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Monday, July 29, 2019, 11:24
Book reveals Cook's recipe for ensuring Apple's freshness
By Wang Ru
Monday, July 29, 2019, 11:24 By Wang Ru

The contents pages of journalist Leander Kahney's new book, Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Apple launched iPhone 4S at a news conference in Los Angeles on Oct 4, 2011. A highlight of that news conference was the promotion of a new function-the artificial intelligence voice assistant Siri, and it was one of the last projects Steve Jobs had a hands-on involvement with at the company. An empty seat at the event was seen marked as "reserved " for Jobs, though he was unable to appear.

"The skills and strengths of Jobs and (Tim) Cook complement each other perfectly and lead to the giant that Apple is today."

Leander Kahney, Journalist and Author

One day later, the news about Jobs' death shocked the world, and Tim Cook, who had only been Apple's CEO for over a month at Jobs' request, was thrust into the spotlight. People wondered how Cook would fill the space left by Apple's iconic former leader.

This is among the subjects addressed in a biography of Cook, which was published in April, and now has a Chinese version, published in June by China CITIC Press. Written by journalist Leander Kahney, Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level clarifies what Cook has done, his values, his management of Apple and his growth experience.

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Kahney has covered the tech giant for more than two decades and now works as an editor at Cult of Mac, a site that covers everything related to Apple. He has written four best-selling books about the company, including Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products, Inside Steve's Brain, Cult of Mac, and Cult of iPod.

This time, Kahney interviewed a number of Apple executives and members of Apple's public relations team and referred to many reports about Cook in order to write this book. "When Cook took over from Jobs, a lot of Apple pundits predicted doom, but the fact proves that he was growing Apple to be even bigger and more influential than it had ever been. I want to document that," Kahney writes in an email interview to China Daily.

According to Han Xiao, the editor of this book at China CITIC Press, "We are introducing this book in China because it suits our product line to publish biographies of businesspeople, the author is famous enough to write about Apple and it's a continuation since we have published biographies of Steve Jobs and Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive."

From the book, we can see that people's worries have almost disappeared in recent years, especially since "Apple reached the ultimate milestone, becoming the world's first trillion-dollar company" under Cook's leadership, writes Kahney in the book.

People doubted Cook because he is so different from Jobs. Jobs was charming, a visionary, full of leadership and personality skills, while Cook is introverted, mild and keeps a low profile, according to the author.

"Jobs was a great product guy, and a gambler. He'd risk everything on new, untested products, and was often right. However, he had little patience or interest in the day-to-day running of a company, while Cook is much better at execution. The skills and strengths of Jobs and Cook complement each other perfectly and lead to the giant that Apple is today," explains Kahney.

The Chinese version of the book. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

For example, a seemingly "quiet "leader in his colleagues' eyes, Cook's management is also very effective. He may not shout at or lambaste others over mistakes like Jobs would, but he can "wear people down through an endless barrage of questions" and "requires incredible amounts of detail from his staff".

According to user Toumingtong on the popular Chinese review site, Douban, "It's the most exciting biography I have read this year. Cook is not a second Jobs, he is only Cook. He leads Apple in his own way and is leading it to a more prosperous future with his own values."

In this book, Kahney describes how Cook steered Apple's development by promoting new functions and products. Additionally, it illustrates Cook's attention to Apple's social responsibilities, such as charity work and environmental protection, among others, some of which were ignored by Jobs, according to the book.

Toumingtong adds: "If I had not read this book, I would never have known how much Cook has done for the environment and diversity (in the company)."

Kahney attributes Cook's efforts at Apple to create "a fairer culture where equality and diversity were championed" to his experience growing up in Robertsdale, a typical small town in the American south, where Cook once said he had seen "some of the worst behavior in terms of discrimination. Behavior that would literally make me sick".

But Kahney also points out that although Cook has made strides in adding more women and people of color to Apple's management, Apple's leadership is still overwhelmingly white and male. "Cook seems sincere in his efforts to change Apple and the wider tech industry, but Apple could and should be doing far more to become more diverse."

Kahney says that most things he has written in this book are positive since he "just reported what he heard" and "could not find many downsides and criticisms" from the interviewees.

"Apple helped me to interview several executives who worked closely with Cook and they were all very complimentary and positive, as were all the ordinary staffers I talked to.

READ MORE: A tale of two tech giants

"It's not my job to protect Apple's reputation, and I never approached the book in that way. It's just a product of what I was told while reporting."

wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn


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