Actually it was Al Gore who invented the mouse. Woz and Jobs built Al Gore in a garage in silicon valley.
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Tim Cook Named 'World's Greatest Leader,' Reflects on Leading Post-Jobs Era at Apple
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Actually it was Al Gore who invented the mouse. Woz and Jobs built Al Gore in a garage in silicon valley.
Totally agree... I also wonder how could they not give the #1 spot to Taylor Swift!
But seriously... "World's Greatest Leader"... WTF?!?!? what a joke! the stupidity of the title itself! Most of the people on the list are douchebag politicians, corrupt bankers and sleazy corporate business *******s. Some even have very clear criminal resumes.
Very few of those 50 names are people the world should actually follow to become a better place... but hey, it's a Forbes list, so one cannot take it seriously anyway. I wonder how much money did Apple pay to put Tim at the top... as part of it's new corporate image campaign to sell more crap and make more money, Apple is increasingly becoming Microsoft, and every other mediocre corporation.
Apple, Tim... shame on you. You should give back this cheap, fake. ridiculous title.
Do you think Mr Cook campaigned for this title? Are there photos of him accepting the World's Greatest Leader Trophy from Steve Forbes?
ok...
Do you think they just included him in the list, and gave him the world's stupidest title ever, without him and/or the Apple PR team knowing anything about it?!?
No way. I bet you he knew everything about it: the list title, his ranking, who else was on the list, the text about him, the photo they used, the date it would be published... etc. Everything was authorized by Cook and Apple's PR minions.
And in any case... they accepted it. For a company that imposes fierce media control - specially on establishment magazines such as Forbes - they might as well campaigned for it.
What I wonder is, how can anybody defend this? regardless of how much one likes Apple's products (they are just consumer products); or how intelligent one thinks Tim Cook is, or how much anyone would admire him for whatever reason (objectively speaking, he hasn't accomplished anything great for humanity - other than sell more crap and line his pockets)... just think about how stupid this title sounds: "World's Greatest Leader" ... admit it: it's incredibly moronic!!!
And on top of that, look at some of the other nominees... a few might be quite respectable, but most of them are a bunch of incompetent douchebags that represent some of the world's most corrupt (even criminal) organizations.
How such a "great leader" accepted to be in this list, among some of those names, holding this ridiculous title, is beyond my understanding... unless, of course, he actively campaigned for it as part of a PR move to sell more crap and make more money.
Just think about it.
Cheers!
Yes you are. And I'm stating the facts. It's pretty silly to have a go at a CEO for the workers in another company. It's better to have a go at the CEO of the company in question. That being Foxconn.
Terry Gou is the Foxconn CEO still as far as I know. Have a go at him for his workers and not Tim Cook.
That moniker is going to stick around for a long time, but not with the caché with which it was coined.
Nope, Foxconn workers are ultimately treated poorly because Apple uses them to build their stuff and save money versus paying good wages and benefits to Americans. So it IS Tim Cooks fault. If Apple refused to use Foxconn then amazingly....foxconn wouldn't be able to do what they do.
Apple and other big companies ENABLE this whole slave labor thing. Just making that clear.
Hmmm. I might be being horribly naïve, but I can't see Tim Cook wanting to be pronounced The World's Greatest Leader. Even if he sleeps in TWGL monogrammed pyjamas I doubt he'd want to be publicly named as such. That said, it's difficult to believe that the article wasn't run past Apple PR, and it's equally difficult to believe that they didn't bring the article to his attention.
I'm now slightly concerned that his time working with Steve Jobs has left him infected with Jobs' Messiah complex.
Man of Peace needs to fix the Mac Mini
"The first time I sat down with him, I walked away thinking wow, that's a man of peace," she says. "I just absolutely loved his integrity, his values."
I like hearing this about Tim Cook, but I wonder if he just missed the boat or trusted the wrong person with the Mac Mini. A great, wonderful product that got taken over by the finance bean-counters who insisted on: 1) higher price (40% gross margin?), 2) lower specs, and 3) no customizability. All the great things of that product were deliberately taken away. Makes me furious, and makes me sad that the Apple culture got taken over by the Wall Street culture.
"The first time I sat down with him, I walked away thinking wow, that's a man of peace," she says. "I just absolutely loved his integrity, his values."
I like hearing this about Tim Cook, but I wonder if he just missed the boat or trusted the wrong person with the Mac Mini. A great, wonderful product that got taken over by the finance bean-counters who insisted on: 1) higher price (40% gross margin?), 2) lower specs, and 3) no customizability. All the great things of that product were deliberately taken away. Makes me furious, and makes me sad that the Apple culture got taken over by the Wall Street culture.
Exactly. That's probably coming next.
And, there are articles everywhere about him giving away his fortune to charity when he dies so that will just add to the legendary status he's achieved. Of course, paying workers in the USA decent wages with benefits or at least using all that wealth to improve conditions for the Chinese slaves would be a much better use of his fortune. But, we don't need to go "there".
