Extended interview: Tim Cook

[music]

Well, first of all, congratulations. 50

years. That's very cool.

>> Yeah.

>> Um, a wise man once said, "Apple doesn't

look for doesn't look back, we look

forward."

>> That's right.

>> Um, but is there wisdom to be gleaned by

taking a moment to contemplate this arc

so far?

>> Yeah, we think so. uh we don't look back

as a part of our culture as you know

very well from from your days watching

us. Uh so we've had to build a new

muscle honestly. Uh it's something that

we just don't do. we're always focused

on the next thing and and improving

something that exists today and you know

trying to see around the corner and give

people something they didn't know that

they wanted and and so it's been

different but I think it's of great

value as it turns out to look back and

feel grateful for the journey to feel

grateful for all of the characters that

have been a part of that journey uh to

reflect on Steve and the principles that

he laid out for the company that are

still living today. And and so I think

all of these things and a reminder of

why we do it that we do it to enrich

other people's lives, you know, to to

empower them to do things they couldn't

otherwise do or they can change the

world and we can celebrate them and do

it all over again. And so I I I think

there is value in it and we've but it's

a new muscle for us. [laughter]

>> You had to block out time that wasn't

originally in your schedule.

>> That's right.

>> Um so as I understand it, you have been

here for more than half of the company's

history.

>> That's right. 28 years.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah. In a few days I'll celebrate the

28th anniversary.

>> Nice.

>> Yeah.

>> Uh can you tell the folks the condition

of the company when you arrived?

>> Yeah. It was bleak to be honest. Um the

company was uh had very little cash. Uh

we were still in the mode of making sure

we could meet the payroll.

>> Uh the company had shrunk down to um

basically 1.3 1.4 billion dollars of

revenue a quarter

and the company had shrunk its

population down. So there was a there

was a small team uh and we had lost our

way. You know the company had drifted

without Steve and Steve had come back

and was reinvigorating the company and

uh he had a vision that was so unique at

that time that he wanted to go after the

consumer. Everybody else was going after

the enterprise if you remember that

period of time. Everybody thought that

was the thing to do. Yeah. Steve was

turning the exact opposite way and I

thought it was brilliant and uh and so I

I jumped at the chance to join the

company and uh but it was those days

were

difficult days and it wasn't inevitable

that the company would succeed. I I was

advised by the people that knew me best

not to come

uh not to come. I was I was working at

Compact at the time, which was the

largest personal computer company in the

world. How ironic is that?

>> Yeah. [laughter]

>> And uh but I saw

in Steve

something I'd never seen in a CEO

before. He had a passion for product

that was so unique and refreshing and he

thought about the world in a very

different way. And uh I was taken in the

first meeting with him and I wanted to

throw caution to the wind and join

despite the condition of the company.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah.

>> You threw caution and the advice of all

your colleagues.

>> I did and it was the best decision I

ever made. It it fundamentally changed

my life. And I don't mean because I'm

CEO, but just working at Apple with the

brilliant people here and feeling the

energy and really really focusing on

changing the world in some kind of

positive way and making your

contribution and and that's what it's

all about at the end of the day, you

know, is improving other people's lot in

life,

>> right? And uh and so it gave me great

meaning and I you know reflecting I was

38 at the time I think I think I went

had gone through that not really having

a purpose in life until arriving at

Apple and uh it was an incredible

feeling and I've never looked back.

>> Wow. Fantastic. Um you have shared um

something really moving when Steve was

dying. Uh when Steve was dying, he gave

you some advice.

>> Yes.

>> Can you

>> Yeah. He told me when he he called me

over to his house and uh he told me he

wanted me to be the CEO

and I debated with him a little bit and

and said, "Are you are you sure you

don't want to be CEO anymore?" Uh and he

I thought at the time that he would live

a long time. Honestly, he was going to

be executive chairman and I was going to

be CEO

>> and obviously it didn't turn out that

way. Uh but his his advice to me was

never ask what I would do,

just do the right thing. And so he saw

and he he told me the story behind this.

He was very close to Disney as you know

his his history.

He had watched Disney go through this

paralysis of sitting around and talking

about what Walt would do. And he did not

want that for Apple. He wanted a

professional transition at CEO because

Apple had never had one before.

>> There was always some issue that that

prompted the the a CEO chat.

>> It was always done at a time of panic, a

>> a panic. and uh he wanted it to be a

professional and and orderly kind of

transition and and he had thought about

it as you would guess at a very deep

level

and and I'll never forget that and I I

it was such a gift for me

uh because he he took off of my shoulder

this question of what would Steve do?

You know, a lot of other people asked

that, although not so much in the

company. U but I never did. You know, I

just put my head down and and thought

I'm going to be the best version of

myself.

>> But but surely some of the principles

and values that Steve had are the right

thing to do. I mean, how how do you know

when given that advice, how do you know

when to stick with what Steve would have

done and when to deviate? Well, the his

principles are the DNA of this company

uh 50 years after its inception and I

hope a hundred years and 200 years into

the future because they're so

incredible. You know, he he had the

vision that the collaboration was

something that would produce great

results. That 1 plus one is equal to

three, not two. That if you share an

idea and debate it, it gets bigger and

better. And if you care enough that you

call somebody at 10 at night because you

just had a idea that you know the

incredible things can come out of that.

He had an idea of focus that you say no

to a thousand things to to say yes to

the one that's truly important and that

when you do something you should do it

at an excellence level that isn't where

good isn't good enough. it has to be

insanely great. And and so all of these

ideas and that Apple should own its

hardware and software and later services

uh because it's the intersection of

these things that produces magic for the

user.

He had the user at the center of

everything. you know, he was always