The world knows relatively less about Apple CEO Tim Cook than it does about his predecessor, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. There’s a movie out on his life, his biography has been out for nearly two years. Tim Cook stepped into the spotlight when Jobs gave up the reins in 2011. Many wondered how Cook’s leadership will impact the company after it had spent well over a decade under Jobs, who had his own unique style of running Apple. Reuters has profiled Apple’s current CEO, he’s been called a workaholic who guards his privacy very closely. Apparently, he has a methodical and “no-nonsense” style of leadership that is quite different from Jobs.
One person familiar with meetings Cook attends is cited as saying that he can “skewer you with a sentence.” He is said to be unreadable at meetings, listening intently while constantly rocking his chair. People at the meeting apparently wait for a change in the pace of his rocking, that’s when they know he’s about to speak up. If he doesn’t like something, he’d say something like ‘I don’t think that’s good enough.’ That would be the end of that discussion, and the person on the other end would “just want to crawl into a hole and die.” Despite his rigorous work ethic, Cook is known to be charming and funny in small group settings. His manner of leadership doesn’t get in the way of decisive action, it is said.
A former Apple employee, Beth Fox, says that the regime under Cook isn’t as crazy and “draconian” as it used to be. People she knows who still work at Apple are staying at the company because “they like Tim.” Even if the regime is not as tough, its not like Cook’s job has become easier. He’s still tasked with running one of the biggest company in the world that’s expected to be innovative and a market leader.
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