
Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’ - jerryhuang100
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/wp/2016/08/13/2016/08/13/tim-cook-the-interview-running-apple-is-sort-of-a-lonely-job/
======
icpmacdo
PG talked about this in his talk 'before the startup'

"Larry Page may seem to have an enviable life, but there are aspects of it
that are unenviable. Basically at 25 he started running as fast as he could
and it must seem to him that he hasn't stopped to catch his breath since.
Every day new shit happens in the Google empire that only the CEO can deal
with, and he, as CEO, has to deal with it. If he goes on vacation for even a
week, a whole week's backlog of shit accumulates. And he has to bear this
uncomplainingly, partly because as the company's daddy he can never show fear
or weakness, and partly because billionaires get less than zero sympathy if
they talk about having difficult lives. Which has the strange side effect that
the difficulty of being a successful startup founder is concealed from almost
everyone except those who've done it."

[http://paulgraham.com/before.html](http://paulgraham.com/before.html)

~~~
Animats
Google is in some ways easier, because there's no real threat to their cash
cow, search ads. Apple has to stay ahead of competition in phones. That
competition is now quite good, and usually cheaper.

As CEO of Apple, Cook is expected to deliver the Next Big Thing. So far, he
hasn't, and he's running out of time. (Cars? Tough, low-margin business. VR?
Niche market. Watches? Tried that. Robots? Not ready yet. Voice AI? Already
doing that, need to improve. Services? Crowded field, no edge.)

~~~
agumonkey
Honestly, what could be the NBT in consumer tech ? I feel we reached cultural
and ontological plateau in most areas. If there's a next it probably won't be
a big thing.

~~~
modeless
The next _really_ big thing will be consumer robotics, powered by advances in
AI. It's still a ways off. Self-driving cars may be the first big application
area. After that we'll see home robots to do cleaning, cooking, and
maintenance.

Contrary to popular opinion, IoT is a dead end. The future isn't a million
devices scattered around your home, but one capable robot that can be your
servant and do everything for you.

~~~
narrowrail
You people need to stop saying this kind of stuff. I will bet you $1k on
longbets.org that we do not have fully autonomous vehicles operating on public
streets in 9 years (i.e. 2025). These types of statements are confusing the
non-technical 'tech press' and they are misinforming the public.

~~~
ufmace
The way you worded it, I'd say we have that already: See Google's relatively
public self-driving car project, already logging lots of fully autonomous
miles on public streets
[https://youtu.be/bDOnn0-4Nq8](https://youtu.be/bDOnn0-4Nq8)

I do think it'll be more like 50 years to get self-driving cars being sold to
the general public that can drive autonomously anywhere though.

~~~
narrowrail
"fully autonomous" requires no human intervention method, IMO. Google's cars
have steering wheels. The _gist_ of what I am trying to communicate is that
serious disruption to the status quo will not happen from autonomous cars in
my lifetime (one can quibble with specifics and lawyer the discussion at
will).

~~~
ufmace
Well they have already designed a special self-driving car model from the
ground up that has no provision for a steering wheel at all.

~~~
narrowrail
Did they design it or are they operating this thing? I designed a time-travel
machine, do you want a ride?

~~~
ufmace
Here's a youtube video of people being driven around in it
[https://youtu.be/CqSDWoAhvLU](https://youtu.be/CqSDWoAhvLU)

Here's another youtube of it driving around on city streets
[https://youtu.be/_qE5VzuYFPU](https://youtu.be/_qE5VzuYFPU)

------
KKKKkkkk1
The full quote is saying the exact opposite of what's in the title:

`And while he’s quick to trumpet Apple, he is also unassuming, quickly noting,
after saying his job can be “lonely,” that “I’m not looking for any sympathy.
CEOs don’t need any sympathy.”`

Which is exactly why Tim Cook is such a great guy.

------
helloworld
In Tim Cook, it's interesting to see a leadership style that's so different
from the Jobs/Ellison mold. Cook seems to have a very humble manner, and he
emphasizes listening to and learning from people both inside and outside
Apple.

In the startup world, I wonder whether founders can find success in emulating
Cook -- or whether a harder-edged, harder-driving style is required.

