Web Desk 
Oct 22, 2024
Apple CEO Tim Cook in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal shared his journey from where he started to becoming a topshot in one of the world's biggest tech firms.
Explaining in chronological order, Cook talked about his first job as a newspaper delivery guy to bear his educational expenses. Regarding his admission to college, he considered himself privileged while mentioning that he was the first in his family to attend college.
“I knew that being able to do that was a privilege that I needed not to waste,” he said, stressing that college for his generation was seen as a way to do good in life and “stand on the shoulders” of one’s parents.
Following his graduation from Auburn University, he told about his first-ever corporate role at IBM in 1983, where he had the chance to interact with a world of “really smart people from all around the world.”
“I had no furniture at all. I was sleeping on the floor for a while before I could afford to actually buy a bed,” he noted while reflecting on his early days.
The turning point came in 1998 when he was hired by Steve Jobs at Apple when the company was about to collapse. However, his visionary and product-centric approach resonated well with that of Jobs. “He was a very different kind of CEO. He was focused on products, products, and products, and had a belief that small teams could do amazing work,” Cook recalled.
Assured of a turnaround, Cook remained diligent with Apple, extending unwavering support despite Apple's vulnerable financial posture in sight.
Apple CEO also reflected on Jobs’ perseverance aimed at consumers when the industry was undergoing a transition to enterprise solutions.
“Everybody thought you could not make any money selling to consumers,” Cook said. “I thought I had a chance of a lifetime to work with the creative genius that started the entire industry, and I didn’t want to pass that up,” he said.
Besides being so much into tech products, he mentioned that he was also interested in logistics and manufacturing, which he attributed to his background in industrial engineering.
