Tim Cook has stepped down as Apple CEO, marking the end of one of the greatest tenures in business history.
Cook took on the daunting task of succeeding Steve Jobs, just weeks before his premature death in October 2011.
Vanishingly few people would have dared follow Jobs, Apple’s iconic cofounder who reshaped how the world works with revolutionary devices such as the iPod and iPhone.
Yet Cook pulled off what few thought possible: taking Apple to the next level. During his 15 years in charge, Apple roughly quadrupled its annual net sales and net income to over $400 billion and $100 billion, respectively, catapulting its market capitalization from around $350 billion to $4.6 trillion.
Adjusted for stock splits, Apple’s stock price rose by nearly 2,300% during his tenure, from about $13 to $317 at the close of Cook’s last day as CEO on Monday.
Now that Cook has made way for his own successor — Apple’s hardware chief John Ternus — there are clear lessons to be learned from his success in following a legendary CEO.
1. Keep what works
Cook safeguarded the core values that Jobs instilled at Apple.
He told “CBS Sunday Morning” earlier this year that he protected principles such as focus, collaboration, obsession with the user experience, “insanely great” execution, and creating “magic” by owning the intersection of hardware, software, and services.
Cook said he always saw Apple as Jobs’ baby. “His DNA is deep in this company,” he said. “We revere him.”
The now-departed CEO also said of Jobs that his “greatest invention wasn’t a product — it was Apple itself.”
2. Blaze your own trail
Cook wasn’t cowed by Jobs’ remarkable legacy, but instead ran Apple as he saw fit.
He told “CBS Sunday Morning” that when Jobs informed him that he would be Apple’s next CEO, he also advised him: “Never ask what I would do. Just do the right thing.”
Jobs told Cook that he’d witnessed Disney become frozen by indecision after founder Walt Disney died, and he didn’t want Apple to suffer the same “paralysis.”
“I’ll never forget that,” Cook said. “It was such a gift for me because he took off of my shoulder this question of ‘What would Steve do?'”
“I just put my head down and thought, ‘I’m going to be the best version of myself,'” he added.
While Jobs was in charge, he “made every major decision” at Apple, Tripp Mickle, the author of “After Steve,” a book about the decade at Apple after Jobs’ death, told Business Insider in April after Cook revealed he was stepping down.
Cook restructured Apple to be “more democratic,” with Apple executives making collective decisions and team leaders developing products instead of individuals reporting to Jobs, Mickle said.
He also placed greater emphasis on operations and financials. Cook’s Apple expanded into China to scale up manufacturing and cater to the country’s rapidly growing middle class. The strategy allowed him to “make the iPhone ubiquitous,” Mickle said.
Cook grew services into a $100 billion business, and created a wearables category with products such as AirPods and Apple Watch. He also introduced Apple-designed silicon, which “breathed new life into its Mac business,” Mickle said.
His approach was “method over magic,” Mickle said. “Where Jobs became regarded as a great innovator, who introduced products that upended industries, Cook became known for steering Apple’s business success, as it became the world’s largest company for a decade.”
On the other hand, Apple’s reputation for innovation took a hit under Cook, Mickle said. He pointed to disappointing product launches such as the HomePod and the Vision Pro headset, and the canceled plan to build a self-driving car.
3. Play to your strengths
Instead of trying to be Jobs, Cook applied his different skillset at Apple with great effect.
“Cook’s genius wasn’t in designing the next iPhone; it was in building the most efficient supply chain on the planet and turning a hardware company into a recurring-service juggernaut,” Chris Ballard, the managing director of Check Capital Management, told Business Insider.
“There is a very small club of people who are able to successfully take over for a business legend without the company missing a beat,” Kevin Carpenter, the author of an investing Substack named Kingswell, told Business Insider.
“Cook certainly did so for Apple — in large part because he embraced his own strengths rather than trying to be a poor imitation of Steve Jobs.”
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