Tim Cook has explained why Steve Jobs recruited him, despite the fact that Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy.
The Apple CEO spoke about his predecessor and why he decided to take the leap to join the tech firm when things weren’t looking good.
In an interview with WSJ. Magazine, Cook reminisced about his early days with the company, sharing how Jobs was a ‘very different kind of CEO’.
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Cook said: “He was focused on products, products, and products, and had a belief that small teams could do amazing work. I love that vision and I also love that, in an environment where everyone was going to an enterprise kind of company, he wanted to refocus Apple on consumers and it was brilliant because at the time nobody was doing that.
“Everybody thought you could not make any money selling to consumers and I've never thought it was a good idea to follow the herd.
“I thought I had a chance of a lifetime to work with the creative genius that started the entire industry and I didn't want to pass that up.”
However, Apple wasn’t the industry giant that it is today and instead, it was facing some serious challenges.
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Cook continued: “People have forgotten this but Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and it was a really awful time and people advised me not to come to Apple because they thought that it was headed straight down but I saw something different.
“I saw the sort of the sparkle in Steve's eye and it just meant that we could pull out this turnaround for this American treasure and I'm so glad to have been a part of that team.
“He taught me of the value of innovation the fact that small teams could do amazing things
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“I look at the size of the iPod team initially, I look at the size of the iPhone team, these were very small teams in the scheme of things, hiring the best people to surround you that challenge you, that have skills that you don't and being confident with that.”
Cook revealed that he admired Jobs’ ability to change his mind when presented with new evidence.
He said: “I initially was sort of taken aback by that and then I became so enamored with it. Very few people have that skill because they get married to their past views and I thought it was a brilliant skill.”