Apple and Tim Cook

A couple of my classmates will be soon discussing Steve Jobs and his leadership abilities, and I have no desire to rain on their parade but did find the article in "Fortune" magazine (November, 2008) interesting from the standpoint that the mention of Steve Jobs appearing "frightfully skinny and pale" at a company event can automatically a) cause Apple's stock prices to tumble and b) begin more speculation of his successor. It is rare that any mention is made of Steve's vegan diet and obsession with micro biotic regiment which will naturally result in a lean look. The mere mention of a heart attack on someone's blog (which turned out to be false) knocked $10 million from Apple's market value.
Tim Cook has filled in for Steve Jobs while Steve was recovering from pancreatic cancer and at other times and is the subject of the Fortune article as the number 2 man. There is little difference in their ages (53 to 48) and Cook is also a health nut and from photographs also resembles a string bean. Apple is very closed regarding their succession planning strategy and only a handful of people are privy to this information. Whereas Jobs is pretty much an open book, Cook is the exact opposite, which is probably another reason that some have concerns about him as the successor to Jobs. He graduated from Auburn University in engineering and is intensely private. He is considered a workaholic (which he has in common with Jobs), with few interests outside of Apple, besides cycling, the outdoors and Auburn football. He has been at Apple since 1998 after a period at Compaq Computer. His mission was to clean up the manufacturing efforts at Apple and not long after his arrival, is said to have mentioned in a meeting how bad things were in China and 30 minutes later looked at the key of operations, Sabih Kahn, "why are you still here?". Without stopping for a change of clothes, Kahn drove to the airport and booked an open ticket to China.
When faced with falling margins, some companies will either increase their prices or reduce costs; Apple does both. Cook is operationally extremely savvy - keeping things under control when the marketing and design team drive consumers wild. Cook is able to negotiate with suppliers and lock in prices for several years in advance and even prepay for materials. This is obviously helped by a balance sheet is reflecting $24.5 billion in cash and no debt.
In 2000, Cook took over the sales force as well as customer support. Instead of store employees at places like Best Buy, Apple employees are in place. He filled in for Jobs in 2004 and was named Chief Operating Officer. He is known for being brutal in meetings, holding a standing Sunday night staff meetings by phone in preparation for more meetings on Monday, shredding people in those meetings by asking questions he knows that person cannot answer. He is known for being the first in and the last out of the office every day.
His style is very different from Jobs and maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't. He is brilliant operationally, but not creatively. But if he surrounds himself with creative people and Steve Jobs does step down, Cook may be the man to carry on. As long as Steve Jobs stays healthy, life at Apple will probably remain as it is now.
I look forward to my classmates detailed discussions on Steve Jobs.