In 2021, Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook’s ten-year contract expires. The outside world is very curious about his stay.
It has been 9 years since Jobs left. Cook who took over said that he had not been able to get rid of Jobs’ shadow for a long time.
At the Apple’s new product launch that year, Cook, who made his “first show” in front of the stage, was even accused of “no passion.” In a speech last year, Cook talked about how Jobs felt when he handed over the burden of managing Apple to him, “That was the loneliest moment in my life.” He knew that he would face the expectations of everyone, and he would also suffer intensely. question.
At the end of last month, Apple gave Cook a pair of “golden handcuffs.” According to the US Securities Regulatory Commission documents obtained by many media, Apple has granted Cook 333,987 restricted stock units. If the performance reaches the standard, Cook will receive an additional 667,974 shares. This is the second time that Cook has received equity incentives since 2011. Apple did this to keep Cook in office until at least 2025. Based on the closing price of the day, the value of this equity incentive is approximately 114 million US dollars.
The most intuitive, take Apple’s market value, from 0 to 1 trillion US dollars in market value, Apple has spent 38 years. After becoming the first company to break through $1 trillion in market value in August 2018, Apple has doubled its market value in two years. When Cook took office, Apple’s market value was less than $400 billion.
Regardless of the book, Cook’s characteristics of gentleness, calmness and focus on privacy have also changed Apple. It has become more environmentally friendly, privacy protection, and more diversified and equal.
Why Cook?
“When Cook took over Apple, the general view was that’Apple is done.’… This argument still exists to this day.
After the book “Cook’s Biography” was on the shelves, some people would still say “Cook has been praised, he is destroying Apple, and he should resign.” “The author of the book, Leander Kahney, said, “If you pay attention to objective metrics, from stock prices to company values, to sales of products like Apple Watch… you will find that people underestimate what Cook is doing. “The reporter who wrote a biography to Apple’s chief designer Jonathan Ive said, “He not only worked according to Jobs’ blueprint, but also transformed Apple in his own way.”
At the Apple’s new product launch in 2011, Cook, who made his “first show” in front of the stage, was even accused of “no passion”|Vision China
Before becoming Apple’s new CEO, few people paid attention to Cook .
From the outside world, Jonathan Ive, who has worked alongside Jobs since the development of the first generation of iMac (1998), is the “first pick” of the CEO candidate. They spent ten years building Apple into a brand that leads the world by excellent design. “Jobs called Ive his “spiritual partner” at Apple. They talked about products, manufacturing methods, and materials together, just like two children in a candy store.” The other was similar to Jobs, who was in charge of iOS at the time. Senior Vice President Scott Forstall (Scott Forstall), he is also known for his tough style and strict management, and was once called “mini-Steve” by Bloomberg.
Cook, who has never appeared in Apple product advertisements, became Apple’s CEO in 2011 as an “airborne soldier”. Many people feel strange and puzzled. At that time, there were too many differences between Cook’s image and people’s impression of Apple’s image in the Jobs era.
In fact, when Jobs was recuperating from illness in 2009 and 2011, Cook had been entrusted to serve as interim CEO. This gentle, calm, and operational manager successfully completed his mission of supervising and managing the company. During his transition from COO to CEO, the board of directors was very optimistic about Cook. And Cook himself didn’t just emerge in 2009. According to Kahney’s description, he almost started to play a huge role when he joined Apple in 1998.
In 1998, Apple was in trouble. Microsoft released Windows 95, which mimics the Macintosh operating system 3 years ago, and similar manufacturers such as IBM, Compaq, and Gateway are making computers based on Intel chips. Compared with Macs, these computers are much cheaper. At that time, Apple’s business line was severely redundant, and its products even reached more than 40 different models. The combination of Microsoft and Intel was a huge blow to Apple. In 1996, Apple’s market share dropped from 16% in its heyday to 4%.
