After focusing on Apple’s second quarter earnings and the subsequent reaction by Wall Street in the first part of his interview on CNBC’s Mad Money, Apple CEO Tim Cook got a little more personal in part two. During today’s portion of the interview that just aired, Cook talked about his personal motivation for creating products, as well as people he looks up to and more.
Cook explained that the goal of Apple is to create products “that give people the ability to do things they couldn’t do before.” Specifically, Cook pointed to how the iPad can give people with autism the ability to express themselves. Apple just recently highlighted this in a video it shared on YouTube showing a kid with autism using an iPad to communicate with those around him. Cook also mentioned using iPads in education, artists using devices to better express themselves, and FaceTime allowing people to keep in commutation. Ultimately, Cook explained things like those are what motivate him and make him happy.
At its core, Cook said that Apple’s ethos is to “conduct business in a way that’s right and just.” For examples of this, the Apple CEO pointed to the company’s human rights efforts, as well as its focus on customer privacy and the environment.
As an individual, Cook said that his biggest inspirations are people who “fought for human rights and pushed humanity forward.” Specifically, Cook pointed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy as people who inspire him. Cook, however, also said that Steve Jobs has been one of his biggest influences. “I have incredible love and respect for Steve,” Cook said. “There’s never been anyone like him.”
Cook also touched briefly on Apple’s recent battle with the government over unlocking an iPhone involved in the San Bernardino attacks. He made sure to note, however, that the issue of customer privacy is far more extensive than just the San Bernardino case. “It’s a complicated issue, not a sound bite one,” Cook said.
Finally, Jim Cramer asked Cook about his thoughts on people like Donald Trump saying Apple needs to make its products in the United States and Bernie Sanders saying corporations are destroying the fabric of America. Cook said that government in the United States has gotten “quite dysfunctional” over recent times. He noted that this puts an added responsibility on each individual citizen to stand up for themselves and what they believe him.
You can watch part two of Cook’s CNBC interview below:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
It should have been very hard for Cook to keep the cool. His posture, eyes, tone of voice and arguments used made him look pretty insecure and defensive. Here and there you can see some attempt to smile and switch to intense-mode, but the overall impression doesn’t change much.
Apple as a company started and lived by following a “why”, i.e. the vision of another man, Steve Jobs.
Tim Cook is very good at managing the stuff he’s got left, he tells us the “what”, but cannot stand for the “why” as Jobs did, and he is not as good at creating that distortion field that ultimately made people believe in Apple even when it took very irrational decisions in the past (flash etc.). In this sense Job WAS Apple, He WAS “think different” and all the other stuff. The difference is clear in this video: people may doubt the Jobs and go against him, but ultimately know that they could be just blind and not see it. That eventually he may be right. Jobs made people imagine those “great products in the pipeline” that Cook is talking about just by existing. Not the same applies for Cook and the “what” he stands for: he says that they have good stuff up their sleeve, but by doing this he makes people think by using logic,and has nothing else to back it up except reason. He comes across normal, rational, human, like everyone else.
“even when it took very irrational decisions in the past (flash etc.)” FLASH!!!??? Irrational decision!? Gotta be kiddin’ right??
Igroucho: from a rational point of view. It means it could have seemed an irrational choice (at that time) but was ultimately right (today).
No, Cristiano. It was right *then* because it works *now*. Hadn’t he taken that decision, iPhone supporting Flash would have prolonged its life and we would still be stuck in a world full of Flash ads, instead of transitioning to mostly HTML 5.
The only thing I can say is Apple has impressed me so much that I have gone and purchased my first Mac last week, and I have been a Windows user since the beginning of it’s creation. I think Tim Cook is quite the visionary also, as well as, many others at Apple. I think more, even better, things are yet to come.
@frikova: Correct, exactly the same thing I am saying.