“We can all perform at 90%, but you want people to perform at 100.” This is how Tim Cook begins one of his most candid interviews to date. In this conversation with GQ, he tells us about his life before meeting Apple, his fears, his way of understanding human existence… He says that we must leave the world better than we found it.
To reach that 100, Cook explains, “you have to be inspired by something.” It is not enough to want to achieve excellence. It’s not sufficient. Your work should pursue a cause greater than your own ambition. There must be another reason. It’s about making the world a better place, and that’s what Apple is all about. It is your North Star. There is five things that inspire Tim to pursue herand they are very interesting.
Letters to clients: going to the source
When your company creates technology that makes people’s lives easier, you need to know exactly what you’re doing. It is your duty to know what these people think and How do you improve their experience?. Tim reads all the mail that comes to him, which is good because it lets him know things he won’t talk about in a meeting with his VPs or investors. They don’t have these issues, but ordinary customers do, and that’s why you need to listen to them.
Cook says he still gets letters from people whose lives have been saved by an Apple product, and he says it’s wonderful. In the interview, he explains that he received a message the same morning from a user who had had a crisis at the wheel which ended up causing an accident. He couldn’t call 911, but because he had an iPhone 14 with collision detection, he was able to get immediate assistance, which saved his life. Hearing about those cases where one of his products did something like that is what inspires him.
Of course, you also receive complaints. On some occasions he manages them himself, and in the rest of the cases he sends them to someone who has the time for it, but he never leaves an email unattended. It’s most likely unresponsive, but if someone has a problem with one of their devices, you know how or who can fix it. He worries that everything will go well no matter how big the mistake, and that’s what makes a great leader.
National parks: your moment of disconnection
Yosemite National Park
These great nature reserves inspire Tim Cook. He loves to hike for them. He agrees with those who once called them “the best idea in America.” He spends his summer vacation there.Even when people he knows go to other countries, he prefers to stay there. He says they are equal. They are there for everyone. Most are free, and the few that charge entry usually cost around five dollars. “They are a pearl,” he says.
Cook takes advantage of these moments to disconnect. It’s unavoidable, because there’s no cover, and it may even be good that there is not. As CEO of the largest company in the world, it makes sense that you need those moments of absolute peace. No calls, no messages, no emails or anything. Only nature, silence and disconnection. He recommends visiting at least one and explains that as soon as we do, we’ll want to go to all of them.
The Apple team: your faithful squires
Cook says the people he works with at Apple are among the brightest in the world, and it pushes him to see things from other angles, to approach various subjects, and he loves it. He says you have to stay inspired. For sure. The fact that someone pushes you a little, tells you that you are wrong, that there is another way of seeing things… This is something to be happy about.
We shouldn’t mind if someone disagrees with what we think. There is nothing wrong with believing that, for example, one plus one equals three if you have an extraordinary team behind you who will debate it to find the right solution. This is how great successes are achieved. To think that one, and even more so at these levels, will always be right, is not knowing how to lead. The leader is not the one who does everything well, he is the one who knows how to get the best out of his people so that they can help them make the best possible decisions taking into account all points of view.
Tim tries to keep everyone at Apple inspired as they inspire him. It makes them think more. To elevate those ideas that they have in their heads, whatever their position. He likes to recognize people’s good work because he knows it motivates them to keep doing well. It motivates them. This is the key to good leadership..
Sports: your moment of pleasure
“That touchdown in the last second. That basket on the horn.’ These are, in Cook’s words, the things that inspire him in sports. what, because even for a few minutes, they put aside everything that divides them and they just focus on what’s happening on the pitch.
Tim is originally from Alabama and as a child he loved to listen to what is called the “Iron Bowl” on the radio there. It’s a football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. When he got to college, he really liked it because I could go watch all the games live. He was having a good time.
Being the CEO of Apple has its privileges, and one of them is that recently he got to go to a game and talk to the team before they start. I’m sure it was the fulfillment of a dream I had since I was little. He says luckily they won that day so everything went perfectly.
Youth: The Present and Future of Apple and the World
Cook explains in the interview that he believes in working with people of all ages. “Anyone can inspire you, whether they are 12, 20, 90 or 100.” A You never know where you’ll find that thing that gives you a new idea.or this way of solving a problem I hadn’t thought of.
Apple’s CEO sees new generations as people who don’t embrace the established. Let them reject these old dogmas of their generation. They don’t accept that things have to be a certain way. They want to change them, transform them and appropriate them. It inspires him a lot because understand that you can help them.
It’s clear that being the CEO of the most valuable company in history is one of the most demanding jobs in the world. A wrong decision can lead to layoffs, millions of losses and ruined lives. It’s not something for everyone. What is needed most in a position like this is prudence, management skills and a great team that helps get the job done in the best possible way.
However, this is not enough. Something else is needed to grease the machine. Something that cannot be learned in any faculty of any university in the world: inspiration. It’s no use having the best car in the world if you don’t have gas to start it. It will not work. Tim Cook has five different ways to find himand it is all this that makes him an excellent CEO.
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