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Apple CEO Tim Cook as Steve Jobs' Replacement

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Apr 12, 2001
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PCMag asks the question "How Will Tim Cook Lead Apple?" after the surprise resignation of Steve Jobs last week. They offer some quotes from an ex-Apple employee and a look back at a detailed Fortune profile of Cook from back in 2008.

Fortune's Tim Cook profile came at a time when there were some ongoing health concerns about Steve Jobs which raised the question of who would take over upon Jobs' departure. The Forbes profile describes Cook as "demanding and even-keeled" and credits Cook for keeping Apple running like a finely tuned machine, keeping tabs on supplies, production and product forecasting.
Think of Cook's contribution like this. There are two basic ways to get great profit margins: Charge high prices or reduce costs. Apple does both. The marketing and design drive consumers wild with desire and make them willing to pay a premium; Cook's operational savvy keeps costs under control. Thus Apple is a cash-generating machine. Cook has called the company a place that is "entrepreneurial in its nature but with the mother of all balance sheets."
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One ex-Apple employee speaking to PCMag simply states that "Tim Cook is the person who really runs Apple", but that they don't see him as "that visionary guy" to replace one of Steve Jobs' major roles at the company.

It's that role of visionary that many feel will be hard, if not impossible to replace. Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff aptly described Jobs ability to show him the future:
"[Steve Jobs] has probably given me more help and more advice than just about anybody," Benioff said of Jobs. "And when I get in trouble and I kinda get lost in my own vision, I've been fortunate to be able to go and see him and he's been willing to show me the future a couple times."
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The general consensus, of course, is that it's simply not realistic to expect any one person to replace Steve Jobs. From the same 2008 Fortune article, they point out that Cook will simply need people around him to make up for any weaknesses, just as Jobs had Cook around to make up for his.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook as Steve Jobs' Replacement
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/29/apple-ceo-tim-cook-as-steve-jobs-replacement/
Jobsian

Jobsian

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2009
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I wish Tim all the best but part of me just can't imagine Apple will be the same without Jobs' unique vision.
 
Jobsian

Jobsian

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Jul 30, 2009
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I keep fantasising we could preserve Jobs somehow, cryonics or even if someone could come up with a Jobs neural algorithm mimicker.
 
pickleops

pickleops

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"... just as Jobs had Cook around to make up for his (weaknesses)."

This is an unsupported non-sequitur. The article establishes no evidence nor argues that Jobs had defficient operational skills, yet throws in this claim in the final clause. I object to this off-hand remark, and recoil at its self-evidential nature. To this reader's mind, it is an error of editorial quality and fact.
 
Jobsian

Jobsian

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Jul 30, 2009
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Ironically the only person probably capable of producing it would be Jobs himself.

*recursion implosion*
 
S

stevearm

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pickleops said:
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"... just as Jobs had Cook around to make up for his [weaknesses]."

This is an unsupported, non-sequitur. The article establishes no evidence nor argues that Jobs had defficient operational skills, yet throws in this claim in the final clause. I object to this off-hand remark, and recoil at its self-evidential nature. To this reader's mind, it is an error of editorial quality and fact.
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Oh dear.

I hate to break this to you, but Jobs is not a god. He's not perfect and does make mistakes.
 
pickleops

pickleops

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Your reply is a strawman attack. Please refrain from hyperbole.
 
nwcs

nwcs

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Sep 21, 2009
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I'm almost expecting to see a promotion for Johnny Ive in the next few months. I bet he's been personally groomed by Jobs to take over some of that visionary role. Maybe that's what has kept him at Apple when it was rumored that he was leaving last year. That Jobs maybe promised him a career path beyond where he's at right now.
 
A

alhumphrey

macrumors member
Feb 17, 2010
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How come people are forgetting about Jony Ive. surly he is 'that visionary guy' in Apple now and tbh has been for a while now. Yes people are right that no one person with be able to replace Steve, but Steve did the role of two people really.
 
G

griz

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Ive is more of a design visionary than a product visionary. It takes someone like Jobs to see the future vision such as iMac, iPod, or iPhone but Ive makes that vision sexy. It's entirely possible to design a sexy looking brick that noone wants or needs.
 
B

Bilbo63

macrumors 6502
Apr 27, 2010
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SilianRail said:
$383 million for an accountant. :eek:
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Oh yeah, that's a huge amount of money.

Steve and Apple's board seem to think that Tim is a key contributor to Apple's success and worth that much. I'm guessing that they are in a better position to make that call than you or I. I wish Tim the best.
 
filmantopia

filmantopia

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griz said:
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Ive is more of a design visionary than a product visionary. It takes someone like Jobs to see the future vision such as iMac, iPod, or iPhone but Ive makes that vision sexy. It's entirely possible to design a sexy looking brick that noone wants or needs.
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I agree. But Jobs wasn't *I mean... isn't* just a product visionary. The man originally carved out the notion of the personal computer and its importance in our lives, and now, the 'post-pc' world. Steve Jobs sees and writes the future.
 
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Piggie

Piggie

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Feb 23, 2010
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Don't know if it's just me, but this seems very depressing to me.

Minimising costs, maximising profit.

Where is all the exciting new talk about where they want to lead the company, into new areas with new profits.

It's sounding like they are just going to tweak the current range for the next "X" number of years and make as much money as they can.

:(
 
dagamer34

dagamer34

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May 1, 2007
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Piggie said:
Don't know if it's just me, but this seems very depressing to me.

Minimising costs, maximising profit.

Where is all the exciting new talk about where they want to lead the company, into new areas with new profits.

It's sounding like they are just going to tweak the current range for the next "X" number of years and make as much money as they can.

:(
Click to expand...

Apple wanting to be a profitable company means they are going to stay out of low margin businesses like the sub-$500 PC market (where everyone 2 years ago was saying Apple would die if they didn't make a netbook) or the stupidly-rumored TV market (where people buy them once every 7-10 years and get whatever looks good).
 
Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

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Jul 16, 2002
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Jobsian said:
I wish Tim all the best but part of me just can't imagine Apple will be the same without Jobs' unique vision.
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It may be hard to imagine in the woods but if you step back remember that Apple invented the world's first PDA, the Newton, while Jobs was at NeXT.

Apple System 7, QuickTime, HFS Plus, the Apple Quick Take, and the PowerBook all were all also introduced after Jobs was kicked out of Apple and before his return.
 
J

jouster

macrumors 65816
Jan 21, 2002
1,469
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Piggie said:
Don't know if it's just me, but this seems very depressing to me.

Minimising costs, maximising profit.

Where is all the exciting new talk about where they want to lead the company, into new areas with new profits.

It's sounding like they are just going to tweak the current range for the next "X" number of years and make as much money as they can.

:(
Click to expand...

The talk about costs and profits came from the article, not from Apple.
 
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