Tim Cook Visits United Arab Emirates Amid Rumors of Apple Retail Store Plans

[krravi]

He's "not a product guy". Apple should send him on a lifetime world tour and hire a CEO.

Product guys don't sell things. They make things. We need guys who make things and guys who can sell those things. And Tim is one of those guys, in the absence of SJ, of course.

 

[TheJae]

He's "not a product guy". Apple should send him on a lifetime world tour and hire a CEO.

Nah Tim is good, he is doing all the administrative things that Jony can't be bothered with. Jony is the man secretly running the show.

 

[krravi]

The arab nations don't fare well when it comes to LGBT rights so it's strange to see Tim hobnobbing with folks who could see him as taboo. But I guess money talks.

Dubai is a little better compared to other middle eastern countries and the prime minster of that nation has put a lot of emphasis on tourism and shopping as a viable alternative to oil, when it will eventually run out.

 

[DanielSw]

Is it me, or does Tim always seem like he's out of the office in Cupertino and somewhere else? Shouldn't he be in the office as much as possible to work on products instead of traveling to nyc to meet with investors and things along those lines?

It's you. Why don't you email him with your instructions!

 

[Johnf1285]

Quick, everyone chime in on how much better of a CEO they could be or how they would "run the show".

Please.

If you had so much capability and insight, you'd already be a CEO at some billion dollar company, not ranting and raving on a forum.

Let the man handle his business already, jeeeeez



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Here's what I don't understand: what exactly do people expect of Cook? He's done a pretty good job of running the company so far. And by that I mean he's done a good job of running a huge company; his title is "CEO of Apple," not "Miracle Worker." Here's my reasoning:

1. Apple's profits have increased every year since the debut of the iPhone, whether Jobs or Cook was in charge. It's not as though Apple is doomed. I think it's pretty impressive that their profits are still going up when they're already so astronomically high.

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2. Apple has to ship a whole lot more iPhones when launching a new device than any of their competitors, yet they still manage to ship the right amount. The "right amount" being enough to keep demand and popularity high, not one for every single person who wants an iPhone. Apple knows their s*** about supply and demand. If there was one iPhone for every person on planet Earth at launch, it would take forever to launch a product and demand would drop. You wouldn't see lines outside Apple Stores that display just how crazy people are for their products, which makes people without Apple products go "Hmm, there must be something cool about those devices if people want them so badly" and Apple's competitors go "Wow... Wish that was us."

3. Apple has done some pretty incredible stuff with display resolution and product weight while Cook has been in charge. Go hold an iPad Mini or Air at your local Apple Store, then compare it to the 4th gen iPad launched just one year earlier and see for yourself!

4. Making these products takes time. Many of the devices that have come out since Jobs's death were probably developed while he was alive for the most part. How much can we really attribute to Jobs, and how much to Cook? If the products are still great, who cares?

5. No one, not even Apple, "revolutionizes the industry" every two years, which is how long Cook has been CEO. Since Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, the company launched three groundbreaking product lines: the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Jobs was CEO for four years before the iPod came out! Was he a failure for those first four years because he didn't oversee the launch of a revolutionary product? Not at all.

6. What a bunch of entitled babies... "Waaaah, Apple hasn't made me an iWatch and an iTV yet, waaaah, Apple makes products I want but charge too much for them, waaaaah, Tim Cook isn't Steve Jobs." Apple doesn't owe you anything. If you like their products, buy them. If you don't like them or think they're overpriced, don't. Apple is a business. The point of what they do is to make money. I'm sure they're happy to hear about people's lives being improved by their products and that products that DON'T EVEN EXIST YET (iWatch and iTV) are in such high demand, because it means the money will keep pouring in. Ultimately, though, profit is the name of the game for them, so they will run their business in whatever fashion they think is most profitable. It's nothing malicious; that's just how businesses work. And if you ask me, Tim Cook knows EXACTLY what he's dong.

+ a million to you sir!

Great post!

