Steve Jobs' successor has carved his own path as Apple CEO.

Insights: Tim Cook

[MUSIC PLAYING] Tim Cook is something of an accidental CEO of Apple. People said of Tim Cook, well, Apple can't innovate under him, certainly not the way it did under Steve Jobs. Or Apple can never be on top the way it was again. Or Apple is losing market share, and so on and so on and so on. And so our number one leader is somebody who persevered through the criticism, who didn't necessarily have the same qualities as the legend that he succeeded, but who is succeeding anyway in the job. This is my first product launch since being named CEO. Well, he knew there would be a lot of criticism. And he knew it would be emotionally difficult being the CEO of Apple. He said he really wasn't prepared for just how harsh the glare is on the CEO of Apple. He said that Steve Jobs took the heat. He also took the praise. But as a result, the rest of them were able to just go about their business, making products, running a business. And that when he became CEO, he realized just how much Jobs had protected him before. Apple clearly is firing on all cylinders. Its stock is at an all-time high, worth more than $700 billion. The company sold 74 million iPhones in the last quarter that it reported. And it finally has new products to share with the world, especially the Apple Watch, but also Apple Pay, its payment system. The non-business world, to the extent that it thinks about Tim Cook at all, is beginning to see him as a leader, and for one reason in particular, and that was his having come out as being gay toward the end of 2014. What he's done in particular over the last year or two is begun to speak out on major societal issues that are of interest to him and that he also thinks are of interest to Apple and its employees. Now what makes Cook such an obvious choice for number one leader for the year is that it wasn't so long ago that nobody would have predicted this. He truly is leading the company in that he has very capable, very qualified, and now even very high profile people working for him, who he is leading, but also putting out in front and saying these are the people who are responsible, among many others, for the greatness and the success of the company. He is almost saying out loud, it is not all about me. And that, after all, is a major characteristic of leadership. 

Insights: Why Tim Cook is the World's Greatest Leader

Uncategorized

Why the Apple CEO made it to the top of the list.

Why Tim Cook is the World's Greatest Leader

Fortune's Adam Lashinsky explains why the Apple CEO made it to the top of the list in March 2015.

quick is something of an accidental CEO of Apple, People said of Tim Cook. Well, Apple can't innovate under him. Certainly not the way it did under Steve Jobs or Apple can never be on top of the way it was again. Or Apple is losing market share and so on and so on and so on. And so our number one leader, it's somebody who persevered through the criticism who didn't necessarily have the same qualities that the legend that he succeeded, but who is succeeding anyway in the job. My first product launch that thing that we knew there would be a lot of criticism and he knew be emotionally difficult. Being CEO of Apple City really wasn't prepared for just how harsh the glare is on the CEO of Apple. He said that Steve Jobs took the heat. He also took the praise, but as a result, the rest of them were able to just go about their business making products running a business, and that when he became CEO, he realized just how much jobs had protected him before. Apple clearly is firing on all cylinders, its stock is at an all time high worth more than $700 billion. Company sold 74 million iPhones in the last quarter that it reported, and it finally has a new products to share with the world, especially the Apple Watch, but also Apple pay its payment system. The non business world, to the extent that it thinks about Tim Cook at all, is beginning to see him as a leader and for one reason in particular. And that was his having come out as being gay at toward the end of 2014. What he's done, in particular over the last year or two, is begun to speak out on major societal issues that are of interest to him and that he also thinks are of interest to Apple and its employees. Now what makes Cook such an obvious choice for number one leader for the year? It wasn't so long ago that nobody would have predicted this. He truly is leading the company and that he has very capable, very qualified and now even very high profile people working for him, who he is leading but also putting out in front, saying these are the people who are responsible among many others for the greatness and the success of the company. He is almost saying out loud, it is not all about me. And that, after all, is ah major characteristic of leadership.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Apple is quite pleased to be ranked high on Fortune's annual changed the world list, because this is a company that with, quite a good deal of justification, feels that it makes a contribution to the world through its normal business activities. When I asked Cook at the very beginning of the interview, how does apple change the world? The very first thing that he referenced is Apple's products. And we make products for people that are tools to enable them to do things that they couldn't otherwise do. That enabled them to create or learn or teach or play. Do something really wonderful. I think that's quite warranted and that is one of the reasons that Fortune put Apple so high on its change the world list. Apple has really changed the way people behave in their everyday life and while there are downsides, it's made the world a better place for a lot of people, and the company recognizes that. We did a project called CareKIt. People are not in a great frame of mind when they're getting out of hospital, and so we developed a very simple app that enables the patient to know exactly what to do, helps push the patient to do those, and communicates back to the doctor. There's no business model. We did it because we thought, this is something that needs to be done, so we did it. I asked Cook why Apple does not have a foundation. Almost every big company has a corporate foundation for corporate giving, and his answer really struck me. When a company sets up a foundation, there is a risk, in my judgment, of the foundation becoming this other thing that is not connected to the company. It has a separate board of directors, it becomes a separate thing. I don't want that for Apple. I want everybody involved. My perspective is, if you want to do good, you maximize how to do good. My view, we do a lot more good with 120,000 people behind it than we would putting 12 people over in the corner to make decisions. I'm not criticizing people that do that. I think maybe they found a way and maybe it's great, but it wouldn't be Apple. What's a little bit surprising about Apple under Tim Cook's leadership is that if you think back to five years ago when he first became CEO, he was this quiet southerner who had toiled in the shadow of one of the world's most famous men. And almost ironically, Cook has been the one who has really brought to the fore a consciousness about Apple being a good company. This will likely be one of the legacies of Tim Cook, and I think a surprising one. I don't subscribe to the all are good or all are bad. I think life is not simple like that. There are some that are good and some that are not. We put all of our ourselves into being a force for good. We see that as our role in life. That was the motivation behind creating Apple when it was created. It's still the motivation today. It's what drives us. [MUSIC PLAYING] 

