“Enriching the lives” of customers is more important than profit, money is just a byproduct of success, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, said in the first television interview granted since taking office last year from Steve Jobs.
“We want to enrich people’s lives, not just to make money. Money could be a byproduct, but is not the guiding star for us,” said Tim Cook, quoted by Bloomberg.
Cook talks about the transition from his position of Steve Jobs’s right hand to heading Apple, from a private person to celebrity, about the passion for company of employees and customers, about how Apple is run, how it developed and refined its products, the management team , ideas and design, market situation, pricing strategy, Apple Maps crisis, disputes with rivals on intellectual property rights issues, controversies related to working conditions at Foxconn, jobs and relationship with Steve Jobs.
“I don’t feel famous. You know, I lead a simple life. My life is incredibly simple. But what’s changed is that, yeah, people recognize me. They may think, “I have seen him before. You know, the CEO of Apple” or whatever. And so it has been a bit of adjustment for me, because for years I had the privilege of being anonymous,”
said Cook.
Apple chief doesn’t consider himself a shy person, but notes that he didn’t put a price on fame, as he is not motivated by it.
On his image, Cook notes that the official biography of Apple CEO portrays him as a robot, a very disciplined person without emotions.
“I am driven by great work and seeing people do incredible things and having a part in that. So it’s more of a feeling inside that drives me, not a public recognition that drives me. Maybe that makes me a bit different,” commented general manager of Apple.
Asked about how the company is affected by the high expectations of its customers, Cook responded that Apple raised the bar even higher anyway.
“There’s more pressure that comes from within than from the outside. Our customers have an incredibly high bar for us. We have an even higher bar for ourselves,” said Apple chief.
During his 16 months at the helm of Apple, Cook headed the most significant development of the iPhone since the launch of the device in 2007, the launch of new generations of the company’s products, from iPhone and iPad to iPod and Mac, including the introduction of the new iPad Mini and company shares climbed 43% under his tenure.
Reply