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When Tim Cook took over as Apple CEO in 2011, Steve Jobs offered him a simple but powerful piece of advice \u2014 one that would shape every decision he made as CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t ask what I would do,\u201d Jobs told Cook. \u201cJust do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jobs warned his successor against falling into the same trap that followed another legendary American brand. After Walt Disney\u2019s death, he noted, the company\u2019s leadership became fixated on guessing what Disney would have done, instead of focusing on the decisions in front of them. Jobs didn\u2019t want Apple to make that mistake.<\/p>\n
Now, another leadership transition is bringing the same principle to light. Apple announced earlier this week that Cook will step down, and longtime hardware engineering chief John Ternus will take over as CEO, effective September 1. Cook is moving into the role of executive chairman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an interview earlier this this year with The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, Cook parroted Jobs\u2019 wisdom. When asked for the one piece of advice he would give his own successor, Cook said that he \u201cwould probably say the same thing\u201d as Jobs: \u201cdo the right thing\u201d without worrying about what someone else would have done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can get in paralysis if you start trying to port yourself into somebody else\u2019s thinking,\u201d Cook said.<\/p>\n Cook urged his successor to \u201cbe yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeep a firm North Star on the values of the company,\u201d Cook told the Journal. \u201cBecause if you get the values right, if you keep the North Star in clear view, you may be blown off course a little bit, but eventually you will come back to the right path. I have always found that to be true.\u201d<\/p>\n During Cook\u2019s tenure, Apple\u2019s value surged from about $350 billion to $4 trillion<\/a>. When he stepped into the CEO role, the company generated about $100 billion<\/a> in total annual revenue; today, the iPhone itself brings in more than $200 billion<\/a> each year. Apple posted a record fiscal year 2025 revenue of $416 billion<\/a>, up from $391 billion the previous year.<\/p>\n Cook\u2019s philosophy in life is simple: tomorrow is better than today. \u201cThere may not be a more important philosophy in life,\u201d he told the Journal in 2024<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The idea reflects the notion that each generation stands on the shoulders of the generation that came before. It\u2019s about \u201cmaking sure that you\u2019re passing the baton to somebody who can do better than you\u2019ve done,\u201d Cook told the Journal.\u00a0<\/p>\n By the time he stepped into the CEO role, Cook had inherited a lineup of bestselling products, from the iPhone to the iPad, that had already become indispensable to millions of users. Apple hit one billion iPhone users<\/a> in 2016, during Cook\u2019s tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Cook\u2019s leadership, Apple has entered a new phase of expansion. He broadened the company\u2019s product lineup with launches like the Apple Watch and AirPods, while also building out a services business that includes Apple Pay<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> and Apple TV+<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n When Tim Cook took over as Apple CEO in 2011, Steve Jobs offered him a simple but powerful piece of advice \u2014 one that would shape every decision he made as CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ask what I would do,\u201d Jobs told Cook. \u201cJust do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Jobs warned his successor against falling into the same trap that followed another legendary American brand. After Walt Disney\u2019s death, he noted, the company\u2019s leadership became fixated on guessing what Disney would have done, instead of focusing on the decisions in front of them. Jobs didn\u2019t want Apple to make that mistake.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nCook is passing the baton<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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