Since Tim Cook assumed his position as chief executive officer of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), people following the tech giant observed that his management style is different from the late co-founder Steve Jobs, an unconventional, high-maintenance leader who demanded excellence and was sometimes ruthless in order to achieve his visions for the company.
Tim Cook is a workaholic and maintains his privacy
Tim Cook is quite the opposite of Jobs. The current CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is known for his calm personality. People describe him as a nice guy who implemented some noteworthy changes such as making the overseas supply chain of the company more transparent and established a charitable matching program for employees to contribute as much as $10,000.
Tim Cook is workaholic and maintains his privacy. People who know him well describe him as a data-driven and thoughtful leader who can be charming and funny in a small group setting.
Tim Cook’s management style is methodical
An article published by Reuters provides a better picture about Tim Cook whose management style is methodical. He is a no-nonsense leader who can be intimidating despite his calm demeanor. He is the kind of leader who delegates responsibilities and carefully listens to his subordinates during meetings. If he doesn’t like something, one person in the company said,
“He could skewer you with a sentence. He would say something along the lines of ‘I don’t think that’s good enough’ and that would be the end of it and you would just want to crawl into a hole and die.”
Tim Cook already shows that he has the ability to make tough decision. When Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) suffered criticisms because of glitches in the mapping application of the iOS 6, he apologized to customers and fired Scott Forstall, then head of iOS development and a good friend of Jobs.
Amid the decline of the stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Tim Cook asked the board of directors of the company to apply a performance base metric to his 2011 CEO equity award and to future stock awards. He also gave in to demands of shareholders to return capital by implementing a $60 billion shares buyback program.
Tim Cook personally defended Apple
Tim Cook personally defended Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) when the U.S. Congress investigated the company in connection with its policy related to billions of dollars in profits from its subsidiary in Ireland. Cook pointed out to the Congress that the company did nothing wrong, and paid all its tax liabilities to the government. He emphasized that Apple’s tax policy is legal.
Bob Iger, director of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said Tim Cook assumed “a very, very difficult role given the person that he’s succeeded and the company he’s running.”
“I think he’s done so with a deft hand, a strong sense of himself. With that comes a real self-honesty that he is who he is, and not what the world expects him to be, or what Steve was. And I like that,” added Iger.
Activist investor Carl Icahn showed that he is confident in Tim Cook’s ability as CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) when he purchased a large stake in the tech giant.
