8 Key Takeaways From Apple CEO Tim Cook's Interview


BENGALURU: A man of very few words, Tim Cook, CEO, Apple talked about a number of things in his recent interview to Washington Post. Steve Jobs, mistakes of his life, or ‘enormous India opportunity', all important topics were discussed. The Economic Times brings you 8 key takeaways from Apple CEO’s interview.

Lonesome Work

It may be the most-sought after job to be the Apple CEO, but it is also a lonesome job. "It's sort of a lonely job. The adage that it's lonely — the CEO’s job is lonely — is accurate in a lot of ways." But, 'am not looking for any sympathy," said Cook.

Steve Jobs and his Irreplaceability

In 2004, Jobs announced that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Cook is believed to have offered a part of his liver to the dying Apple CEO. When asked about his Steve Jobs, Cook replied, "To me, Steve's not replaceable."

Worst day ever

Cook feels that for him the day Jobs died was the worst day of his life. "[The day he died] was sort of the worst day ever." He said that when he took over as CEO, he believed that Jobs will soon bounce back. "When I first took the job as CEO, I actually thought that Steve would be here for a long time. Because he was going to be chairman, work a bit less after he came back up the health curve. So I went into it with one thought and then weeks later— six weeks later, whatever..." commented Cook.

The “Go-To Guy”!

Cook said that it depends on the issue that who he turns to for advice. He further told that he turned to former president Bill Clinton and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein for help on how to face US Congress during the year 2013 probe of Apple's practices.  On issues related to returning shareholder's cash, he said, "I called up Warren Buffett. I thought he's the natural person, and so I try to go through that process on everyone."

Mistake of his life

Cook admitted that Apple Maps was a big mistake. Another mistake which he admitted to was hiring the wrong person to head the company's retail division. "I hired the wrong person for retail [former Dixons CEO John Browett] initially. That was clearly a screw-up," said Cook.

Enormous Indian Opportunity

Tim Cook's interview had a mention about India and the enormous opportunity that the country presents. "One of the big things that has held India back is the cellular infrastructure. They have two major carriers putting in a lot of investment to bring 4G. You can imagine if you didn't have 4G today. You can't enjoy video on a 3G. Periodically you can, but not consistently. This is a game changer," added Cook.

Sshhhhh…..No sharing confidential projects!

Apple under Tim Cook is said to be more systematic, more transparent, more team-oriented, more humble, which makes it more open about the products it is working on, or that’s what the world thinks. But Cook denies it! "We try to be as secretive as we've always been on products, although it's increasingly difficult to do that," commented Cook.

Artificial Intelligence: The future

Stressing on the immense possibilities that Artificial Intelligence presents, Cook told about doing a lot of things around artificial intelligence. "Look at the core technologies that make up the smartphone today and look at the ones that will be dominant in smartphones of the future — like AI. The technology will make this product even more essential to you," concluded Cook.

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