Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'Think Different' Still Embedded at Apple 'Very Deeply'

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon attended the Salesforce Dreamforce 2019 event, where he sat down with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to discuss how Apple and Salesforce "ignite productivity" on mobile devices.

During the talk, Cook did share some of the ways that Apple and Salesforce work together, but he also covered many of his favorite talking points on Apple's values, environmental efforts, privacy focus, and his memories of Steve Jobs.

On innovation, Cook said that many people confuse with innovation change, and Apple's focus on innovation is its secret.

So many people confuse innovation with change and they become convinced that innovation is just change, but we [Benioff and Cook] and our companies recognize that innovation is about making things better, not just changing them. That requires a depth of thought beyond change. That's Apple's secret.

Cook said that Apple's goal is to make the best products and enrich people's lives. "If we can't do both of those, we pass and go to the next thing," said Cook, explaining that Apple works on just a few things, but tries to do those well.

We've never set the objective to be first, we've always set an objective to be the best. We never set out to make the most, but to be the best. Make the best. That north star has helped guide us through the temptations of going for market share and other kinds of things. We just want to make the best products.

Cook then asked who in the audience owns an iPhone, and made a joke: "If you own an Android," he said, "We recycle those at the Apple Store."

The discussion turned to Steve Jobs, as Jobs unveiled multiple products at the venue where the Dreamforce event is taking place. "I can feel him and his presence whenever I come here," said Cook. "A lot of memories here."

When people think of Steve, they think about products. But I really think of the simple things that he did. Every day, he left the office before I did, but he would always stop by my office before he left and exchange notes on the day. It's the simple things like that - the friendship - that I hold. I remember him more than once rehearsing on the stage and sort of going way off script in a way that only he could do and making people laugh along the way.

Cook went on to discuss Apple's values, emphasizing the company's privacy efforts, DACA advocacy, use of 100 percent renewable energy, efforts to get its suppliers to also use renewable energy, and an "audacious goal" of using only recyclable materials. "We stretch ourselves well beyond what we're currently able do to and we want to leave the world better than we found it," said Cook. "That's very important to us.

The thing that we needed to do at Apple was keep innovating while staying true to our values. It's not simply enough to just innovate, we have to stay true to our values. We care deeply enough that we embed privacy in all of our products. [...]

We've doubled down on this many, many times. We've looked in the mirror hard because we want to be a steward of the earth. We didn't want to do the things you're legally required to do, we wanted to go way beyond that.

Cook said that Apple wants to be the "ripple in the pond" when it comes to taking on goals like improving the environment and advocating for equality and human rights. "We don't want to market, we want to do," he said. "We want to make a difference." He went on to say that Apple doesn't want other companies to copy Apple products, but Apple does want people to "copy us this way."

He also explained that the well-known "Think Different" slogan is still a major part of Apple's culture.

Think different is still embedded in Apple very deeply. We don't want to play the game as it's been designed for decades or centuries, we want to play a new game. People are so smart you can generally believe that you can do things in the same manner and you're not going to get a better result than people have gotten for decades - you have to come up with a new way of thinking.

Cook also unveiled his own personal purpose and what he believes people should strive for.

At some point, you recognize the reason we are all here is to help somebody else. That is the sole reason we are here. Once you get that in your head, as it turns out, life gets so much simpler. So much simpler. And that's how I view it.

Using that as a north star, you can make a lot of decisions that can be very complex, and you can make them pretty simple. That you're here in the service of other people. That it's not about you. I very much deeply believe that.

Cook's full discussion with Mark Benioff is available on the Salesforce website with additional insight into Apple's work with Salesforce, its values, and more.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'Think Different' Still Embedded at Apple 'Very Deeply'

 

[MarkB786]

Yeah, like the notch. That's thinking different for sure. With Ive gone, maybe AAPL's creative engineers will now be unfettered to think "better different."

 

[taptic]

Ah yes, embedded very deeply. Might need a shovel to get at any of it.

 

[Appurushido]

As so many people write Apple off, they are still the powerhouse. Steve may be gone, and there have been major bumps in the road since his passing, people still buy Apple products and AirPods are one of the best products on the market since the debut of the iPhone. Still the trendsetters IMHO.

 

[fumi2014]

As an Apple customer for many years, I feel deeply uncomfortable about my relationship with them. On the one hand, they make great products and offer world-class services.