~~~
apozem
Cook has his edges. He's supposed to be a demanding, logical boss.

> One day back then, he convened a meeting with his team, and the discussion
> turned to a particular problem in Asia. “This is really bad,” Cook told the
> group. “Someone should be in China driving this.” Thirty minutes into that
> meeting Cook looked at Sabih Khan, a key operations executive, and abruptly
> asked, without a trace of emotion, “Why are you still here?” Khan, who
> remains one of Cook’s top lieutenants to this day, immediately stood up,
> drove to San Francisco International Airport, and, without a change of
> clothes, booked a flight to China with no return date, according to people
> familiar with the episode. The story is vintage Cook: demanding and
> unemotional.

[http://fortune.com/2008/11/24/apple-the-genius-behind-
steve/](http://fortune.com/2008/11/24/apple-the-genius-behind-steve/)

~~~
dekhn
I find this such a funny example. Because you know, driving _immediately_ to
the airport and buying a ticket is really going to make a difference. No- not
really. That's not a logical request at all. It's just demanding.

~~~
erikpukinskis
Why do you say that? There are situations where a single part of the supply
chain is holding up an entire launch, and minutes passing can cost a company
millions of dollars.

~~~
dekhn
Failure to plan is planning to fail. In this case, they should have addressed
that earlier. All this guy did was fall on his sword for Cook.

------
justinv
Full quote:

"It’s sort of a lonely job. The adage that it’s lonely — the CEO job is lonely
— is accurate in a lot of ways. I’m not looking for any sympathy. You have to
recognize that you have blind spots. We all do. Blind spots move, and you want
to not just have really bright people around you, but people who will push on
you and people to bring out the best in you. People that amplify whatever
you’re good at. And then also the people who plug the parts that you’re not
and may never be."

------
6stringmerc
CTRL+F "music" & "iTunes" \- only one result, as part of the framing by the
writer.

Unless Tim & co. decide to confront the reality that they're stepping up
"vertical integration" model using the Robber Baron playbook when it comes to
the actual arts, I think his "social responsibility" comments mean fuck-all.
Go ahead, build a new environmentally friendly compound, that's great, good on
you. And how's about that 30% you skim off the top of every non-Drake "Most-
Favored-Nation" artist who has to go through your channels or lose out?

Actions about social responsibility speak louder than words, and right now,
Braeburn Capital and billions of dollars being slushed around offshore rather
than pay the tax to re-patriate those funds means talk is cheap. I'm a
contrarian by nature, but I know a puff piece when I see it. So Tim is good at
hitting softball questions, whoop-dee-whoo.

Of course it's lonely and isolating at the top of the mountain - just look at
Kurt Cobain.

~~~
aedron
Big interviews like this come with a price. They are always puff pieces.

~~~
6stringmerc
Well I remember that approach tended to gloss over a lot of the newsworthy
stuff involving Tiger Woods. Says a lot about US culture when serious
"leaders" will only sit down to have their egos stroked. See also: Donald
Trump.

------
jamisteven
Its gona be very, very lonely if he actually lets them turn the MB Pro into
this HP-esq touch screen crap ive been seen floating around, as that will be
the death of Jobs design philosophy on which this great company was built.
Protruding cam lens and round edges on the Iphone6 were bad enough.

------
tomdell
I like this - "The first all-new device during his tenure, the Apple Watch, is
not yet a mega hit." \- as if _some_ day it just _is_ going to be a mega hit.

~~~
mwfunk
I interpreted that as, someday it might yet be a mega hit. It's still a
relatively new product that's only had one iteration, and even though it
didn't set the world on fire, it didn't bomb either. Most tech companies
iterate on things a few times before giving up on them, unless they are just
fundamental market failures like the iPod HiFi.