“Even if Apple’s life was hanging by a thread at the time, Cook relied on his personal ability to turn the company over.” Greg Joswiak, a veteran who worked at Apple for more than 30 years, recalled, “Our operations were bad. It’s ok, cost control is extremely poor, inventory management is terrible, and accounting is messy.” In the first seven months of joining Apple, Cook reduced the inventory period from 30 days to 6 days, reducing unsold Mac inventory was reduced from 400 million US dollars to 78 million US dollars.
Before recruiting Cook, Apple had nearly strict control over hardware manufacturing, and Jobs hated outsourcing production. Finally, in order to improve production efficiency, Jobs slowly changed his attitude and poached Cook who was still at Compaq. After graduating from university, Cook joined IBM. IBM has adopted a very rigorous “just-in-time production method.” Cook must ensure that during the production process, all parts are supplied in the required quantity at the required time, and Cook is well trained for this. After working at IBM for 12 years, Cook joined Compaq. Compaq uses an optimized distribution model to transfer inventory costs to its outsourced manufacturers, who only assemble the complete machine when an order is received. Therefore, Compaq no longer needs a large warehouse for storing computers for sale.
Cook, who has a background in operations and procurement, has accelerated Apple’s outsourcing process. Cook also visited every supplier, finalized detailed supply standards, and invested in SAP (software company Si Aipu) to establish an advanced supply chain management system. Cook is not just a step-by-step operation. When Apple was preparing to enter the mainstream market for iMac G3, Cook booked a $100 million airline a few months in advance in order to deliver the computer to as many customers as possible. Capacity. In this way, even on important holidays, customers can receive the candy-colored computer that later became a big success.
Analyst Horace Dediu told Kahney that he believed that Jobs was the only generalist at Apple, and everyone else was an expert. Another person who plays this role is Cook. Cook started as an operations specialist and worked in supply chain related work. He was then promoted to sales manager and managed the Macintosh hardware department before being appointed as COO. So, like Jobs, he tried different jobs.
Do the right thing
In addition to his different personalities, Cook is also different from Jobs in the management of the company. “Jobs likes competition, and he also values the competition within the company. Back in the era of the original Macintosh and Mac, these two products were operated in two buildings with their own flags… He also took the same approach to the iPhone development. He asked Tony Fadell and Scott Fadell to compete internally to see who could think of the best ideas for developing mobile phones. They fought each and kept their work strictly confidential.” Kahney concluded, “Jobs encourages competition and repeats. Impermanence, and Cook is very good at cooperation and coordination. This is the skill necessary to run a large, diverse, and complex company like Apple.”
In addition to actively promoting cooperation between teams, Cook has also taken the initiative to apologize to the public on behalf of Apple many times.
In 2012, Apple’s Siri was unfavorable, and Apple Maps was called “the most embarrassing and impractical software Apple has ever released” by the New York Times. But after the incident, Scott Fausto, who was responsible for the development of these two apps, refused to send a letter of apology to users. In the face of public dissatisfaction, Cook took the initiative to apologize publicly and “boldly and decisively” fired “Little Jobs.” Internal employees believe that Fausto is playing power in the company and even started to run its own projects. In the view of Cook who values cooperation, these are intolerable. “I think it’s a bit like Cook’s “alternative thinking” moment. It’s like a public declaration of how Cook will manage Apple.” Kahney said in the interview.
After Cook took office in 2011, Apple has encountered many severe challenges. In 2012, the ABC special program Nightline and the “New York Times” published a survey report on Foxconn’s working conditions, casting a bleak shadow over Apple. Critics believe that Apple is indifferent to Foxconn’s labor treatment. At a subsequent Goldman Sachs meeting, Cook bluntly responded to allegations of abuse of workers in Apple’s supply chain, and promised to dismiss suppliers who did not care about labor rights and proceed to resolve them. Apple has identified 360 “remedial action guidelines” covering worker safety, remuneration and working environment and other matters that need to be revised, and has implemented 284 in advance. “In his first year as CEO, Cook has made more improvements in supplier responsibility than Jobs has done throughout his tenure. Brands have gradually realized that a strong sense of ethics and core values are no longer “icing on the cake.” “, but an indispensable thing.” Kahney said.