On the other, they are utterly reprehensible. China. The tax issue. Lobbying for cheaper tariffs. The fake platitudes and virtue signalling.

I guess most companies are this way now.

 

[eatrains]

Cue the usual round of haters. They are exactly the "confused" who Tim was talking about.

 

[farewelwilliams]

well... he does think different from steve

 

[2499723]

It all sounds so good, Tim. But, alas, your words are hollow. In the wake of Hong Kong, it’s extremely difficult to take Cook at his word. Of course, Apple has been embroiled in questionable practices for decades, but recent developments really hit home how superficial the public face of Apple really is.

 

[nt5672]

We used to to assume that "Think Different" was really closely related to "Think better", but we've found out recently that is not the case any more.

Anyway, Cook's Apple is about using press appearances to try to change the narrative, instead of letting the product make the narrative.

Say what you want, but Jobs relied a lot on the product to make his points, Cook not so much.

 

[snowboarder]

"innovation is about making things better, not just changing them. That requires a depth of thought beyond change. That's Apple's secret."

How about all the recent software updates? Is this innovation? Every single update has had tons of issues
and not much else (Catalina anyone?). Is the new Apple's secret NOT to test anything before the release?
Is there anyone at Apple who can stand up and say "this is cr@p" or everyone is simply afraid to do it?
It smells like the worst corporate culture, the opposite of innovation...

 

[Herrpod]

Was releasing a video streaming service with almost zero content "Thinking Different"? If so, you did it!

 

[Naaaaak]

"iPad is a real computer" Boom! Think different.
"Disposable butterfly keyboards" Boom! Think different.
"We're a services company now" Boom! Think different.

 

[macfacts]

So what is "salesforce"? And why is apple seemingly partnering with them

 

[iGeneo]

Yeah, like the notch. That's thinking different for sure. With Ive gone, maybe AAPL's creative engineers will now be unfettered to think "better different."

The "notch" argument is really old. Apple had two choices

Black out the whole upper area like the Google Pixel 4, or grab a little extra screen space to tuck in some info.

 

[stevet]

Er ... what?

Clearly it’s sarcasm based on reality.

 

[Naaaaak]

Black out the whole upper area like the Google Pixel 4, or grab a little extra screen space to touch in some info.

The upper area was the way to go. Looks so much cleaner.

 

[flimpy]

well... he does think different from steve

my thoughts exactly.

 

[44267547]

Yeah, like the notch. That's thinking different for sure.

Consumers don’t care about the notch. It has some of those advanced technology in terms of biometric security, no one spends _any_ time of their day to complain about the notch, at all. (Well, except for the extreme minority on sites like this....)

 

[iGeneo]

The upper area was the way to go. Looks so much cleaner.

Here you go

These iPhone X Wallpapers Can Completely Hide the Notch

The iPhone X is one of the most beautiful phones ever made, but the aesthetics stop just short of perfect due to one thing: That notch. It was a necessary...

ios.gadgethacks.com

"Problem" solved

 

[Plutonius]

I believe that instead of "Think Different" as a catch phrase, Apple should change it to "Monetize Everything" .

 

[Jimmy James]

He’s right about perception regarding innovation and change. It’s a recurring theme on the iPhone forum that people criticize updates that stand the test of time because the housing looks the same.

 

[thevault]

The new way of thinking for the new Apple purchaser.

 

[mariusignorello]

So what is "salesforce"? And why is apple seemingly partnering with them

It’s a marketing and customer service platform.

 

[Feyl]

He said nothing new in this as he always do. What he forgot to say is “we have the best product pipeline ever”. Bravo...

 

[BornAgainMac]

"innovation is about making things better, not just changing them. That requires a depth of thought beyond change. That's Apple's secret."

How about all the recent software updates? Is this innovation? Every single update has had tons of issues
and not much else (Catalina anyone?). Is the new Apple's secret NOT to test anything before the release?
Is there anyone at Apple who can stand up and say "this is cr@p" or everyone is simply afraid to do it?
It smells like the worst corporate culture, the opposite of innovation...

Maybe they are using SCRUM. That is why you see so many problems. I see it killing productivity and innovation for developers. The new Apple Campus has open areas for people to work together yet I bet management have their own separate offices. It really should be the other way around.