What did you like about that statement? Your interpretation made it sound like
you didn't agree with it.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
I certainly don't agree with it. Wearables have a lot of potential, but
wearable _watches_ are fundamentally not a great idea - for practical reasons
(screen too small, limited battery life) and for marketing reasons (can't
compete at the low end, certainly can't compete at the lifestyle/status
display high end).

Watch isn't even primarily a watch - it's an iPhone remote. And that's getting
into rarefied meta-product territory.

So unlike the iPhone and the home computer, both of which have obvious use
cases, Watch is still trying to define a compelling reason for existing.

But this just highlights the current Apple problem. Cook designs products
using a very simple heuristic - smaller, bigger, thinner, more colours:
basically good enough.

Jobs used to use a different heuristic - magical, original, creative,
obviously useful, with world-beating production values.

It's a completely different approach. And you can see that in Watch.

Watch has no magic. It's good enough - barely, more or less. But that's all it
is.

And if you're aiming for good enough instead of magical, it's too easy to fall
short and end up with not quite good enough - which is where many Apple buyers
are feeling the current product lines are heading.

~~~
coldtea
> _I certainly don 't agree with it. Wearables have a lot of potential, but
> wearable watches are fundamentally not a great idea - for practical reasons
> (screen too small, limited battery life)_

I'm not sure I follow. A wearable watch will have the biggest screen and
better battery life combo than any other kind of practical wearable device I
can think of (e.g. when not strapping a 3" screen and a battery pack the size
of a Zippo on you and calling it a wearable).

> _So unlike the iPhone and the home computer, both of which have obvious use
> cases, Watch is still trying to define a compelling reason for existing._

If not other things, Fitness/health/medical services would be a killer reason
for existing.

~~~
codefolder
2/3 of Americans are considered to be overweight/obese _. And before you say,
'that's even more of reason to own one,' no matter how sleek the advertising
campaign to peddle a broadly useless piece of technojunk, you're never going
to convince the populous that exercising is fun. Unless it detects cancer,
it's just a toy.

_[https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-
statisti...](https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-
statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx)

~~~
coldtea
> _you 're never going to convince the populous that exercising is fun_

You don't have to convince the "populous", just enough tens of millions, and
it would be a huge profit center.

And you don't have to convince them about exercise being fun or anything
similar either -- just that not dying from heart attack and knowing your
glucose levels and such is fun...

(There are 30 million people with diabetes in the US alone for example).

~~~
codefolder
Such delusion. The personal computer was important; a well designed mp3 player
was desired by many; the tablet, a new way to interface; the smart phone, a
communication necessity. The watch is just a toy without a core reason for
existence. Not just apple's, all smart watches. It's ironic that a company who
made its business selling fashionable tech will peak and fall from relevancy
selling a purely fashionable device. You can monitor your glucose level with a
sub-$20 device from a pharmacy, not several hundred dollars and a iphone
requirement.

It's okay. You're not an innovator. You're not a visionary. You can't see the
horizon. You're probably fascinated by shiny objects; trapped in the
superficial glaze, unable to comprehend the substrate.

~~~
coldtea
> _The watch is just a toy without a core reason for existence. Not just apple
> 's, all smart watches._

The basic idea, that you don't seem to comprehend, is that it's not about the
watch functionality at all. It's about having a 24/7 gizmo on you, with
appropriate sensors to read medical data, movement etc, with enough screen and
size to do a ton of things, from home automation to payments, etc, and
eventually, and with

Here are things a smartwatch already does better or will eventually (as
battery capacities get up to it) do better, with less bulk and faster access
than a smartphone.

24/7 health monitoring Home automation controls Remote control (for tv, hifi,
etc) Wireless Payments Panic button (health issue, crime, rape, whatever
alert) Total phone operation (through voice recognition + wireless headphones)
Navigation Music player (again, wireless headphones + voice/screen control)
Show urgent notifications etc etc... ...tell the time.

It's a form factor common from the past notion of the watch, and
simultaneously perfect for being always on you, always monitoring, small and
non intrusive, and still having a large enough space for screen and battery.

> _It 's okay. You're not an innovator. You're not a visionary. You can't see
> the horizon. You're probably fascinated by shiny objects; trapped in the
> superficial glaze, unable to comprehend the substrate._

It's ok. You're not sophisticated. You're rude. You think in slogans. You
can't see anything beyond an object being shiny or being made by Apple. You're
probably fascinated by your own superficial analysis, and think your use cases
are the measure of everything.

------
codefolder
Just like everywhere else on the internet, there's no shortage of Apple
apologists defending the fall of the consumerist junk paradigm.

------
angry-hacker
So what has Cook done to Apple besides that successful LGBT campaign?

