细数蒂姆·库克接掌苹果五年来的亮点

通常来说，如果有人被指定为一家大公司的总裁，肯定会喜出望外。但五年前蒂姆·库克接任苹果掌门时并没显露出高兴的迹象。

2011年8月24日，蒂姆·库克正式出任苹果公司首席执行官。虽然史蒂夫·乔布斯身患癌症后，库克临时担任过该职务。但这次是真的。2011年8月的一份声明中，苹果称乔布斯已经递交辞呈，并建议董事执行接班计划任命库克。当时库克担任苹果首席运营官，兼任常务总裁。

没到两个月，苹果董事会主席乔布斯与癌症抗争多年后与世长辞。

库克接任首席执行官没多久，外界关于他下一步有何举动，将带领苹果走向何方揣测良多。毕竟，众人眼里乔布斯才是带领苹果走上辉煌之路的领袖。库克能扛住这面大旗么？

五年过去了，库克承认犯下了一些错误，最近表示苹果地图是最严重的一个。这款应用是库克刚上任时启用的，当时目的是取代iPhone和iPad预装应用中的谷歌地图。然而新地图体验极差，库克为此道歉。

近来苹果财务表现不佳，库克也要负点责。今年初，库克领导下的苹果宣布第二财季iPhone销量同比下滑，这是公司历史上第一次。当季苹果全球总收入也出现下降，已是连续两个财季下滑。

于是，投资者对苹果的未来发展越发担心。毕竟iPhone是苹果收入的顶梁柱。iPad销量又一直不振，不少人担心今年发布的新款iPhone——很可能又是一款小幅升级的产品，能否终结下行的趋势。

面对种种质疑，库克还是一如既往的淡定。他表示iPhone销量还可以，仍然有很多盈利。当前平板市场相当疲软，销量一蹶不振，他居然表示iPad前景不错。

库克上任五年来害有其他不尽如人意的地方，例如塑料玩具般的iPhone 5C，后来果然惨不忍睹，有关苹果音乐功能和设计的批评也不绝于耳，苹果称新固件iOS 10中会逐一解决问题，但看来看去也没什么新意。

蒂姆·库克的不同之处

单从财务角度看，库克接手以来还是获得了巨大的成功。

到2012年9月29日，也就是库克上任一整个财年里，苹果收入1565亿美元，利润达417亿美元。截至去年9月的最近一个完整财年里，苹果总收入飙升至2337亿美元，利润跃升至534亿美元。期间苹果的现金储备也大幅增加。

过去五年里，库克在增加苹果用户数量方面做了些贡献，其中推出5.5英寸大屏款的手机，例如iPhone 6s作用不小。iPhone进驻企业市场的进展也不错，目前客户已经包括IBM和思科等，都已应用定制版iPhone和iPad。iPhone上市前，苹果只有Mac台式机打入过企业市场，其他产品进展缓慢。在库克领导下局面正在改变。

库克也积极带领苹果进驻新市场。如今苹果已进军可穿戴领域，苹果手表也成了全球最成功的可穿戴设备。斥资30亿美元收购耳机制造商Beats后，苹果在音乐领域由依赖单曲专辑下载，转为兼容Spotify等流媒体应用。

目前来看收效不小。去年苹果音乐等服务业务增长强劲，并无放缓的迹象。

呼吁隐私保护的人士也纷纷为库克点赞。今年初，美国联邦调查局要求苹果协助破解圣贝纳迪诺枪击案主犯Syed Farook的iphone，库克坚决拒绝，在法庭上表示苹果不会研发破解工具，双方为此交战数回合。库克还发表了一封公开信，支持公司在iMessage服务中采用的点对点加密技术，并表示个人隐私极为重要。后来库克还表示哪怕打到最高法院也会坚持立场。此案后，库克迅速成为全球最重要的隐私保护代言人之一。

此外，库克还显示出谦和善良的一面，收获了不少好评。库克领导下的苹果非常注重公益，他经常鼓励员工做慈善。2014年库克公开宣布自己是同性恋，成为《财富》500强里唯一一位公开同性恋身份的首席执行官，也由此成为LGBTQ平权重要的代言人。看来库克在位期间最重要的贡献是推动社会公平。

长路漫漫

五年之后，库克的工作远未完成。

今年9月初，库克即将站上舞台中心推出新一代iPhone，很可能就是传说中的iPhone 7。这款新机实在太重要了。如果成功，苹果的核心业务的颓势可就此逆转。一旦失败，股东会更加担心占苹果收入大部分的iPhone业务。

与此同时，库克既然说到iPad有机会成功，就要想办法兑现，跟Spotify互掐的争斗要努力打赢。库克也不能忽视其他领域的机会，例如医疗、虚拟和增强现实，对了，还有汽车。

不过，苹果一向臭屁地热衷保密，所以库克本人和公司层面对即将宣布什么都三缄其口。不过如果要从过去五年找点蛛丝马迹的话，库克接下来五年还是可能冒点险的（就看你了，苹果汽车），可能从推动势头迅猛的印度市场销售做起，丰富产品线也是重要工作。

过程中库克可能还会犯错，还会为错误决策道歉。但目前来看，库克跌倒了完全能站起来，拍掉灰尘继续前进。而且苹果兜里的现金会越来越多。

关于库克入职五年纪念，苹果并未置评。（财富中文网）

译者：李翔

审校：夏林

Usually, when a person is appointed a major company’s chief executive, he or she is overcome with joy. But five years ago, it’s hard to believe that was the emotion Tim Cook felt when he took Apple’s top job.

