Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level

Hi, I'm Leander Caney, editor and publisher of CultOfMag.com, an author of four books

about Apple and technology. I've got a new book out about Tim Cook, which, as far as I know, is the first full-length

biography of Apple's CEO. For this book, I got a lot of help from Apple, which made some of Cook's executive colleagues

available for interview. As a result, I got an exclusive insider's account of how Tim Cook dealt with the San

Bernardino standoff with the FBI, among other things. The book starts with Tim Cook taking over from Steve Jobs, but then backtracks to Cook's

childhood in rural Alabama. Tim Cook's experience of racism and discrimination in the Deep South, heightened by his being

gay, had a big influence on the kind of CEO he'd become at Apple. We look at his education and early career at IBM, which is a pioneer of just-in-time

manufacturing, where computers are made essentially on demand. It was an important apprenticeship, and it's where Tim Cook learned the expertise that

he would later bring to Apple. In the late 1990s, Tim Cook was recruited by Steve Jobs, who had returned to Apple and

was desperately trying to save the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. A big part of the job was fixing Apple's manufacturing operation, which was a mess

Tim Cook quickly took control and turned it around. Cook's contribution played a big part in saving Apple, but he doesn't get much credit for it

With Apple on firmer footing, Steve Jobs started introducing a string of hit products. The iMac, the iBook, the iPod

Each was a bigger and bigger hit, and soon Apple was selling products in really, really

big numbers. Cook's expertise in manufacturing and supply led him to build a giant manufacturing operation

using outside suppliers like Foxconn, that could build millions of products in the utmost

secrecy and deliver them all over the world. It laid the stage for Apple's most popular product, the iPhone

Internally at Apple, Steve Jobs was grooming Tim Cook to take over, giving him a succession

of jobs and more and more responsibility. In 2005, Tim Cook became Apple's COO and Steve Jobs' right-hand man

In fact, around this time, Cook became Apple's de facto CEO, running Apple behind the scenes

When Steve Jobs passed away from cancer in 2011, Cook officially became Apple's CEO

It must have been the worst job in the world. If you remember that time, there was a huge outpouring of grief for Steve Jobs, and it

must have been terrifying for Tim Cook. Who'd want to be in his shoes? Who'd want to take over from Steve Jobs, a business and cultural icon

He had the biggest shoes to fill in American business. How do you follow someone like Steve Jobs

The likelihood for failure was huge. Tim Cook was a boring operations guy

He might make the trains run on time, but he couldn't draw off the same excitement and passion as his predecessor

And without Steve Jobs, where would the next generation of Apple products come from

Most pundits predicted spectacular failure, but Tim Cook has proven them wrong. He's turned out to be a very worthy successor

Apple is much, much bigger than it was when Steve Jobs died. Profits have doubled

Its stock is through the roof. Under Cook's watch, Apple became the first company in history to be worth more than a

trillion dollars. Almost everything Apple does is bigger than ever. Computers, smartphones, tablets, and services like Apple Music and iCloud

The iPhone continues to be the best business ever invented. It's huge, and it just keeps making mounts and mounds of money

People say, can Tim Cook innovate? I say yes. Take the Apple Watch, the first product to have no input whatsoever from Steve Jobs

The Apple Watch is a sleeper hit. It's already bigger than the entire Swiss watch industry, and it's by far the most popular

smartwatch on the planet. It's spawned a whole new wearables industry. And like all of Apple's products, it will only get better with time

Or what about AirPods? Apple's wireless earbuds. They're another big hit, and people love them

There's even bigger things on the horizon. Apple is developing a self-driving car, which, despite the rumors, seems to be a very, very

big project that is still on track. If Cook delivers, Project Titan, as it's known, has the potential to rewrite not just transportation

but urban planning, tourism, real estate, and a whole bunch of other things

Cook has been transformative inside of Apple. He's turning Apple into a kinder, gentler money-making machine

Under Cook, Apple is more charitable. It's a better corporate citizen. His initiatives in green energy are truly big and important

Apple runs on 100% renewable energy worldwide, and it's working to bring along its supply

chain too. Cook is working hard to make Apple more diverse and inclusive

Apple is already ahead of its Silicon Valley rivals in having more women and people of color work for it, although it's a slow process

Tim Cook has done a lot for accessibility. The iPhone has some pretty remarkable technology that allows it to be used even by people who

are completely blind. Apple's products routinely win awards and plaudits for being accessible to everyone

Tim Cook is one of the leading advocates for consumer privacy, which has become one of

the touchstone issues in tech. Tim Cook is helping to transform Apple's supply chain, which after a rush of worker suicides

had a terrible reputation for exploitation. Under Cook, Apple has almost completely eradicated the worst violations like child labor, forced

overtime, and bonded labor. Since taking over as CEO, Tim Cook has hardly put a foot wrong

Yes, Apple is rightly criticized for elaborate offshore tax schemes that some call tax dodging

and there's still a long way to go to build a more diverse workforce and a less exploitative

supply chain. But some pundits I talk to say Tim Cook is the best CEO Apple has ever had, even better

than Steve Jobs. I know that this is an outrageous thing to say, but read the book

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