An Open Letter to Tim Cook

Dear Tim,

Congratulations on your recent promotion to CEO at Apple.  Obviously, we are all concerned about what this implies about Steve's health.  However, as his hand picked successor we have all the confidence in the world in the potential of your tenure.

Last week we saw the press you generated from your initial interviews.  In those, we heard you say that "Apple would not change" under your leadership.  While that may be what your loyal Apple employees, shareholders and the press wanted to hear, it raises many concerns.

It's very difficult to be the successor of an "imperial CEO."  Just ask some of the high profile successors to Bill Gates, Phil Knight, Larry Page and a host of others.  As the returning CEO at Apple, Steve certainly generated superhuman results, commanded a cult-like following, changed the course of consumer behavior, and in doing so resurrected your company from the ashes into one of today's most valuable companies. I'm sure this is a legacy you would like to perpetuate.  But if I were going to give you any advice as you take on your new role, it is BE YOURSELF!  Don't try to live in someone else's shoes.  Be authentic.  Even if it means changing the way things are done at Apple.

Steve Jobs is a once in a century phenomenon.  Perhaps history will record him in the same league as Einstein, Ford, Ben Franklin, or Edison.  You are not Steve Jobs.  So don't try to be.  Tim, you have much to bring to Apple.  You have been the behind the scenes architect of some of the most important parts of Apple's success.  But I fear that if you try to perpetuate Jobs-ian cult-like status you will fall flat on your face.

Being yourself will require changes that Steve would not have made.  Make them.  Be sure they are thoughtful and take into account the expected reaction from the loyal Appleonians.  Start with "Why".  Make sure the employee ranks, customers, and even the press understand your deep feelings for the changes and then proceed.

Don't expect immediate gratification.  In fact expect the opposite.  Human nature abhors change.  Most of your constituents will likely oppose your changes.  Be patient.  If you are as smart as you appear, the changes you make will be for the good.  Keep the faith; don't back down.

Apple is an important American icon, especially in this fragile economy.  Finding ways to cause Apple to grow and prosper is more important than ever.  Steve hand picked you for this job.  He probably was right.  Don't let us down.

Anniversary of 9/11

I’m not sure about you, but I was very moved by the commemoration events of 9/11 over the weekend.  Even going so far as to get tearful over recalling the Mike Piazza home run and ensuring story from back in 2001 (if you don’t know Mike, he’s a former New York Met’s player who hit a game winning homerun the night that baseball started back after 9/11.  He apparently touched the lives of many, including a family of one of the firefighters who lost his life as a first responder.)

But the purpose of my correspondence is not to be sappy.  It is to spur all of us to action. 

Since 9/11 we have fallen into an national malaise.  Our economy is in the doldrums.  Our politics have become quite divisive.  Our optimism is at an all time low. And the patriotism, caring, and goodwill that we experienced just post this horrific event has given way to a nation that is not nearly as cohesive as the one we felt at that time.  As I watched yesterday, I was frustrated and felt the need to do something. 

I thought back to what I did and said on that fateful day.  I was in London on 9/11 and only heard of the attacks when an administrative assistant at the firm we were visiting interrupted our meeting crying, just after lunch (UK time) with the news.  I felt powerless then, being 3,000 miles away from home, my family, friends, and my office.  So I fell back on the only thing that I knew was true – the way we treat each of our fellow human beings is something that we immediately and directly can control.

With all the uncertainty over what was happening back at home, I wrote a note to all my employees and friends that evening from my hotel room just off of Hyde Park in the heart of London.  I asked each to reach out and do a random act of kindness each day for at least one person.  Whether that be holding a door open, welcoming a stranger, giving blood to help an ailing person, or whatever else they could come up with.  I figured that whatever we did at a grass roots level might be contagious and might become more common place and perhaps even a way of life for us to deal with each other.  I didn’t expect this to solve all the problems of the world, but I did think it would be a small start.

As we look back at 9/11 from where we are today, it sure appears to me that we could use a little bit of extra kindness in our lives today.  So I will renew my request to you.  Perhaps with this small act we can create a movement that might just provide the tipping point we need to get our nation and our world back on track.  And if you pass this notion on to a friend, perhaps together we might begin to make a difference.