“We can all perform at 90 percent, but you want people to reach 100.” This is how Tim Cook begins one of his most candid interviews to date. In this conversation with GQ, he tells us about his life before knowing Apple, his fears, his way of understanding human existence… He says that we must leave the world better than we found it.

To reach that 100, Cook explains that “you have to be inspired by something.” It is not enough to want to achieve excellence. That’s not enough. Your work has to pursue a cause greater than your own ambition. There has to be another reason. It’s about making the world better, and that’s what Apple is after. That’s his lodestar. There is five things that inspire Tim to pursue herand they are very interesting.

Customer Letters: Going to the Source

When your business is creating technology that makes people’s lives easier, you have to know what exactly you are achieving. It is your duty to find out what these people think and How are you improving their experience?. Tim reads all the mail that comes his way, which is a good thing because it lets him know about circumstances he’s not going to talk about in a meeting with his VPs or his investors. They don’t have those problems, but ordinary customers do, and that’s why you have to listen to them.

Cook says that he always receives letters from people whose lives have been saved by an Apple product, and he says it’s wonderful. In the interview he explains that that same morning she had received a message from a user who had had a seizure while driving that he ended up causing her to crash. He couldn’t call 911, but because he had an iPhone 14 with accident detection, he was able to get immediate assistance, which saved his life. Knowing about these cases in which one of his products has done something like this is what inspires him.

Of course you also receive complaints. On some occasions he manages them himself, and in the rest of the cases he forwards them to someone who has the time for it, but he never leaves an email unattended. It is very likely that he will not answer, but if someone has a problem with one of his devices, you know how or who can fix it. He cares that everything goes well, no matter how small the mistake, and that’s what makes a great leader.

National parks: your moment of disconnection

These great nature reserves inspire Tim Cook. He loves to hike for them. He agrees with those who once called them “America’s best idea.” He spends his summer holidays thereEven when the people he knows go to other countries, he prefers to stay there. He says they are egalitarian. They are there for everyone. Most are free, and the few that charge admission are usually around five euros. “They are a gem,” he says.

Cook takes advantage of those moments to disconnect. It is inevitable, because there is no coverage, and maybe it’s even good that there isn’t. Being the CEO of the largest company in the world, it is logical that he needs those moments of absolute peace. No calls, no messages, no emails or anything. Only nature, silence and disconnection. He recommends that we visit at least one, and explains that as soon as we do, we will want to go to all of them.

The Apple team: your faithful squires

Cook says that the people he works with at Apple are some of the brightest in the world, and that pushes him to see things from other perspectives, to discuss various topics, and he loves it. He says that it is necessary to remain inspired. It’s true. The fact that someone pushes you a bit, tells you that you’re making a mistake, that there’s another way of seeing things… It’s something we should be happy about.

It shouldn’t bother us if someone doesn’t agree with what we think. There is nothing wrong with believing that, for example, one plus one equals three if you have an extraordinary team behind you who are going to debate it to reach the correct solution. This is how great successes are achieved. Thinking that one, and even more so at those levels, will always be right is not knowing how to lead. The leader is not the one who does everything right, he is the one who knows how to get the most out of his people so that they help him make the best possible decisions taking into account all points of view.

Tim tries to keep everyone at Apple inspired the way they inspire him. He pushes them to think more. To raise those ideas that they have in their heads regardless of what their position is. He likes to recognize people’s good work, because he knows that it pushes them to keep doing it well. He motivates them. That is the key to good leadership..

Sports: your fun time

“That touchdown in the last second. That basket on the horn.” Those are, in Cook’s words, the things that inspire him about the sport. He believes that people bring out the best in themselves when they are watching a game of whatever, because even for a few minutes, they put aside everything that divides them and they only focus on what happens in the field.

Tim is from Alabama, and as a child he liked to listen to what is known there as the “Iron Bowl” on the radio. It’s a football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. When he got to college he really enjoyed it because I could go watch all the games live. He was having a great time.

Being the CEO of Apple has its privileges, and one of them is that recently he was able to go to a game and talk to the team before it started. I’m sure it was fulfilling a dream that I had since I was little. He says that luckily they won that day, so everything went perfectly.

Young people: the present and the future of Apple and the world

Cook explains in the interview that he believes one has to work with people of all ages. “Anyone can inspire you, whether they are 12, 20, 90 or 100 years old.” One You never know where you’ll find that thing that gives you a new idea.or that way of solving a problem that I had not thought of.

The CEO of Apple sees the new generations as people who do not marry what is established. Who reject those ancient dogmas of his generation. They don’t accept that things have to be a certain way. They want to change them, transform them and make them their own. That inspires him a lot because understand that you can help them.

It is clear that being the CEO of the most valuable company in history is one of the most demanding jobs in the world. A bad decision can lead to layoffs, millions in losses and ruined lives. It’s not something for everyone. What is most needed in a position like this is prudence, management skills and a great team that helps to carry out the work in the best possible way.

However, that is not enough. Something else is needed to grease the machine. Something that cannot be learned in any faculty of any university in the world: inspiration. It’s no use having the best car in the world if you don’t have gasoline to make it start. It will not work. Tim Cook has five different ways to find itand it’s all together that make him a great CEO.

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