Insights: Why Apple Doesn’t Need a Foundation to Change the World

They were number 3 on the 2017 Change the World list.

Apple Doesn’t Need a Foundation to Change the World

The tech mega-giant was number 3 on the 2017 Change the World list.

Apple is quite pleased to be ranked high on Fortune's annual change the world list because this is a company that, with quite a good deal of justification, feels that it makes a contribution to the world through its normal business activity. When I asked Cook at the very beginning of the interview, how does Apple changed the world? The very first thing that he referenced his Apple products. We make products for people that are tools to enable them to do things that they couldn't otherwise. D'oh enabled them to create or learn or teach or play do something really wonderful. I think that's quite warranted. And that is one of the reasons that fortune put Apple so high on it. Change the world list. Apple has really changed the way people behave in their everyday life, and while there are downsides, it's made the world a better place for a lot of people in the company recognized we did a project called character. People are not in a great friend of mine when they're getting out of hospital, and we developed a very simple app that enables the patient know exactly what to do. Help pushed the patient to do those and communicate back to the doctor. There's no business. We did it because this is something that needs to be done and we did it. I asked Cook why Apple does not have a foundation. Almost every big company has a a corporate foundation for corporate giving, and his answer really struck me when a company set up a foundation. There is a risk, in my judgment, off the foundation, becoming this other thing that is not connected to the company. It has a separate board of directors. It becomes a separate thing. I don't want that for Apple. I want everybody involved. My perspective is, if you want to do good, you maximize how to do good. My view. We do a lot more good with 120,000 people behind it. Then we would putting 12 people over in the corner to make decisions. I'm not criticizing people that do that. I think maybe they found a way and maybe it's great, but it wouldn't be Apple. What's a little bit surprising about Apple under Tim Cook's leadership is that if you think back to five years ago when he first became CEO, he was this quiet Southerner who had toiled in the shadow of one of the world's most famous men. And almost ironically, Cook has been the one who has really brought to the fore consciousness about Apple being a good company. This will likely be one of the legacies of Tim Cook, and, I think, a surprising one. I don't subscribe to the all good or all bad like it's not simple like that. There's some that are good and some that are not. We put all of ourselves into being a force for good. We see that our role in life that was the motivation behind creating Apple when it was created. Still the motivation. Today it's what drives.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Apple is criticized for everything, by the way. Yeah. At some point-- I get criticized for breathing. That one, I haven't heard. It comes with the territory. But in the west, there was criticism of your having shown up at Wujin at all because some people feel that it was an endorsement of the government's internet policies, otherwise known as the censorship, et cetera. Your reaction to that criticism. Well, I never base-- I don't know how you guys do this, but I never base my actions on a pole of how people are going to feel about it and whether I'm going to take any criticism. If I did, I'd never do anything, honestly. I also, if you were to come to my office, in addition to a couple of photos or so of heroes, you would see this huge wooden plaque with the inscription in it of the in the arena quote from President Roosevelt. And I have always felt like this. The thing that's missing in our society is there's not enough people that want to listen and understand and participate. They have a litmus test of, do I agree with every single thing that person believes? And if not, I don't want to talk to them, and they're a bad person. I've never seen the world that way. And so, I know I'll get criticized for going to any meeting. I get criticized for going to meetings in the United States. And I don't really care at the end of the day because it is the right thing to do to participate and to find those areas that are common that you can work on together. China's done an unbelievable job of lifting people out of poverty. They've done an incredible job-- I mean, far beyond what any country has done. We were talking about mid '90s to today. The biggest change is the number of people that have been pulled out of poverty, by far. And we should all applaud that. And we should all feel good about it. And so there are-- and the environmental leadership today is very clear, and it aligns completely with Apple's values. The Chinese environmental-- Yes. The government. I mean, they're very fixated on doing the right things to avert climate change. And this is something that means a lot to us as well. And so what we always try to do is find the areas where you can work together. Find the areas of commonality. And then the things that you disagree with, take time to understand how somebody sees it. And if I'm going to get criticized for that, then so be it. Well, and I think you have a room full of people who would agree with the philosophy of listen, understand, and participate. That's why everybody's here today. Yeah. There are specific policies that you have to navigate, though. So for example, if something like, for example, Skype is pulled out of the App Store or VPN software, how do you approach that as CEO? Well, when you go into a country and participate in the market, you are subject to the laws and regulations of that country. You don't bring the laws and regulations that you wish were there, that you want to be there. You have the laws and regulations of that country. And so from my American mindset, I believe strongly in freedoms. They're at the core of what an American is. And I have no confusion on that. And I think anybody that knows me knows how I view those things. But I also know that each country in the world decides their laws and their regulations. And so your choice is, do you participate, or do you stand on the sideline and yell at how things should be? And my own view, very strongly, is, you show up and you participate. You get in the arena because nothing ever changes from the sideline. You know? Nothing ever changes from there. 