~~~
jodrellblank
Share price has doubled since August 2011, and 16x dividend payouts in that
time -
[https://www.google.com/finance?q=aapl](https://www.google.com/finance?q=aapl)

------
gdilla
So is being a janitor. you're well compensated for your trouble, Tim.

------
rrggrr
He can stop whining... I admire Cook and love and use Apple products, but he
should try running a small business and experience real loneliness. As he
points out Apple has the bank account to hire virtually anyone, the very best
people to help its businesses and fix business mistakes. Small business
leaders don't and fight most of the same battles, alone, getting pounded into
dust by unforgiving regulatory, liability, tax and competitive forces. My
sympathy for Cook is further attenuated by the billions in cash Apple is
sitting on at home and abroad that in my opinion should instead be put to work
in the US economy. Google too.

~~~
csallen
No matter what's plaguing you, there will always people worse off. That
doesn't mean your problems stop feeling like problems, however. Human
experience and judgment is extremely relative. We acclimate to our
surroundings. Otherwise, we'd all be paralyzed by constant awe at things like
cars and running water.

~~~
rrggrr
Yes, the shoe pinches the foot its on.

------
LargeCompanies
I'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's going to
underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer.

The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features Apple
hasn't bothered to include. Also, Google Now in terms of it understanding me
is light years away from Siri, which I have used since 2011. Goigle Now's AI
puts Siri to shame!

See ya Apple!

~~~
coldtea
> _I 'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's
> going to underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer._

Yeah, because better CPU, GPU, camera(s), and such are not innovative
enough...

> _The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features
> Apple hasn 't bothered to include._

Yeah, for those of us using our phone on the shower it will be a god-send.
Waterproof! Such innovation!

~~~
LargeCompanies
Also, I mentioned Google Now vs. Siri where Google Now is light years ahead.
It understands all my spoken requests and that's a big deal when driving!

Overall, I want waterproof.. wireless charging... Google Now type AI vs. Siri.
Their competitors have this .. iPhone 7 should have all or some of these
features yet it won't.

Only good thing about the iPhone is it's more secure then Android. Putting my
credit on an Android device to use Android Pay vs. Apple Pay is something I
don't feel comfortable doing.

Per all my downvotes it looks like the majority still here love Apple.
Personally I love innovation and Apple isn't innovating and or being the
pioneer they use to be.

~~~
thewhitetulip
Not to be nitpicking, but light years is a measure of distance and not of time
:-)

~~~
coldtea
Not to be nitpicking, but parent didn't say it was a measure of time :-)

"Light years ahead" is a common expression meaning "much more advanced".

And there's nothing that says it refers to time (except if we insist on the
idea that technology advances with time, so every related analogy must refer
to time).

But as an analogy it just as well means "it's much further ahead", as if we
were speaking of a race.

~~~
thewhitetulip
I know I am going to get downvoted :D

Whilst it is true that parent didn't say that light years is a unit of time.
But I find the general usage of the term incorrect :-)

Light years = distance traveled by light in 365 earth days!!

