’s resignation was announced, both the Wall Street Journal and AllThingsD’s Walt Mossberg cited sources “familiar with the situation” as saying that Jobs would continue to be as active as ever in dictating Apple’s product strategy. He wasn’t going anywhere; Cook would run Apple operationally, but Jobs would be involved in “developing major future products and strategy.”
People looked for clues wherever they could find them to prove that Jobs was okay; Jobs wasn’t quitting the board of directors at Disney or stepping away from Apple completely— most refused to believe that his health had taken a “sudden worsening.” Apple’s share price only dipped a little— less than a per cent. Even the market didn’t truly believe he was out of the picture.
Cook accepted the role of CEO, acknowledging that he was going to work within the system that Jobs had established. It couldn’t have been less like Jobs’s return in 1997. Unlike Jobs, Cook wasn’t going to tear down what wasn’t working and rebuild; he had been a steady captain in his role as COO and planned to keep the ship on its existing trajectory.
Unsurprisingly, he did not immediately announce any major changes that would cause investors or fans concern. He wanted to earn their trust first. Plus, according to one widely reported rumor at the time, Jobs had left a detailed plan for a pipeline of products (rumoured to be new iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV) that would extend for the next four years at least.
Jobs’ influence wasn’t going away anytime soon. Any changes Cook implemented would be quiet and behind the scenes, just as his previous contributions to Apple had been. Transitioning from COO to CEO, he became more involved in the day- to- day administrative matters, something that Jobs rarely had the patience for. He took a more hands-on approach to promotions and corporate reporting structures. He also increased Apple’s focus on education and launched a new charitable matching program. (Jobs, by contrast, had canceled many of Apple’s charitable initiatives after taking over as CEO.)
Cook wanted to create a sense of company camaraderie, which was lacking when Jobs was at the helm, so he took to sending more company-wide emails, in which he addressed the Apple employees as “Team.” One of his earliest such messages as CEO, in August, struck a reassuring tone:
I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. . . . Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor . . . [and] we are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman. I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. . . . Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that. . . . I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.
Taking a more hands-on approach to interactions with staff was different from Jobs’ style. Cook’s first email sparked a trend within the company that helped a new culture to develop under his leadership. His emails and other internal communications, such as town-hall meetings, helped the new CEO spread his values throughout the company.
He also made a conscious effort to adopt some of the things that Jobs had done to establish a sense of continuity between the two leaders. One neat touch Jobs had employed to make himself more approachable was to have a publicly available email address: steve@apple.com or sjobs@apple.com. Cook continued this tradition, responding personally to some of the hundreds of emails that flocked in following his CEO appointment.
One correspondent, a man named Justin R, wrote to Cook, “Tim, just wanted to wish you the best of luck, and to let you know that there are a lot of us that are excited to see where Apple is going. Oh, one more thing— WAR DAMN EAGLE!” (a reference to the “War Eagle” battle cry of Cook’s alma mater, Auburn University). And of course, Cook responded: “Thanks Justin. War Eagle forever!” He wasn’t just a boring operations guy— these emails gave the public a taste of his personality and showed that he was a leader dedicated not only to his company but to his customers as well.
Cook was beginning this smooth transition to permanent CEO as the visionary leader who had come to define Apple moved into his new position as Chairman. But unfortunately, Jobs would not remain Apple’s Chairman for long.