Insights: Tim Cook On Chinese Market: 'Show Up and Participate'

The Apple CEO spoke to Fortune in December 2017.

Tim Cook On Chinese Market: 'Show Up and Participate'

The Apple CEO spoke at Fortune's Global Forum in December 2017.

Apple criticized for everything. By the way, Yeah, I get criticized for breathing that one. I haven't Harry, but territory. But in the West there was criticism of your having shown up at Woo Jin at all because some people feel that it was an endorsement of the government. Internet policy is otherwise known as the censorship. It's such a your reaction to that criticism. Well, I never based on how you guys do this, but I never based, um, my action on a pole of how people are going thio feel about it and whether I'm gonna take any criticism. If I did, I'd never do anything. Honestly, I I also, if you were to come to my office in addition to, ah, a couple of photos, they're so heroes. You would see this huge wooden plot with the inscription in it of the in the arena. Quote from President Roosevelt and I have always felt like this. You the thing that's missing in our society, there's not enough people that want to listen and understand and participate. They have a litmus test of, uh, do I agree with every single thing that person believes? And if not, I don't want to talk to him. They're a bad person. I've never seen the world that way. And, um And so I know I'll get criticized for going to any meeting. I get criticized for going to meetings in the I'd stay. And, uh, I don't really care at the end of the day, because it is the right thing to do to participate and find those areas that are common that you can work on together. China's done an unbelievable job of lifting people out of poverty. They've done incredible job mean far beyond what any country has done. We were talking about 19 mid nineties. Today, the biggest change is the number of people that have been pulled out of poverty by far. And we should all applaud that, and you should all feel good about it. And so there are in the environmental leadership today is very clear and in the line completely with apples values that the Chinese environmental, the government. I mean, they're very fixated on on doing the right things to avert climate change. And this is something that means a lot to us as well. And so what way always try to do it's fine. The areas where you can work together find the areas of commonality. And then the things that you disagree with take time to understand how somebody sees it. And if I'm going to get criticized for that, then so be it. Well, and I think you have Ah, I think you have a room full of people who would agree with the philosophy of listen, understanding, Participate that everybody's here today. Yeah, there are specific policies that you have to navigate those, for example. It's something like, for example, Skype held out of the APP store or VPN software. How do you approach that as CEO? Well, when you when you go into a country and participate in the market, you are subject to the laws and regulations of that country. You don't bring the laws and regulations that you wish were there that you want to be there. You have the laws and regulations of the country, and so from my American mindset, I believe strongly in freedom. They're at the core of what an American is, and I have no confusion on that. I think anybody that knows me knows how I view those things. But I also know that each country in the world decides their laws in their regulation. And if you so your your choice is, do you participate, or do you stand on the sideline and yell at how things should be in my own view very strongly is you show up and you participate. You get in the arena because nothing ever changes from the sideline. You know, nothing ever changes from there.