Cook also reformed Apple’s environmental policy and sustainable development plan. The first is to hire Lisa Jackson, who has served as the head of the National Environmental Protection Agency for 4 years in 2013. By Earth Day 2018, Apple announced that its facilities around the world are 100% powered by renewable energy. In addition, Apple is also determined to reduce carbon emissions in the supply chain. They have launched Liam and Daisy two robots that disassemble equipment parts, hoping to use recycled materials to make new products.
During CES 2019, Apple advertised its privacy policy in high profile outside the exhibition area|Vision China
The emphasis and protection of privacy is also the most conspicuous banner of Apple under the leadership of Cook. Every update of iOS strengthens privacy features. In February 2016, Apple even defended a court order. This order requires Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking an iPhone used by the perpetrators in the San Bernardino shooting in December last year. Specifically, it is to develop a special iOS version that can enter the password indefinitely. If Apple does this, it will be considered a “backdoor” to the government, regardless of user privacy and security; if it refuses, it will be accused of supporting terrorists. Apple was in a dilemma and refused. Six weeks later, the judge dropped the case. This allows Apple to win the support of a considerable part of the public and almost the entire Silicon Valley corporate community.
Cook grew up in the southern United States where racism was surging, which aroused his attention to equality in the future. Under his leadership, Apple has become a more tolerant place. Apple employs a higher percentage of minority employees than other companies in Silicon Valley, and has recruited colleges, charities, and foundations that encourage minority students to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education) subjects from universities, charities, and foundations that have historically been black Provided generous funding. This privacy-conscious CEO wrote an article called Tim Cook Speaks Up to Bloomberg in 2014 to support sexual minorities. “If I hear that Apple’s CEO is a homosexual, it can help those who are struggling with sexual orientation, or can comfort those who feel lonely, or can inspire people to bravely pursue equality, then open my What is privacy?”
Jobs’ best recruitment
Accessibility, education, environmental responsibility, inclusiveness and diversity, privacy and safety, and supplier responsibility, these 6 values written by Cook into the financial statements at the end of 2017 have become Cook’s past management of Apple’s ” Polaris”.
Apple, which lost Jobs, still maintains the vitality of innovation. Apple announced the first Apple Watch dominated by Cook (with the “i” prefix removed from the naming pattern of the Jobs era). Although it received a mediocre response at the beginning, it sold more than 40 million yuan from the beginning. , Has maintained a quarterly growth rate of 50% so far. Sales of AirPods are equally astonishing. Apple expects to sell more than 50 million AirPods and Beats headsets in 2018. Coupled with the newly launched HomePod speakers, Apple’s annual revenue on smart audio equipment may exceed $10 billion. The service business ranks second in Apple’s revenue source, with revenue of $9.1 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.
If the company is formed separately, Apple’s revenue from service businesses can enter the world’s top 500.
In 2018, Apple became the world’s first technology company with a market value of more than one trillion U.S. dollars and won the title of “World’s Most Valuable Company”. According to Bloomberg’s list of the world’s most profitable companies in 2018 released on May 14, 2019, Apple once again won the championship with a net profit of 57.2 billion U.S. dollars, which is also Apple’s four consecutive championships. By August 2020, Apple’s market value has exceeded the US$2 trillion mark, becoming the first stock in the history of US stocks to exceed US$2 trillion. Apple has also become the most valuable listed company in the world.
This may be Jobs’ best recruitment. Cook also made the role of operation the frontline and core of Apple’s work. Even Apple’s current COO Jeff Williams (in charge of the Apple Watch business) is also following Cook’s trajectory. Kahney predicts, “He may indeed become the next Cook.”
Apple’s current COO Jeff Williams may be the “next Cook”, this is a victory for operators|Vision China
It is worth mentioning that when asked whether he would “retire with success” next year, Cook responded that he “will not leave in the short term.”
Last year, Trump made a slip of the tongue at a meeting and called Cook “Tim Apple.” People no longer doubt Cook’s leadership ability, and Apple has deeply imprinted Cook’s mark. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple has changed from a smart device manufacturer to a comprehensive and sustainable diversified company with smart hardware and digital services.
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