Why? Because:
1. HE IS OBSESSIVELY FOCUSED ON ONLY A FEW PRODUCTS.
Compare Apple with Samsung. The shear breadth of Samsung's product range is stunning, but Tim Cook takes an entirely different tact. He is ruthless at saying no to new products, unless Apple can not only produce the best in that category, but actually redefine what that category is. As he put it, "You can only do so many things great, and you should cast aside everything else." And again: "But the DNA of the company, the thing that makes our heart beat, is a maniacal focus on making the best products in the world. Not good products, or a lot of products, but the absolute best products in the world."
2. HE PUTS BUILDING A GREAT COMPANY AHEAD OF BUILDING A GREAT SHARE PRICE.
Tim Cook has repeatedly stressed that he views endless speculation about the share price as an unwelcome distraction from the real task at hand- producing and selling world changing products. As he expressed it, "Companies that get confused, that think their goal is revenue or stock price or something. You have to focus on the things that lead to those things."
And even more stridently," If you want me to only do things for ROI reasons then you should get out of this stock."
3. HE ONLY RELEASES A PRODUCT WHEN IT IS TRULY OUTSTANDING.
A case in point is the Apple watch. Cook was under tremendous pressure early last year to announce a release date for the Apple timepieces. He resisted, even when he knew that competitors were working on similar products, because he knew that the product wasn't yet good enough. Then when he finally announced the watch range, he still did not rush it's release into the market.
4. HE REFUSES TO LOWER PRICES FOR MARKET SHARE.
Few industries are under more pressure to reduce prices than the computer sector. But again and again Tim Cook resists. He understands that price lowering is a game that is impossible to win and once begun is extremely difficult to stop. It also means reduced margins, which inevitably lead to lower product quality, which in turn lead to lower customer satisfaction.
Cook is adamant that moving away from premium pricing would greatly erode the Apple brand. "Price is rarely the most important thing. A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it and the joy is gone."
5. HE PLAYS THE LONG GAME, KEEPING THE COMPANY'S VISION IN MIND AT ALL TIMES.
The defining characteristic of Tim Cook's reign at Apple so far is surely his commitment to the Apple ethos. That philosophy is completely focused on product excellence, and Cook has been absolutely clear that he will stick with that vision for however long he runs the company. "Apple has a culture of excellence that is, I think, so unique and so special. I'm not going to witness or permit the change of it."
1. HE IS OBSESSIVELY FOCUSED ON ONLY A FEW PRODUCTS.
Compare Apple with Samsung. The shear breadth of Samsung's product range is stunning, but Tim Cook takes an entirely different tact. He is ruthless at saying no to new products, unless Apple can not only produce the best in that category, but actually redefine what that category is. As he put it, "You can only do so many things great, and you should cast aside everything else." And again: "But the DNA of the company, the thing that makes our heart beat, is a maniacal focus on making the best products in the world. Not good products, or a lot of products, but the absolute best products in the world."
2. HE PUTS BUILDING A GREAT COMPANY AHEAD OF BUILDING A GREAT SHARE PRICE.
Tim Cook has repeatedly stressed that he views endless speculation about the share price as an unwelcome distraction from the real task at hand- producing and selling world changing products. As he expressed it, "Companies that get confused, that think their goal is revenue or stock price or something. You have to focus on the things that lead to those things."
And even more stridently," If you want me to only do things for ROI reasons then you should get out of this stock."
3. HE ONLY RELEASES A PRODUCT WHEN IT IS TRULY OUTSTANDING.
A case in point is the Apple watch. Cook was under tremendous pressure early last year to announce a release date for the Apple timepieces. He resisted, even when he knew that competitors were working on similar products, because he knew that the product wasn't yet good enough. Then when he finally announced the watch range, he still did not rush it's release into the market.
4. HE REFUSES TO LOWER PRICES FOR MARKET SHARE.
Few industries are under more pressure to reduce prices than the computer sector. But again and again Tim Cook resists. He understands that price lowering is a game that is impossible to win and once begun is extremely difficult to stop. It also means reduced margins, which inevitably lead to lower product quality, which in turn lead to lower customer satisfaction.
Cook is adamant that moving away from premium pricing would greatly erode the Apple brand. "Price is rarely the most important thing. A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it and the joy is gone."
5. HE PLAYS THE LONG GAME, KEEPING THE COMPANY'S VISION IN MIND AT ALL TIMES.
The defining characteristic of Tim Cook's reign at Apple so far is surely his commitment to the Apple ethos. That philosophy is completely focused on product excellence, and Cook has been absolutely clear that he will stick with that vision for however long he runs the company. "Apple has a culture of excellence that is, I think, so unique and so special. I'm not going to witness or permit the change of it."
Great Manager and /or Caretaker. But Great Leader? Who has he recruited to Apple that has added value to the team? It's still Steve Jobs' team that is running things. Not sure I agree with this pick. Sorry to say.