'Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level' Author AMA With Leander Kahney

[S.B.G]

What motivated you to write a book about Cook?

 

[leander]

Hi leander,

I'm not provoking a political discussion or asking about your or anyone else's political viewpoint.

During your research, did you find any evidence of unease regarding Mr. Cook's external political proclivities/activism? Internal?

TIA

No, none. Quite the opposite, the executives and staffers seem to be 100% in support. I'm sure there are folks that aren't, but I haven't heard from them. Overall, I got the impression atet the staff are completely aligned.

And in fact, I think a lot of his stances are driven by staff attitudes. Look at the protests at Google against the company's working with defense contractors, and at Microsoft also.

A lot of Apple staffers would be horrified if Cook supported coal and denied climate change. His political views are congruent with the views of his staffers, and he'd be in trouble if they weren't.
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What motivated you to write a book about Cook?

Great question! I thought he was underrated. The narrative that Apple is doomed without Steve Jobs was prevalent when he took over, and it still is! A lot of people said Apple was doomed when he took over, but the opposite has happened.

Ignoring issues like MBP keyboards, everything that Apple is doing is bigger and better than ever.

We can debate this, but I think most of the products are the best Apple's ever done. The iPhone XS?
It's the best iPhone to date. AirPods? Love them. Apple Watch? I can't wait until it tells me I'm about to have a heart attack.

And objectively, everything is up, and not just the stock price. All the product categories are selling in bigger numbers, with the exception of the iPad.

It was clear that what he's doing is very successful, and I thought it was time to examine that and make the case.

 

[S.B.G]

Aside from limited cooperation from Apple and no contact with Tim, what was some of the more challenging aspects of the writing process for the book?

 

[mi7chy]

Getting photos from Apple is VERY HARD. Almost every photo taken of an Apple executive is licensed by Apple. Especially portraits. Apple buys up the copyright and makes it impossible to use them. We had huge problems getting photos for my previous books on Jobs and Jony Ive. Apple didn't help with those, and declined to license any pictures, so we had to turn to news agencies.

As for this photo of Cook, it was originally shot for the cover of Time magazine, and we thought it was arresting.

Yeah, I know he looks pretty serious, but I personally like it. He's a serious guy!!!

Thanks for the insight and AMA. I'm more of a Woz fan especially since he looks happy even when serious. Will definitely check out your book and hope to gain insight into the psychology of Tim Cook and how his decision process will shape Apple. A bonus if it covers Steve Jobs' agreement with Tim Cook before handing over the kingdom and if Cook is following the laid out path.

 

[leander]

Hi Leander - Thanks for doing this. To what extent do you think that Cook is as committed to the Mac product line as he is to the portable devices - iPad, iPhone, Watch? Innovation there has been far ahead of the laptop and desktop lines. We have all heard about Intel processor delays, but the Macbook hasn't been updated in 2 years, iMac updates are not substantial, innovation is not as much as with the iDevices. The gap between Apple and competitors is at times thin, and at times to the advantage of competitors. Is the Mac line receiving the bare minimum of attention?

The Mac is clearly neglected. The company's focus is on the iPhone, which is by far its most important product.

Maybe neglected is too harsh. It's not the priority that the portables are. But it looks like some exciting changes are on the horizon -- ARM chips, Marzipan apps. I'm kinda optimistic about the future. I hope that Apple's efforts to meld iOS with MacOS will be fruitful and both platforms will thrive.

And saying that, is the Mac line really that behind? What are competitors doing that is leaving Apple in the dust? Sure, Wintel laptops are a lot cheaper, but they're mostly junk. The megahertz wars are long over.

From what I can see, most of Apple's competitors are still copying the MacBook. It still feels like the market leader to me. I don't see Apple fans rushing out to buy Dells or Chromebooks.
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Aside from limited cooperation from Apple and no contact with Tim, what was some of the more challenging aspects of the writing process for the book?

Just writing in general. I hate it. Every single word is torture.

Plus Apple is always a pain-in-the-ass to write about. It's so secretive. Folks won't talk, even years later. The secrecy is so drummed into them. You try to contact hundreds of people and only a handful will talk. Saying that, Apple was very gracious to give me help and I'm very grateful it allowed me to talk to its executives: it made a huge difference.

 

[S.B.G]

Just writing in general. I hate it. Every single word is torture.

I hear that.

What is your typical routine for writing? What tools or apps do you like and what is the workhorse machine you like to use when you write? What about your writing envirnment, what's that like? Essentially, what works best for you to be in the zone for writing?

 

[997440]

Did you interview, even/especially if privately so without Apple's imprimatur, employees other than staff such as software engineers for example?

 

[WildCowboy]

Thanks, everyone...and extra special thanks to Leander for spending some time with us to talk about Cook. We're going to be wrapping up the live portion of this AMA in a couple of minutes, but feel free to leave any additional questions for Leander here in the thread and he'll try to get back and answer as many as he can later today if he has some more time.

 

[leander]

I hear that.

What is your typical routine for writing? What tools or apps do you like and what is the workhorse machine you like to use when you write? What about your writing envirnment, what's that like? Essentially, what works best for you to be in the zone for writing?

