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.
