Summary

John Gruber reflects on Tim Cook's announcement that he will transition to executive chairman of Apple, with John Ternus succeeding him as CEO. Gruber contrasts this moment with Steve Jobs's painful resignation in 2011, noting that Cook's departure is entirely on his own terms, with Apple in excellent shape. He argues Cook was the right successor for Jobs, excelling at expanding the products Jobs created, and that Ternus — a product person — is the right successor for the era ahead. Gruber praises Cook's singleminded devotion to Apple as an institution, his scandal-free leadership, and the orderly nature of the transition. He closes by arguing that if Apple itself is Jobs's greatest product, then Cook — who transformed and strengthened the company — really is a product person after all.

Key Insight

Cook's greatest achievement was stewarding Apple as an institution with such selfless devotion that the company is stronger and more stable than ever — and his perfectly orderly exit is the final proof.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 4

  Cook inherited a company with extraordinary potential growth in front of it, but in deep existential grief. He led the company — and its community — through that grief and achieved that potential.

• 3

  Tim Cook is 65 years old, has been CEO for 15 years, and is going out on top.

• 5

  Cook has never been a product person and to his credit, he never once pretended to be.

• 5

  Today, it feels to me like Apple needs a product guy at the helm again. Someone with the itch to spearhead the creation of new things.

• 6

  CEOs typically leave companies in one of three ways: with a hook, on a gurney, or on their own terms. Cook, seemingly, is doing it entirely on his own terms.

• 6

  If he's made mistakes, they're errors in taste, not mistaken priorities. He is the ultimate company man at the ultimate company.

• 4

  Cook inherited the greatest company in the world. He's handing it over to Ternus in even better shape than what Jobs handed to him.

• 7

  And, if you agree that Apple itself was Jobs's greatest product, Cook really is a product person after all.

Tone

reflective