Especially #6

 

[griz]

is it just me or does the UAE Prime Minister remind you a little of Steve Jobs?

 

[Yakuzahi]

Will he go to Iran one day? Even when they kill gay people over there?

 

[TheJae]

Will he go to Iran one day? Even when they kill gay people over there?

Depends on US sanctions, whether Apple products are embargoed. But what does an iPhone and killing gay people has in common? None. It's about money, regardless of the country's politics.

PS: I have nothing against anyones sexual orientation. Just looking at it from a business perspective.

 

[ablashek]

Is it me, or does Tim always seem like he's out of the office in Cupertino and somewhere else? Shouldn't he be in the office as much as possible to work on products instead of traveling to nyc to meet with investors and things along those lines?

he delegates his work. thats what managers do. thats one of the reasons he is always so proud of his "team."

 

[Applebot1]

Is it me, or does Tim always seem like he's out of the office in Cupertino and somewhere else? Shouldn't he be in the office as much as possible to work on products instead of traveling to nyc to meet with investors and things along those lines?

Completely different to Steve. He was unique. I personally think he is doing a great job. Steve was irreplaceable.

 

[ilovewasabi]

Depends on US sanctions, whether Apple products are embargoed. But what does an iPhone and killing gay people has in common? None. It's about money, regardless of the country's politics.

PS: I have nothing against anyones sexual orientation. Just looking at it from a business perspective.

He was fearing for the safety of Cook since Cook is (allegedly) gay.

 

[fatboyslick]

UAE Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum looks remarkably like Mr Jobs

 

[downpour]

UAE Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum looks remarkably like Mr Jobs

I thought the same thing...

 

[mdriftmeyer]

is it just me or does the UAE Prime Minister remind you a little of Steve Jobs?

It's just you. However, seeing as Steve is half Syrian, you might mistake him for Middle Eastern.

 

[phrehdd]

Dubai is a little better compared to other middle eastern countries and the prime minster of that nation has put a lot of emphasis on tourism and shopping as a viable alternative to oil, when it will eventually run out.

Dubai is a rich little nation that wants to impress. However, it still follows a particular "book" that is very clear on how to treat unbelievers and names two primary religions by name and also harshness more so to the apostate - and it isn't shall we say kind in action. The belief system in Dubai allows for using non-believers, lying to non-believers and breaking contracts if it gives those that follow an advantage in the name of their belief system. This is not my opinion but both their book and history support ALL of what I have just said.

Dubai is ran on greed and vanity. I hardly find them "better" but less violent than some of the other nations in that region.

 

[Rogifan]

Most of the executive leadership was put in place under Jobs. This is the team he groomed to take over for him. If people think Cook lacks vision or isn't a product guy and that's what Apple needs then why didn't Jobs recommend the board fill the CEO spot with someone who was a product guy with a vision (either internal or external)? The fact is, Cook is CEO because Jobs recommended he fill that spot. The board just rubber stammped what Jobs wanted.

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Steve is still dead. Apple Inc is an entity. Persons currently involved from Chairman to housekeeping are now responsible.

We'll talk again when Steve returns from the dead, OK?

They are responsible, but they're there because Steve wanted them there. So I'll say again, the way some talk here, Steve obviously did a lousy job of grooming an executive team to take over for him, especially picking a 'bean counter' instead of a 'product visionary' for CEO.

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Product guys don't sell things. They make things. We need guys who make things and guys who can sell those things. And Tim is one of those guys, in the absence of SJ, of course.

Tim is doing what CEOs should be doing. Let the engineers and designers focus on the products.

 

[Tiger8]

is it just me or does the UAE Prime Minister remind you a little of Steve Jobs?

Its not just you, he kinda has that look, though Steve had softer features

It's just you. However, seeing as Steve is half Syrian, you might mistake him for Middle Eastern.

Syria is in the Middle East, so how would you 'mistake' him for middle eastern?