 Our view of privacy started from our values. And then we crafted our business model to that. It didn't start with one and then we backed into, oh, well we'll-- we feel good about this one. And as you say, we've felt strongly about privacy when no one cared. And so this isn't something that we woke up one morning and said, oh, the media is focusing on privacy today. Let's do that. We've felt very strongly on this issue from the beginning, because we could see, not the specific details, but we could see that the building of the detailed profile on people likely would result in significant harm over time, that it could be used for too many nefarious things. And we think that people in today's environment don't have a full view of who has what and how much of their lives is open to-- has been opened to commercial entities and public entities. 

Insights: Tim Cook: "We Felt Strongly About Privacy When No One Cared"

The company has recognized data concerns for years.

Tim Cook: "We Felt Strongly About Privacy When No One Cared"

Cook says the company has recognized data concerns for years. (June 2018)

our view of privacy started from our values. And then we crafted our business model that it didn't start with one and then we backed into a level. Did feel good about this one. Uh, and as you say, we've We've felt strongly about privacy when no one cared. And so this isn't something that we woke up one morning and said, Oh, the media is focusing on privacy today. Let's do that. Uh, we've We felt very strongly on this issue from the beginning because we could see Not that, not the specific details, but we could see that the building of the detail profiling people ah, likely would result in significant harm overtime that it could be used for too many nefarious and and and we think that people in today's environment don't have a full view who has what and how much of their wives is open to has been opened thio commercial entities and publicans

[MUSIC PLAYING] One of them is around trying to change the metrics that businesses use to measure their performance, with an eye toward diminishing short termism and maximizing long termism. Apple has been good at this for a long time. My challenge to you is it worked out really well for Apple. That's part of your culture so now you can continue to be long term oriented. What's an action that the rest of the companies in the room can take to make themselves behave in a long term fashion despite the pressures to be short term? You have to have a board and a CEO and a sort of a top level management team that is willing to put aside the stock price. Because if you're making a decision based on the investor, short term investors, you're going to be guaranteed to be making terrible decisions. And so this is, like, number one, two, and three. If you do that, it will set the tone in the organization. And so I look at the investments we make. The big ones are all multi-year, some time five, seven, 10 years out. And they're certainly not conducive to a 90-day cycle. And so we report every 90 days because it's a requirement. If I were king for a day, 90-day earnings things would be just flushed. They're a remnant of a different day and time, I think, and really are not set for modern business. And so what you have to do as the CEO on the board is you have to just look yourself in the mirror and say, I'm going to take the heat. And I'm going to tell my investors, we welcome all of you. But if you're short term, I'd really advise you not to get in. Because it's not how we're going to make our decisions. But as you know, many CEOs may in the course of three or six months or nine months, they may well lose their jobs in that scenario. And your answer to them is, so what? That's what you're being paid to do, right? I think if you're the CEO, you have to look at something broader than yourself. There has to be something bigger. And your company is not going to be successful if you're making 90-day decisions. 

Insights: Apple's Long-Term Decisions are Key to Success

The CEO should contribute to future growth and success.

Apple's Long-Term Decisions are Key to Success

Tim Cook explains how the CEO should contribute to future growth and success. (June 2018)

one of them is around trying to change the metrics. That business is used to measure their performance with an eye toward diminishing short termism and maximizing long termism. Apple has been good at this for a long time. Might. My challenge to you is that, you know, it worked out really well for Apple. It's part of your culture. So now you can continue to be long term oriented. What's in action that the that the rest of the companies in the room can take to make themselves behave in a long term fashion despite the pressures to be short term? Yeah, you have to have ah eh board and a CEO in a sort of a top level management team that is willing to put aside the stock price. Because if you're making a decision based on the investor short term investors, you're gonna be guaranteed to be making terrible And so this is like number 12 and three. Uh, if you do that, it will set the tone in the organization. And so I look att, Um, the investments we made the big one are all multi year sometime, you know, 57 10 years out and they're certainly not conducive to a 90 day cycle. And so we report every 90 days because it's a requirement. If I were king for a day, 90 day earnings, things would be just blushed. They're a remnant of a different day in time, I and have really are not set for modern business. And so what you have to do is the CEO, and the board is You have to look yourself in the mirror and say, I'm gonna take the heat and I'm gonna tell my investors we welcome all of you. But if you're short term, I've really advise you not to get in because it's not how we're gonna make our decision. Um, but as you know, many CEOs may in the course of three or six months or nine months, they may well lose their jobs in that in that scenario, and your answer to them is so what? That's what you're being paid to do, right? I think if you're the CEO, you have to look at something broader than yourself. There has to be something bigger, and your company is not going to be successful. If you're making 90 days