I don't have a routine. I'm a terrible procrastinator and will only work when terrified about an upcoming deadline. I screw around for weeks, making myself miserable eating junk food and then work 18-hour days. It's very unhealthy. I often go to a noisy cafe to concentrate.

I mostly use a late-2104 iMac with an external screen. I just use MS Word to write. Nothing special. I've tried using an outliner like OmniOutliner, and I tried DevonThink, but neither stuck. At the cafe I use a 2016 MBP or my iPad Pro with an external keyboard.
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Did you interview, even/especially if privately so without Apple's imprimatur, employees other than staff such as software engineers for example?

Yeah, I've talked to a lot of Apple staffers without Apple's permission. That's how most off my reporting is done -- I'd say 99% of it.

 

[S.B.G]

Thank you @leander for your time and insight, it is appreciated. Also thanks to @WildCowboy for setting this up.

 

[leander]

Thank you @leander for your time and insight, it is appreciated. Also thanks to @WildCowboy for setting this up.

Thank you guys. It was pleasure. I'l check back in later this afternoon and answer any other questions that come in. Thanks for the interest!

 

[997440]

Thanks leander and WC. Stop imposing torture on yourself, already. It's supposed to be fun; mostly so anyways.

 

[happygodavid]

@leander Thanks for the AMA! I'm looking forward to diving into your book once my life calms down a bit. Love the Cultcast, btw! Hands down, one of my favorite podcasts. Question: I've often wondered; is there any job at Apple that you would personally want if they offered it to you? I know you've covered them for years, but I'm curious if you'd actually want to work for them. Keep up the great work, and best wishes on the success of your book!

 

[chfilm]

This is so cool that you took the time Leander, thanks so much really! Excited about your book. Not that I really hope that it will change any of the naysayers here at MR forums in their views about Cook but maybe it will help the general public to make a more informed memory and opinion about him.

I feel like he does a great job as a CEO. The one thing that I’m a bit worried about is really if Johnny is such an Industrial Design guy, and Timmy is not Into products at all, who is thinking about the concept of a new product like Steve used to? Like coming up with brand new or brave ideas, not about how something should look like but about what problem it should be able to solve?

Anyways, I guess the Pixar analogy is great and times are changing, teams can also achieve great or even greater results than one single genius.

 

[leander]

@leander Thanks for the AMA! I'm looking forward to diving into your book once my life calms down a bit. Love the Cultcast, btw! Hands down, one of my favorite podcasts. Question: I've often wondered; is there any job at Apple that you would personally want if they offered it to you? I know you've covered them for years, but I'm curious if you'd actually want to work for them. Keep up the great work, and best wishes on the success of your book!

Thanks for that about CultCast. Nice to hear.

That's a really interesting question. I've thought about the PR department a couple of times. That's where ex-journalists often end up, and I'm sure the compensation is pretty good. The new News+ app has also been hiring journalists, and that seems like it would be an interesting project. With 80M+ readers, it's a huge audience to try to serve. There's a lot of interesting challenges, especially in this age of fake news and extreme partisanship. There's also the new editorially-driven App Store. They're doing good work, writing about cool new apps and interviewing app developers. It's an interesting approach.

I wondered about working in the design studio. It seems like they have a great setup there, if you are lucky enough to be one of the designers and not the support staff. But I can barely draw a stick figure competently, and have no design training/eduction, so it's a pipe dream.

Trouble is, none of these would offer me the freedom and independence I have now. Apple can be a very high-pressure and stressful place to work. So I think I'd rather be outside the tent pissing in than vice versa.
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This is so cool that you took the time Leander, thanks so much really! Excited about your book. Not that I really hope that it will change any of the naysayers here at MR forums in their views about Cook but maybe it will help the general public to make a more informed memory and opinion about him.

I feel like he does a great job as a CEO. The one thing that I’m a bit worried about is really if Johnny is such an Industrial Design guy, and Timmy is not Into products at all, who is thinking about the concept of a new product like Steve used to? Like coming up with brand new or brave ideas, not about how something should look like but about what problem it should be able to solve?

Anyways, I guess the Pixar analogy is great and times are changing, teams can also achieve great or even greater results than one single genius.

Thanks. Yeah, it's about time the narrative about Tim Cook changed. He's doing a much better job than he's given credit for. Plus, he hasn't received credit for the stuff he's done in the past. He was one of the big players that helped save Apple. Jobs gets all the credit, but Cook played a huge part. Unless something goes really horribly wrong in the next few years, history will judge him well.

 

[Mark Holmes]

Hey Leander,
It might be too late to reach you, but wanted to at least thank you and the Cultcast team for the many many laughs you have given me while also letting me obsess about Apple and its gadgets. Erfon Elijah is truly a mad genius - but the obvious chemistry between all of you is what makes it work.
If you do weigh in on one more question - the one change I would like to see Apple make is a return to at least the pro laptops being configurable. I spent the afternoon updating my 2012 15" MacBook Pro with a 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM. It's such a pleasure taking my 7 year old computer and making it feel nearly as fast as 2018 MBPs. Not to mention the wonderful keyboard... Do you see Apple ever coming to their senses again on customers being able to update their laptops? You would think, with their focus on the environment, one of the easiest ways to keep laptops out of landfills is to make them last as long as possible. I feel like I could get another 7 years out of this thing.
Once again, thanks for the Cultcast and for taking the time to do this.