 

[GoodWatch]

Surprised it wasn't any earlier those Arabs will pay cash and Apple will be making a killing in a tax free country!

Yes, with >150 billion Dollar in cash they sure need such a break. Poor Apple, I'm wondering how they make ends meet.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

So what is a usable metric to you?

For starters: Earnings growth after adjusted for inflation. I understand you love everything Apple unconditionally, at least that is how your posts come across. I've been a huge fan of Apple products myself since my first Mac -- a Mac SE/20. I also don't think it's fair to compare Cook's CEO performance to Jobs or any other CEO. Cook is his own person. But a chief responsibility of any CEO is to both grow a company & it's earnings. Cook, by his own admissions & standards (performance bonus pay tied to Apple's S&P ranking) he has made logistics mistakes that cost Apple revenue & growth. So I don't think it's unfair to say his CEO tenure has been less than stellar.

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How brain damaged can one statement be?

Tim Cook is the master mind of Logistics, Planning and Manufacturing that made him so valuable to Steven P. Jobs.

Right. That is why he admitted he screwed up the new iMac launch; the iPad mini retina launch; produced too many iPhone 5Cs & too few iPhone 5Ss, not to mention the new Mac Pro is still severely constrained even though it's components are not. Yes, keep reading those textbooks about him being the master of everything you listed above.

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Actually, Apple earns more per quarter than most companies will see in a lifetime. I'd say that's a very "usable" metric.

More like simplistic. If it were that easy everyone could easily have an Ivy League MBA with honors.

 

[reznick]

From what I gather, Tim Cook is dead weight everywhere. They had said he was some sort of supply-chain genius but I'm always seeing how product supply is completely falling behind demand for both the iPhone and new Mac Pro. He's definitely dead weight to the company. Apple is totally getting trounced by Samsung when it comes to moving products. Apple needs to build some huge robotic factories that spit iDevices out at mach speed. The news media says that every business deal Tim Cook makes is going to be a massive failure because almost no one can afford Apple products. So that isn't helping very much, either. Another quarter and Apple falls into an even deeper value abyss. Dammit! Apple has become a joke of a tech company scorned by the computer industry and Wall Street.

What the hell are you talking about? Do you have any idea how complicated and difficult production management is? Especially for a company like Apple?!

The reason they don't "spit iDevices" out is because they don't want to over produce.

I read "Inside Apple," and the book explains in detail what Cooks strengths are. It's his meticulous attention to detail, not in product, but in operations. He's extremely sharp, and an extremely hard worker.

 

[driceman]

Quick, everyone chime in on how much better of a CEO they could be or how they would "run the show".

Please.

If you had so much capability and insight, you'd already be a CEO at some billion dollar company, not ranting and raving on a forum.

Let the man handle his business already, jeeeeez



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+ a million to you sir!

Great post!

Especially #6

Why thank you.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

I wonder if Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wears underwear...

 

[animatedude]

[/COLOR]

Well, we know Apple won't open a new store in Saudi Arabia, as Cook, an openly gay man, would be arrested and probably stoned to death in that country.

lol well i'm from Saudi Arabia and i can assure you Tim Cook would call it Gay Heaven over here! lol

 

[larrylaffer]

For such a rich country I would expect the PM to have nicer looking furniture. Those chairs look really crappy.

 

[krravi]

Dubai is a rich little nation that wants to impress. However, it still follows a particular "book" that is very clear on how to treat unbelievers and names two primary religions by name and also harshness more so to the apostate - and it isn't shall we say kind in action. The belief system in Dubai allows for using non-believers, lying to non-believers and breaking contracts if it gives those that follow an advantage in the name of their belief system. This is not my opinion but both their book and history support ALL of what I have just said.

Dubai is ran on greed and vanity. I hardly find them "better" but less violent than some of the other nations in that region.

I agree with you on their attitude towards "Non Believers"..

But then which capitalist nation isn't run on greed and vanity...You will find emperors of greed and vanity in Wall Street if you believe some of the stuff that's on the news.