A Decade Of CEO: How Did Apple Become The Most Valuable Company In The World Under Tim Cook?
Apple Underwent Extensive Changes During Tim Cook’s Tenure As CEO Of The World And Became One Of The Top Tech Companies In The World. What Is It Today?
In this article, we will answer these questions and examine Tim Cook’s work history from his student days until he became CEO of Apple, and we will take a look at the developments in Apple during his tenure.
Tim Cook is a completely different CEO of Apple than Steve Jobs, and his experience has led Apple to great growth.
Tim Cook was officially named Apple CEO on August 24, 2011; But the company had long since come to take over the responsibility.
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs told Tim Cook in August 2011 that he had been selected as Apple’s new and permanent CEO. He called Tim Cook on that date and asked him to come home to talk about work and Apple.
Steve Jobs was very ill, and it decides that Jobs would remain Apple’s CEO. And both Cook and Steve Jobs refused to talk about Jobs’ health, But Jobs was not well at all, and he could not ignore his illness. In his phone call with Jobs, Jobs asked him to see each other immediately, and in his conversation with Tim Cook, he said that all decisions are yours.
To Tim Cook, the idea that Jobs could not run Apple was nonsense, and he thought he was going to try it out. Jobs had indeed asked the team to make all the decisions, but it seemed that he hoped Cook would ask his opinion on his decisions.
At the time of Apple CEO Tim Cook, he rarely decided to replace Steve Jobs, and company fans were worried about why Apple was not introducing a new CEO.
In early 2011, investors tried to force Apple to introduce a new CEO; But they did not know that the new CEO had already been appointed and would take over soon. The details of the plan to appoint a new CEO and the person who will run for office were not yet known, But it decides that Tim Cook would be Apple’s next CEO. Finally, in an official letter regarding his resignation from the CEO position, Jobs officially ended the introduction of Cook as the official CEO of Apple.
Despite all the opposition to his tenure as Apple CEO, Tim took the helm and began to strive for Apple’s advancement based on his work and life experiences. Here are some of Cook’s valuable experiences that helped him along the way.
High programming skills
Although Cook did not make any changes to iOS during his time at Apple, the programming was successful, and at one time, he was able to design efficient software for the traffic light, which was accepted by the police.
Tim Cook admits in his conversations that during his student years, he was not a first-class and star in all fields, but he has a strange talent in managing and controlling various departments and affairs at the same time, and this has been completely proven. For example, while studying technology, he promoted the publication of his yearbook and advertised to provide the funding needed to publish the yearbook.
Join IBM
Cook graduated in 1982 and quickly joined IBM. IBM’s first computer was designed, and built in 1981, and Cook joined the design team at the company’s plant in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to work on it.
He worked for IBM for 12 years, during which time he played a key role in the company’s development. From the very beginning of his entry into IBM, Cook was introduced as one of the people who have a bright future. At IBM, he learned how to get the raw materials right when the workforce needed them.
If we want to mention just one of the key steps of Tim Cook in the direction of Apple’s significant progress during his tenure, we must definitely mention his extraordinary ability to provide the raw materials needed by his labor force on time and his excellent production management skills. This valuable managerial ability in production is introduced by the specialized term Just in Time or JIT.
There is no doubt that timely supply of raw materials is essential in any industry, but the Cook team and Apple have made this necessary action a valuable art; Apple, for example, keeps its Macs in storage until they are sold; But instead of storing these products for months, they produce and ship them to the warehouse a few days before they should be available.
On the other hand, in the years when Apple used Intel processors in its computers when a new processor was produced and offered by this brand, Apple, thanks to its exemplary ability in the JIT method, took these processors from Intel earlier than its other competitors. The start of mass production of new processors of this brand is not waiting.
At IBM, Tim Cook learned another instrumental technique for increasing the sales of a company’s products, in which business management is called pipeline management.
According to the principles defined in this method, selling a product is just the beginning of the marketing process, and companies try to satisfy it by providing appropriate after-sales service, selling complementary products, and selling new products to a customer. And turn that customer into a customer introducing their products to other people. With this trick, any company can first make many customers loyal to their products and finally a loyal fan of their products. Undoubtedly, such a method can be a very effective driving force for the growth of a brand and business.