[MUSIC PLAYING] For Apple, we've always been about changing the world. And it became clear to me some number of years ago that you don't do that by staying quiet on things that matter. And so for us, that's really been the driving issue. And there's no formula about when you speak and when you don't. But the way that I think about it is, is it something that Apple has a special expertise on? Because I don't want Apple to be another talking head. We should only speak when we have certain knowledge to bring to the subject. And I always ask myself, do we have standing? Do we have a right to talk about this issue? And generally speaking, it's not enough to be a large company to speak. Or at least, I don't see it like that at all. And so I think about those. And so what that means for us is, we typically speak about education, about privacy, about human rights, about immigration, and about the environment, because there's something that we have where we can bring a point of view. It may be discounted. Most people may view it to be not correct. But nevertheless, it's a point of view that we can share. And we think we have something to offer in those spaces. We have a lot of different people from a lot of different places. And we are accepting of people from everywhere. And so we think we have something to offer about talking about that kind of environment. And ultimately, that is what human rights is all about. It's about just treating people with dignity and respect, at the end of the day. And so these are topics that we think we can add something to. And so we don't get into politics on any of these. We stick to policy. How are people treated? What is the immigration policy? These are the things that we stick to. And we work with people from both parties or no party. And at times, one party doesn't like something we do. At times, the other party doesn't. And at times, both of them don't. But we just stick to the policy, and I think if you do that, most people, I think, will respect that. 

Insights: Tim Cook: "You Don’t Change the World By Staying Quiet"

“It’s not enough to be a large company.”

Tim Cook: "You Don’t Change the World By Staying Quiet"

“It’s not enough to be a large company.” (June 2018)

for Apple. We've always been about changing the world, and it became clear to me some number of years ago that you don't do that by staying quiet on things that matter. And so for us, that's really been the driving driving issue. And, uh, there's no formula about when you speak and when you don't. But for the way, the way that I think about it is, um is it something that Apple has a special expertise on? Um, because I don't want Apple to be another. You're talking head, right? Uh, we should only speak when we have certain knowledge Thio to bring to the subject. Uh, for, uh, I always ask myself, Do we have standing? You know, do we have a right to talk about this issue and generally speaking Maur than just, uh, it's not enough to be a large company to speak are at least I don't like that at all. And so I think about those. And what that means for us is we typically speak about education about privacy, uh, about human rights. Ah, about immigration and about the environment, because there's something that we have where we can bring a point of view. It may be discounted, Uh, most people may view it to be not correct, right? But But it nevertheless, it's a point of view that we can share, and we think we have something to offer in the space. We have a lot of different people from a lot of different places, and we we are, are accepting of people from everywhere. And we think we have something to offer about talking about that kind of environment, and ultimately that is what human rights is all about. It's about just treating people with dignity and respect at the at the today and so these air topics that we think we can add something to and we're not, we don't We don't get into politics on any of the we We stick to policy. How are people treated? What is the immigration policy? Uh, these are the things that we stick to, what we were, and we work with people from from both parties or no party. Uh, and it times one party doesn't like something we do at times. The other party doesn't and it times both of them don't you know, But But we just stick to the policy. And I think if you do that, you can, uh most people, I think will respect that

[MUSIC PLAYING] Apple's chief executive Tim Cook recently revealed in an essay in Bloomberg Businessweek that he's gay. Phil, does that even matter in 2014? It does not matter one iota to Apple's sales. He might lose a couple of customers in Russia, including the tycoon who said that Apple products should be banned. But more importantly, this is likely to help Apple in terms of positioning it as a company that really lives out what it says in terms of espousing diversity. It's certainly not been a secret in Silicon Valley, right? We've kind of known Tim Cook to be gay for a long time. He's just not acknowledged it. And in fact, even this year, he walked in the San Francisco Pride Parade. The question is whether or not his announcement is going to set in motion kind of a domino effect through the rest of the Fortune 500. Because as far as I know, he's the only executive in the current 500 to publicly acknowledge that he's gay. Well, that remains to be seen. It's a conservative milieu, but certainly with Mr. Cook's example, he's showing that a company that happens to be the most valuable in the world in terms of market cap can have a gay CEO. Right, it's a bold decision. He was definitely lauded for it. Mark Zuckerberg came out and said, good on you. Satya Nadella did the same, John Legere, the CEO of T-Mobile. But at the same time, there's a huge gap in this country. On one hand, Fortune 500 companies, the vast majority, 91% banned sexual discrimination. On the other hand, you can get fired for this in half of US states. So it's really crazy. Well, in fact, it is ludicrous. And I think when you think of somebody like Tim Cook in some company somewhere could be fired, and that company that's firing him has deprived themselves of that skill. But the companies that you mentioned, plus you think of Goldman Sachs, Apple, all these companies have gone out of their way to tell people, we welcome LGBT workers, which has become, in a way, a litmus test for the most talented people in any industry. Right. Well, it's a fair point. 

