Inside Steve's Brain - Leander Kahney [101]
It was one of the first detailed public statements Cook made about the company, and it provided some key insights into his thinking. The statement clearly showed that Cook is a leader. Before this, he appeared to be the dull operations guy with no flair for inspiring speeches. But here is an eloquent description of what makes Apple tick. Of course, Apple has espoused some of these ideas for years, but Cook had obviously given a lot of thought to Apple’s culture, and had developed a clear, well-articulated philosophy for leading the company.
Most remarkably, it sounds an awful lot like the routinization of Jobs’s charisma in action. Cook seems to be describing Jobs’s personality traits, his modus operandi, translated into various business philosophies:
“We’re on the face of the earth to make great products.”
This is quintessential Jobs, the “product guy.” Jobs once said, “You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.”
“We’re constantly focusing on innovating.”
This exemplifies Jobs’s passion for concentrating on revolutionary changes, because they’re the ones that make a dent in the universe. “I’ve always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes,” says Jobs. “I don’t know why. Because they’re harder.”
“We believe in the simple, not the complex.”
Here is Jobs’s long-standing goal to democratize technology, to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Simplifying technology is, of course, deep in Apple’s DNA.
“We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.”
Jobs’s abiding belief that Apple needs to control the “whole widget” ensures not only seamless integration, reliability, and ease of use, but also that it can respond in a timely manner to changes in the fast-moving tech industry.
“We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.”
Jobs’s discipline and focus not only saved Apple in 1996 by jettisoning the dozens of unprofitable ideas that were dragging it down; it also ensured Apple concentrated its energy on the products and projects that would have the most impact.
“We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups.”
Here is a description of how Jobs’s A team works. The eclectic group, drawn from different disciplines in the company, feed on one another’s ideas and inspiration. The iPod’s iconic scroll wheel, for example, was first suggested by Phil Schiller, the top advertising guy—not the design group.
“And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company.”
Here is Jobs’s perfectionism again, which has contributed so much to Apple’s success. Thanks to a refusal to settle for the mediocre, Apple has innovated and succeeded in almost every field it’s entered.
Cook concludes with perhaps the most important point of all: that Jobs’s values and his spirit are now so deeply ingrained in the company culture that Apple functions no matter who is in a particular position:
“And I think, regardless of who is in what job, those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.”
Succession at Apple
Assuming that the company will thrive no matter who is in what job does not answer every question, however. Even though Cook was likely referring to Jobs in this statement, and trying to assure Wall Street about Apple’s succession plans, Apple will never be the same without its founder.
Replacing Jobs would be like trying to replace Mick Jagger. There’s no way. Without Jagger, the Rolling Stones would not be the Rolling Stones. Cook is the first to recognize that this is equally true