All cooperation with IBM
In 1994, Cook was offered a tempting job that tempted him to leave IBM. The offer was made by Cook, a company active in the field of electronics called Intelligent Electronics, with a base salary of $ 250,000, rewards and shares; But Cook became seriously ill at the time, and doctors diagnosed him with MS; But in the end, it turned out that Cook had no problem and only extreme fatigue caused his illness.
In 1997, Cook advised the CEO to transfer his company to General Motors, and he did so sometime later. The team also left the company and joined Compaq Computer Company.
Cook has been skeptical of the JIT idea ever since. When he worked at Compaq, he introduced the idea of Build to Order. Based on this idea, the company starts producing new products when it has placed an order. Compaq achieved great success in production by combining this method with the JIT method and flexed its production line. Only six months after Cook started working in Compact, Steve Jobs offered him a job at Apple.
Login to Apple
Interestingly, Cook has repeatedly admitted that he is not interested in working at Apple. His desire to meet Steve Jobs was simply due to his great influence in the world of technology. He was obviously able to influence Cook! Cook, known for making careful and calculated decisions about increasing sales by utilizing sales pipe management techniques and timely supply of parts and other areas of operation, listened to his inner voice and started working at Apple.
He started his career at Apple in 1998 with a salary of half a million dollars and a salary of $ 400,000; Of course, leaving Compak and working at Apple did not make sense at all, and everyone advised him not to quit working at Compak; Ziba Compak was both a profitable company and had not gone bankrupt like Apple before, and it seemed that Cook would lose his job security by leaving Compak! But he made his decision, and now we see that he made a brilliant decision!
Apple’s transformation with the arrival of Cook to the company
Cook’s arrival at Apple is a new leaf in Apple’s history because, at the time of Cook’s arrival at Apple, the company was not in a good position at all. Many workers were laid off and unemployed, But an employee with Apple’s experience in managing production and increasing production productivity changed that situation in a short time by emptying warehouses and changing the supply chain of raw materials.
Just six months after Cook arrived at Apple, the time it took for Apple products to become available was reduced from 30 days to two days, and in 1999 sometimes to two days, which was a huge success for Apple.
He did not change Apple by reducing costs but spent a lot of money with great care and effort and tried to be a little reckless. In his first year at Apple, he bought $ 100 million worth of air freight and space to move cargo by air.
He did this months before even Apple’s new product, the Mac iMac G3, was introduced so that the company would have no problem delivering and delivering the product to the customer on time.
The iMac G3 was well-received in the market. Cook’s clever decision enabled the product to reach the demanding customers quickly and promptly. Even reached the point where Apple’s competitors launched products, which had the necessary facilities to criticize and send products quickly. Similar to this Mac Mac computer had a problem.
Perhaps spending $ 100 million on fast shipping seemed a bit reckless at the time. Still, Apple was in a fragile position, and if Tim Cook had not taken that risk, he would not have been able to do so, and perhaps another company in that position would have done the same.
Tim Cook as Apple CEO
Cook’s foresight, along with his careful control of Apple’s product production cycle, made him a viable successor to Steve Jobs; Of course, Cook is not at all like Jobs, and even his approach is different from Jobs’; But in 2011, he was the most suitable replacement for Jobs and could lead Apple in the right direction just like Jobs.
Today, thanks to Cook’s management, Apple has achieved great success, including acquiring more than 100 companies and Beats (one of the best brands of headphones and speakers) worth $ 3 billion a year. 2014 and the acquisition of Intel smartphone modem maker worth $ 1 billion in 2019.
Today, besides being one of the largest manufacturers of various gadgets globally, Apple is also active in various areas of business, including payment services, and even has a film studio.
However, Tim Cook has not introduced devices such as iPhones to the tech world and fascinated gadget enthusiasts; But it has come up with ways that Apple can continue to grow without the iPhone. In fact, it can say that Tim Cook has an outstanding managerial talent. He can be considered an intelligent politician who has maintained his empire well; Of course, we should note that the number of iPhone devices sold was 135 million; But this number reached one billion in 2021.