On August 24, 2011, Tim Cook officially became Apple’s CEO. While he had been working in the role on an interim basis while then-CEO Steve Jobs was fighting cancer, this time, it was real. In a statement that August day in 2011, Apple announced Jobs had submitted his resignation and immediately recommended that the board implement its succession plan to appoint Cook, who was then serving as the company’s COO, as permanent chief executive.

Less than two months later, Jobs, who was serving as Chairman of the Board at Apple  AAPL -0.75% , passed after a long battle with cancer.

Soon after Cook took the chief executive role, speculation soared over how he might handle the new position and in which direction he might take Apple. Jobs, after all, was widely viewed as the luminary that helped the iPhone maker rise to prominence. Could Cook keep that banner flying?

Now five years later, even Cook acknowledges that he’s made some mistakes along the way, recently pointing to Apple Maps, which Apple  launched early on during his reign, as one of his biggest. The app was supposed to be the replacement for Google Maps on iPhones and iPads. Instead, it was a mess—and Cook apologized for it.

More recently, Cook has also presided over a difficult financial period for Apple. Earlier this year, Cook was at the helm when Apple, for the first time in company history, reported that iPhone sales were down year-over-year during its second fiscal quarter. The company’s worldwide revenue was also down. Thesame happened in its last-reported fiscal quarter.

Not surprisingly, investors grew worried over what the future might hold. The iPhone, after all, contributes the vast majority of Apple’s revenue. With iPad sales continuing to tumble, some have wondered whether an iPhone this year, which is expected to be a minor upgrade, could end the company’s slide.

Characteristically, Cook has remained calm in the face of growing concern. He has said that the iPhone is just fine and still is hugely profitable for his company. He’s even gone so far as to say that he believes the iPad has a strong future ahead of it, even if the tablet market is soft and sales are trailing off.

There have been some other low points during Cook’s five-year tenure as chief executive, such as the plastic iPhone 5C, which eventually flopped, and ongoing criticism over Apple Music and its design, which Apple hopes to address in iOS 10. Nevertheless, they’ve been few and far between.

The Tim Cook Difference

From a purely financial perspective, Cook has been an unbridled success since he took over.

During his first full fiscal year as Apple CEO, a 12-month period that ended September 29, 2012, Apple generated more than $156.5 billion in revenue and a $41.7 billion profit. During its last full fiscal year ended last September, Apple’s revenue has soared to $233.7 billion and its profits jumped to $53.4 billion. All the while, Apple’s cash coffers have only swelled.

Over the last five years, Cook has also been instrumental in growing the iPhone’s user base, thanks in no small part to offering big-screen iPhones, like the iPhone 6s Plus, which sports a 5.5-inch screen. He’s also found a way to enter the corporate world on theback of partnerships with IBM and Cisco, among others, and offer to the corporate world both iPhones and iPads with specialized applications. Historically, Apple, which before the iPhone was mostly equipped with Mac computers to target the business world, could do little to break into that market. That has changed under Cook.

Cook has also helped Apple push into new territories. He led Apple into the wearables market and quicklymade the Apple Watch the world’s most successful wearable. With his $3 billion Beats acquisition, Cook is helping Apple transition from a company reliant upon music downloads to one that’s willing to take on the likes of Spotify in others in music streaming.

The result, thus far, has been major. Apple’s Services business, which includes Apple Music, is up considerably in the last year with no signs of slowing down.

Privacy advocates have also argued that Cook is fighting the good fight. Earlier this year, after a a row with the FBI over turning over software that would help the agency unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook’s iPhone, Cook stood his ground, denying the request and subsequent court order saying Apple should hand over such a tool. He posted an open letter supporting his company’s use of end-to-end encryption in its iMessage service, arguing that individual privacy was critical. Cook also said in subsequent conversations on the topic that he would’ve beenwilling to take his fight to the Supreme Court. The incident arguably propelled Cook to quickly become one of the most prominent privacy advocates in the world.

But Cook has also shown a softer, nicer side to Apple that has only broadened its appeal. He has made the company far more charitable and encouraged his employees to donate to charities. Cook, who publicly announced in 2014 that he is a homosexual and became the first openly gay CEO in the Fortune 500, has also been an important voice in equality for the LGBTQ community. Social justice, it seems, has been a cornerstone of his reign.

The Night is Young

After five years, Cook’s job is far from done.

In early September, Cook is expected to take center stage again to unveil the next iPhone, believed to be the iPhone 7. The handset’s importance cannot be underscored enough. If it succeeds, it could turn around Apple’s core business. If it fails, shareholders could grow increasingly concerned about the division that generates the majority of Apple’s revenue.

Meanwhile, Cook needs to make good on his promise that the iPad has a future with good opportunities for success and ultimately win the day in its heated streaming battle with Spotify. Cook must also not lose sight of other growth opportunities across healthcare, virtual and augmented reality, and yes, automobiles.

Of course, Apple’s notorious secrecy dictates that neither Cook nor the company will say exactly what the chief executive has up his sleeve. But if the past five years are any indication, Cook could take some risks (we’re looking at you, Apple Car) in the next five years, starting by expanding sales efforts in the booming India market as well as broadening Apple’s product lineup.

Along the way, Cook might trip and fall and be forced to apologize for another Apple blunder. But at least so far, he’s been able to pick himself up, dust himself off, and move on. All the while, he’s lined Apple’s pockets with even more cash.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on Cook’s five-year anniversary.