Insights: Tech Debate - Tim Cook Comes Out As Gay

FORTUNE editors discuss what it could mean for the company.

Tech Debate - Tim Cook Comes Out As Gay

FORTUNE editors discuss what it could mean for the company. (October 2014)

Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, recently revealed in an essay, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek that he's gay. Still, does that even matter? In 2014? It does not matter one iota toe Apple's sales. You know he might lose a couple of customers in Russia Tycoon who said that Apple product should be banned. But more importantly, uh, this is likely to help Apple in terms of positioning it as the company that really lives out what it says in terms of the spouse endeavors today. It's certainly not been a secret in Silicon Valley, right? We've kind of known Tim Cook to be gay for a long time. It's just not acknowledged it. And in fact, even this year he walked in the San Francisco Pride Parade. The question is whether or not his announcement is gonna set in motion kind of a domino effect through the rest of the Fortune 500 because as far as I know, he's the on Lee executive in the current 500 to publicly acknowledge he's gay. Well, that remains to be seen. You know, it's a conservative familiar, but certainly with Mr Cook's example, he's showing that a company that happens to be the most valuable in the world in terms of market cap can have a gay CEO, right? It's a bold decision. Hey, was definitely loud it for it. Mark Zuckerberg came out and said, Good on your stocking. The Della did the same John Lee Jerry, the CEO of T Mobile. But at the same time, there's a huge gap in this country, you know, On one hand, Fortune 500 companies, the vast majority 91% ban sexual discrimination. On the other hand, you can get fired for this in half of U. S States. So it's it's really crazy. Well, in fact, this ludicrous. And I think you know when you think of somebody like Tim Cook and some company somewhere could be fired and that company firing him is surprised myself with that skill. But the companies that you mentioned plus, you think of Goldman Sachs, apple. All these companies have gone out of their way to tell people we welcome LGBT workers, which has become, in a way, a litmus test for the most talented people in any industry. Right? That's a fair point

[MUSIC PLAYING] There's a confusion about China and let me at least give you my opinion. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. I'm not sure what part of China they go to, but the truth is, China stopped being the low labor cost country many years ago, and that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. The products we do require really advanced tooling, and the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with the materials that we do are state of the art. And the tooling skill is very deep here. In the US, you could have a meeting of chilling engineers, and I'm not sure we could fill the room. In China, you could fill multiple football fields. It's that vocational expertise is very, very deep here, and I give the education system a lot of credit for continuing to push on that, even when others were deemphasizing vocational. [MUSIC PLAYING] 

Insights: Tim Cook Discusses Apple's Future in China

Apple’s successes and challenges in China.

Tim Cook Discusses Apple's Future in China

The Apple CEO sits down with us at this year's Fortune Global Forum to discuss innovation, Apple’s successes and challenges in China, and what’s next for the world’s most admired company.

this confusion about China that, uh, let me least give you my opinion. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor costs. I'm not sure what part of China they go, too. But the truth is, China stopped being the low labor costs country many years ago. And that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill and the the quantity of skill in one location and the type of skill it is like the products we do require really advanced tooling and the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with the materials that we do. Our state of the art and the tooling skill is very deep here, you know, in in the U. S. You could have a meeting of tooling engineers and I'm not sure we could fill the room in China. You could fill multiple football fields. It's that vocational vocational expertise is very deep, very, very deep Here, I give the wth e education system a lot of credit for continuing to push on that, even when others were de emphasizing vocational

Insights: Tim Cook

Insights: Why Tim Cook is the World's Greatest Leader

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Fortune's Adam Lashinsky explains why the Apple CEO made it to the top of the list in March 2015.

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Insights: Why Tim Cook is the World's Greatest Leader

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