During Apple CEO’s ten-year tenure, Apple’s annual revenue and the brand’s market value increased by 154 percent and 601 percent, respectively.
The chart on the left shows Apple’s $ 500 billion revenue, and the chart on the left shows the company’s market value’s $ 3 trillion.
Of the services and services Apple CEO Tim Cook era
One month after taking over as CEO, Tim Cook introduced the iPhone 4S, and since then, 24 different models of iPhones have been introduced and launched. In addition to iPhones, Apple has also produced many other gadgets, including various iPad tablets, Macs, and MacBooks. In addition, new devices have been added to Apple’s product portfolio during Cook’s tenure.
Among the most successful of these products are the Apple Watch smartwatches and the AirPods wireless handsfree, launched in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Although the production of these devices under Tim Cook’s management is a major turning point in Apple’s history, the growth of services and services of this brand is more important in this period.
Apple services do not end with services such as the App Store or iCloud or iTunes, and Cupertino’s also offers services such as music and fitness.
Even during Cook’s first five years as CEO, Apple’s revenue from services and facilities increased significantly, and the brand introduced new services. The iCloud cloud service, introduced in 2011, the Apple Podcast service, which launched in 2012, and the Apple Music service, launched in 2015, are the most important Apple services introduced in the era. The American tech giant announced in January 2016 for the first time that the company’s revenue from providing services in 2015 was $ 20 billion.
Since then, Apple has been encouraged to launch other new services, including Apple TV Plus (video streaming service), Apple Fitness (fitness service), and Apple Arcade (video game sharing service).
Apple has also made it possible to use six shared services in one service. These services include Apple Moric, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple News Plus (Apple News Service), and Apple Fitness Plus.
The launch of all of these services has increased Apple’s revenue from its services even more. Apple’s revenue from services in fiscal 2020 was close to $ 53.8 billion, accounting for 20 percent of total sales (Apple did not publish revenue for each service separately).
Apple’s reliance on its services has left the company less dependent on revenue from iPhone sales, which fluctuate in different quarters of the year. In addition, the growth rate of iPhone sales has slowed significantly in recent years, and one of Tim Cook’s main goals in recent years has been to offset this.
Of course, Apple still makes a lot of money every year after selling Apple; But services are more stable, and marginal sharing services are more profitable for Apple. The expansion of Apple services also makes customers more willing to buy Apple devices than other brands.
What does the future hold for Apple and Tim Cook?
Tim Cook has stated that he has no plans to stay at Apple for another 10 years; But company fans expect him not to leave Apple for at least another few years; Of course, he has been the subject of many rumors during his tenure that we can look at as a vision for Apple’s future. Rumors that have been circulating for a long time include the launch of the car by Apple (App; e-car) or the release of augmented reality glasses of this brand in the future. Meanwhile, the company is still trying to produce the chips it needs.
Of course, we should not forget that the Cook team also faces many challenges, including Apple’s dispute with software developers and regulators.
At the same time, Apple needs to rethink its IoT devices and, like Amazon Alexa, make changes to the IoT equipment ecosystem to use such devices.
Also, considering that smartphones may no longer be attractive today and will not be very popular, you should take the necessary precautions not to face any serious problems if you reduce the sales of iPhones.
Another of Apple’s decisions and plans is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the brand’s factories and centers to zero by 2030. Given that global climate change is a major threat to the planet, this is really necessary, and Cook is likely to work harder to achieve this goal; Of course, given Apple’s dependence on a complex global supply chain and the need to use trace elements and non-renewable materials to build branded products, this goal is a bit difficult for Apple.
In addition to the future of Apple, there is also the question of who will be the CEO of Apple after Tim Cook? Jeff William, the company’s chief operating officer, named Tim Cook at Apple Technology’s press conference, seems to be one of the most likely options; But he is only 2 years younger than Tim Cook, so his choice is in a haze; So it’s not clear who the next Apple CEO will be (short-term CEO). With no suitable replacement for Cook, it is unlikely that the CEO will change for another two years.
Apple underwent extensive changes during the time of CEO Tim Cook and managed to become one of the top technology companies in the world; But how did Tim Cook manage to make Apple so successful, and what is the key to his success in leading Apple in the right direction to achieve the position it has today?