Tim Cook has stepped down arsenic Apple CEO, marking the extremity of 1 of the top tenures successful business history.
Cook took connected the daunting task of succeeding Steve Jobs, conscionable weeks earlier his premature decease successful October 2011.
Vanishingly fewer group would person dared travel Jobs, Apple's iconic cofounder who reshaped really the world useful pinch revolutionary devices specified arsenic the iPod and iPhone.
Yet Cook pulled disconnected what fewer thought possible: taking Apple to the next level. During his 15 years successful charge, Apple astir quadrupled its yearly nett income and nett income to complete $400 cardinal and $100 billion, respectively, catapulting its marketplace capitalization from astir $350 cardinal to $4.6 trillion.
Adjusted for banal splits, Apple's banal value roseate by astir 2,300% during his tenure, from astir $13 to $317 astatine the adjacent of Cook's past time arsenic CEO connected Monday.
Now that Cook has made way for his ain successor — Apple's hardware main John Ternus — location are clear lessons to beryllium learned from his occurrence successful pursuing a legendary CEO.
1. Keep what works
Cook safeguarded the core values that Jobs instilled astatine Apple.
He told "CBS Sunday Morning" earlier this twelvemonth that he protected principles specified arsenic focus, collaboration, obsession pinch the personification experience, "insanely great" execution, and creating "magic" by owning the intersection of hardware, software, and services.
Cook said he ever saw Apple arsenic Jobs' baby. "His DNA is heavy successful this company," he said. "We revere him."
The now-departed CEO besides said of Jobs that his "greatest invention wasn't a merchandise — it was Apple itself."
Read much astir Apple's transition
2. Blaze your ain trail
Cook wasn't cowed by Jobs' singular legacy, but alternatively ran Apple arsenic he saw fit.
He told "CBS Sunday Morning" that erstwhile Jobs informed him that he would beryllium Apple's adjacent CEO, he besides advised him: "Never inquire what I would do. Just do the correct thing."
Jobs told Cook that he'd witnessed Disney go stiff by indecision aft laminitis Walt Disney died, and he didn't want Apple to suffer the aforesaid "paralysis."
"I'll ne'er hide that," Cook said. "It was specified a gift for maine because he took disconnected of my enarthrosis this mobility of 'What would Steve do?'"
"I conscionable put my caput down and thought, 'I'm going to beryllium the champion type of myself,'" he added.
While Jobs was successful charge, he "made each awesome decision" astatine Apple, Tripp Mickle, the writer of "After Steve," a book astir the decade astatine Apple aft Jobs' death, told Business Insider successful April aft Cook revealed he was stepping down.
Cook restructured Apple to beryllium "more democratic," pinch Apple executives making corporate decisions and squad leaders processing products alternatively of individuals reporting to Jobs, Mickle said.
He besides placed greater emphasis connected operations and financials. Cook's Apple expanded into China to standard up manufacturing and cater to the country's quickly increasing mediate class. The strategy allowed him to "make the iPhone ubiquitous," Mickle said.
Cook grew services into a $100 cardinal business, and created a wearables class pinch products specified arsenic AirPods and Apple Watch. He besides introduced Apple-designed silicon, which "breathed caller life into its Mac business," Mickle said.
His attack was "method complete magic," Mickle said. "Where Jobs became regarded arsenic a awesome innovator, who introduced products that upended industries, Cook became known for steering Apple's business success, arsenic it became the world's largest company for a decade."
On the different hand, Apple's estimation for invention took a deed nether Cook, Mickle said. He pointed to disappointing merchandise launches specified arsenic the HomePod and the Vision Pro headset, and the canceled scheme to build a self-driving car.
3. Play to your strengths
Instead of trying to beryllium Jobs, Cook applied his different skillset astatine Apple pinch awesome effect.
"Cook's genius wasn't successful designing the adjacent iPhone; it was successful building the astir businesslike proviso concatenation connected the satellite and turning a hardware institution into a recurring-service juggernaut," Chris Ballard, the managing head of Check Capital Management, told Business Insider.
"There is simply a very mini nine of group who are capable to successfully return complete for a business fable without the institution missing a beat," Kevin Carpenter, the writer of an investing Substack named Kingswell, told Business Insider.
"Cook surely did truthful for Apple — successful ample portion because he embraced his ain strengths alternatively than trying to beryllium a poor imitation of Steve Jobs."
Read next
Theron Mohamed is simply a London-based analogous connected the International squad astatine Business Insider. His sum spans finance, investing, wealth, markets, and the economy.Theron joined BI successful 2019 arsenic a newsman astatine Markets Insider and roseate to the rank of analogous earlier moving to the Trending squad past the broader International team. He previously covered tech, media, and telecom stocks for Investors Chronicle mag and had a little stint connected the Financial Times' Data team. He interned astatine the Wall Street Journal successful New York wherever he chiefly wrote for Heard connected the Street.Theron has freelanced for The Independent, The Telegraph, WIRED, and respective smaller publications. He holds an undergraduate grade successful surface science from the London School of Economics, and a master's grade successful publicity from Columbia University.Theron often covers Warren Buffett, Michael Burry, and different elite investors. He besides writes astir the world's wealthiest group and shares financial proposal from each mode of rich | and successful people.Email Theron astatine [email protected] and travel him connected X @theron_mohamed.
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) · 
