Global Tech Leader, Supply Chain Wizard, Skillful Negotiator
About The Leader
About The Leader
Tim Cook as a CEO had to fill big shoes of Steve Jobs; however he managed to work with his own leadership style to grew Apple into a $2.3 B empire.
Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple and serves on its board of directors.
Before being named CEO in August 2011, Tim was Apple’s chief operating officer and was responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries.
In the decade since Cook became the CEO of Apple, he has more than doubled the revenue of Apple and grew market cap from $350 B to over $2800 B
His Purpose
"Make Apple a company of choice for billions by demanding new innovations and creating the world's most powerful supply chain engine with smart engineers, suppliers, tech wizards and experts."
Cook intended to not only continue the legacy of Steve Jobs but also to create a mark of his own as he made Apple a company of choice for billions. He not only grew the company ten-fold but also kept it ahead of the competition with new innovations.
Case for Change
Case for Change
“The big PC brands often outsourced both manufacturing and significant design decisions, resulting in computers that were cheap but not distinctive. Cook’s innovation was to force Foxconn and others to adapt to the extravagant aesthetic and quality specifications demanded by Jobs.”
Growth Gap
Growth Gap
“More than 1 billion active iPhones in the world managing and building a global and digital supply chain”
Investment Portfolio
Investment Portfolio
“Cook set Apple apart by spending big to buy up next-generation parts years in advance and striking exclusivity deals on key components to ensure Apple would get them ahead of rivals.”
His Leadership Qualities
His Leadership Qualities
Tim Cook may not have the same design acumen as Jobs but has done exceptionally well to manage relationships and make them flourish.
Strategic Thinker
Strategic Thinker
Cook expanded the business in ways Jobs used to resist. Jobs loved to point out that Apple's product lineup could fit on a small table. At the time of his death, Apple sold two iPhone gadgets and one iPad; today it offers seven iPhone gadgets and five iPad models along with high-priced accessories.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Tim Cook quickly realized that with time iPhone growth will slow down and hence they needed a diversification strategy to grow new product lines as well as add on services.
Tim Cook took control of the entire supply chain and also developed new partners in Vietnam, India, and other regions to reduce dependence on China.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Quick to adapt actions to achieve set goals
Due diligence to find alternate options
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Tim Cook showed that both diversity in business as well as leadership style and your actions is important.
Tim Cook set an ambitious target of doubling revenue for servicesby 2020. He achieved this 5 months ahead of schedule and during this same period launched over 20 new services.
Smart Diplomat with an Ethical Compass
Smart Diplomat with an Ethical Compass
In Jan 2012, a year after Cook became CEO, Vice President Joe Biden was in Palo Alto for a dinner meeting with Cook and a group of tech leaders. There was a lot of political pressure on Cook to come up with a plan to manufacture the iPhone in the US. Cook managed the situation by announcing a big decision to make some Macs in a new US factory.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Tim Cook set up a factory in Texas to manufacture Apple Mac Pro in 2013 with the help of a contract manufacturer Flex Ltd.
However, the factory couldn’t produce the volumes desired at a optimum cost making dent in the profits. Cook smartly continued expansions of contract to China to manage growing Apple product volumes.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Portraying your decisions in a smart was to manage sensitive situation
Admit when you are wrong
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Tim Cook showed immense emotional intelligence managing relationships
Having a manufacturing plant in US provided tremendous political benefits to Apple leading to new tariff reliefs for the import of parts from China to make the production more effective. This also helped Cook strengthen its relationships with Chinese suppliers to compensate for growing volume demands.
Trendsetter
Trendsetter
Contract manufacturers worked with all the big electronics companies, but Cook set Apple apart by spending big to buy up next-generation parts years in advance and striking exclusivity deals on key components to ensure Apple would get ahead of rivals.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Cook pressured Foxconn and other Chinese suppliers to adapt to the extravagant aesthetic and quality specifications demanded Apple designers.
He made Apple engineers travel frequently to China, spending long hours not in conference rooms but on production floors hunting for hardware refinements.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Be two steps ahead of your rivals
Spending more time on delivering results than discussing about them
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Tim Cook balanced his business decisions with a robust vision to stay ahead of competition
Not even the Covid-19 pandemic, which temporarily shut Foxconn factories in early 2020, could stop Apple production volumes. While commercial flights in and out of China were suspended, Apple chartered private jets to fly hundreds of employees to the country to oversee production and testing and ensure the new models were made before the critical holiday season.
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