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Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

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Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#41
post #39
post #32

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…

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.

Yes, the shoe pinches the foot its on.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#42
post #22

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.

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 s…

Aside from all the other issues with this, you need a visa to get into China. And you need a ticket out to get in. I imagine this applies to you even if you're pretty high in Apple management.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#43
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!

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#44
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why he can't hire a "Sub CEO" whose job it is to handle 90% of the shit. Mission statement: "Act like the CEO. But you are allowed to pass the hardest 10% of your tasks to Larry. 10%. Not more.".

But that 10% hardest takes 90% of the time...

Exactly. It's essentially the Pareto Principle at work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#45
post #13
post #2

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…

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?…

Can you flesh out an argument that Cook and/or Apple is "running out of time"?

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#46
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and partly because billionaires get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives That quote from the essay reminds me of a Silicon Valley scene [1] where the CEO of the pseudo-Google company in the show gets vilified (rightfully so in the show) for complaining about how hard billionaires have it in this country. I bet the creator's read PG's essay and were inspired by it. [1]: https://www.youtu…

I cannot believe that the privileged rich created such shows to disguise their unjustified fortune; and still intelligent people believe these superficial arguments. billionaires == jews? Can something be more wrong?

It's not clear to me if you are aware that the video you are commenting on is from a comedy show satirizing Silicon Valley and it's billionaires...

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#47
post #20
post #2

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…

> and partly because billionaires get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives That quote from the essay reminds me of a Silicon Valley scene [1] where the CEO of the pseudo-Google company in the show gets vilified (rightfully so in the show) for complaining about how hard billionaires have it in this country. I bet the creator's read PG's essay and were inspired by it. [1]: https://www.youtu…

Seeing as former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo joined the show as a writer I think this isn't a huge leap.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#48
post #29

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.

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.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#49
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?…

Apple has a huge amount of brand loyalty. It's stunning to watch people explain away Apple's failure to refresh their hardware line sooner. They get a lot of latitude from their very loyal customers. Combined with their high margins and practices to protect same (soldered on memory and storage, license restrictions for non-apple hardware, killing their clone market) I'm literally not a buyer. Which is decidedly a min…

To be fair, it's becoming pretty common to have RAM and storage soldered to the board these days on small form factor laptops, so it's not just Apple.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot believe that the privileged rich created such shows to disguise their unjustified fortune; and still intelligent people believe these superficial arguments. billionaires == jews? Can something be more wrong?

It's not clear to me if you are aware that the video you are commenting on is from a comedy show satirizing Silicon Valley and it's billionaires...

Gotta hand it to them for the realism though getting the actual code conference interviewers.
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