“Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, is up against his company’s own phenomenal history of success. The iPhone’s ubiquity and dominance have combined to deliver Apple a soaring share price and an astoundingly high percentage of the total mobile phone profit pool,” Michael J. Silverstein reports for Fortune. “Competitors are either losing boatloads of cash, or delivering marginal profits. Apple has a market cap of $555 billion—with roughly 90% of its value delivered in phones.”
“Cook’s tenure has seen a remarkable growth in iPhone share and global usage. Jobs would certainly have been proud of the trajectory. But Jobs’ most famous quote was: ‘Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me,'” Silverstein reports. “The new ‘wonderful’ is what Apple needs most now.”
“Other notable chief executives have faced similarly overwhelming challenges, and have fought to stay true to core company values and deliver ongoing value. Cook, of course, when he isn’t fighting the federal government, is trying to reinvigorate Apple’s growth,” Silverstein reports. “When Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks after temporarily “retiring” in 2000 as chief executive, he shut every store down for a day. During Schultz’s retirement, there was intense pressure to deliver 20% growth in sales and profits. In 2008, when he returned, Schultz decided that the company needed to stress speed, service, and quality product.”
“In a memo to Starbucks employees, he lamented the ‘watering-down of the Starbucks experience’ and ‘commoditization of our brand.’ Insisting on a return to quality and experience control was a bold act at a time when same-store sales had slipped and consumer ranking had dropped. It was a clear statement about values and value, a push for reinvention, programmed expansion, and an emotional connection between employee and customer,” Silverstein reports. “Since Schultz’s return, Starbucks market cap has soared 600%, to $88 billion today.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’re not going to belabor the point and instead simply refer you to our January 5, 2015 Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better.
We believe Apple is aware of, listening to, and already well on their way to acting on such concerns. The future of Apple is exceedingly bright. The company has grown very rapidly over a short period of time. That they have done this well during this tumultuous time is a testament to their unparalleled management. The fact is that Apple’s low point was well above the highest point that any of Apple’s so-called rivals have achieved. Things are only going to get even better from here on out!