Tim Cook has been the CEO at “Apple” Since 2011. one of the world’s most valuable and influential technology companies, if not the most influential. Apple recently reached the market capitalization of $3 trillion USD, and if it were a country, would be the 10th richest country in the entire world. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and initially, held the position of Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations within the company, overseeing Apple’s global supply chain, manufacturing, and sales operations.
After Steve Jobs stepped down due to critical health reasons in 2011, Tim Cook succeeded him as CEO. Before being persuaded to join Apple personally by Steve Jobs, Tim Cook worked at other notable companies, including Compaq and IBM. He has multiple degrees, including a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and Holding “Master of Business Administrations” (MBA) degree from “Duke University” of Fuqua School of Business.
I point out all of this to show Tim’s track record, and that we might be able to learn a thing or two from him. Whether or not he was partly, wholly, or none responsible for where Apple is today, he is respected amongst business leaders and Apple today is a household name. Let’s take a look at some of Tim’s advice he has imparted over the years.
From the horses mouth directly
Collaboration and healthy debate are critical. Both of them are needed in order to thrive. Collaboration without debate is simply a false circle jerk where everyone is telling everyone how brilliant they are with no real progress made other than a temporary comfort of feelings. Healthy debate, or worse, debates that feel like arguments without collaboration, seems more like butting heads constantly and could lead to stress, breakdown of communication and relationships. Having people that you genuinely collaborate with but also have healthy debates ensures respectful boundaries and an underlying feeling of being on the same page. This allows your thinking to be challenged and slowly more rational. The average person makes decisions based 90% in emotion and just 10% based on logic, so moving one’s decision making to logic and refining that logic will serve better in the long run.
Build solutions for real life problems. Taking a page out of Paul Graham, the cofounder of Y combinator, when young founders build something that they don’t want themselves but that they believe some group of other people want, 90% of the time they’re building something no one wants. Building something out of passion and because it’s easy to build, but no one wants or needs, ends up being a waste of time, energy and money. Apple builds solutions for real life problems; they also attempt to add to the ecosystem by acquiring a company every 2–3 weeks.
You have to find intersection of doing something you’re passionate and at the same time something that is in the service of other people. If you find something that you’re passionate about, but it doesn’t serve others, then that is a hobby. If you find something in service of others but that you aren’t passionate about, then that is a job. When you have the Venn diagram sweet spot middle that contains both, that is a calling, a purpose.
Focus on the long term; this guides your present decisions by providing purpose so that less and less aimless wandering occurs. Our destinations are important because they set forth the entire journey’s direction to begin with. With no long-term ambition or destination, present decisions will be meaningless. Our brains are designed for meaning, so without it, this causes depression and anxiety that is so rampant in today’s generation that is devoid of meaning. Apple focuses on the long-term by investing substantial R&D in future technologies, and some are now coming online, with the vision pro set to shake up virtual reality.
Stay positive, by strategically being tone deaf and tuning out the world which is full of cynics. Our world is now too full of critics, cynics, pessimists, doom sayers, those people converted crabs who have given up on life and want to drag you down. Staying positive in a world of easy access infinite dopamine hits drowning in negativity is harder than ever before. I myself have shut off social media, don’t read the news, and limit the information I consume, and even then, filtered to only be what I consider words of wisdom. I’ve also found it’s far easier to stay positive by staying away from negative, toxic, unhappy, or crabby people. Because if you have a cancer in your mind, even thinking about those negatives is a waste of time and energy.
Technology doesn’t change us; it magnifies who we are. This also applies to age, religion, money, marriage, and status. By having a time frame speed up in today’s society, we reach our terminal endpoint behavior quicker than before. Some people use technology for great positive means, others for great negative means, and others for useless and meaningless means.
If you want to take credit, first learn to take responsibility. By doing the work, the credit will naturally follow. Although, in parasitic contexts that may be out of your control, there may be those with less than stellar character that will actively try and take credit for your work. This must be defended against. Giving credit to others, even with shared work, will earn the respect of those who are reasonable minded with good temperament.
Think things through thoroughly; we must take stewardship for the results, even for the unintended consequences. Have the self-awareness and consciousness to actively think more about why and what you should do rather than just mindlessly do it. People spend far too much time doing things and not nearly enough time thinking about the things they are doing.
Don’t waste live your life living someone else’s life. The moment you are born, those before you want you to emulate the people who came before you to the exclusion of who you are. Being who others want you to be, whether that is your boss, coworkers, family, friends, acquaintances, greater societal expectations, pays off in the short-term, leading to great satisfaction and admiration. However, in the longer run, this bothers your consciousness, individuality. Being who you are will disappoint everyone else, and lead to short-term dissatisfaction. This will be better in the long-run. It’s a tough trade-off to make, particularly when people are young, impressionable, and worried about social status and image. Take the more difficult road that leads to greater longer term satisfaction for all.
Your mentors may help you be prepared, but they will not make you ready. You will never be ready, embrace the unknown, excite towards the challenge, find and strengthen your vision in the lonely road travelled, find courage, don’t get distracted, be different. The journey you take will be different from what others have taken, and only you know what is in your heart, mind, soul and spirit and what you want to become and accomplish. When the student is prepared, the master will emerge. This is especially true when the student is genuinely prepared, the master shall disappear.
Focus effort on creating and building, not negativity and haters. A humble builder, who leaves everything behind, sacrificing for someone else or some other purpose other than oneself. Self-sacrifice rather than self-serving behavior leads to a better effect on those around you. Get rid of the selfish takers who are only concerned with themselves.
Those with a passion often have a different look and feel than others. Meeting Steve Jobs was unique, as he had a sparkle in his eyes. He also asked different questions that was different from what you might conventionally expect in an interview. Steve was able to quickly convey a convincing vision of the future, despite it not being realized yet.
Disclaimer
This is not Financial Advice. This article is meant only for educational and perhaps entertainment purposes.