It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list of friends.
In an extended interview with the Washington Post, Apple's top executive offered new insight into how he's handled some of the bigger decisions he's made in his five years as CEO. Among the revelations: a casual list of some of the biggest names in business and politics who he has called upon for advice in years past.
SEE ALSO:Kanye comes for Apple, demands Tim Cook cut Tidal deal with Jay Z"I think it’s incumbent on a CEO to not just listen to points of view but to actually solicit them," Tim Cook said in the interview. "Because I think, if not, you quickly become insular. And you’re sort of living in the echo chamber."
Tim Cook said he consulted with the famed investor when Apple decided to return cash to Apple shareholders in 2012. Cook noted that he sought Buffet's advice, in part, because he wouldn't be biased:
I thought he’s the natural person
"When I was going through [the question of] what should we do on returning cash to shareholders, I thought who could really give us great advice here," he said. "Who wouldn’t have a bias? So I called up Warren Buffett. I thought he’s the natural person, and so I try to go through that process on everyone." "That doesn’t mean I always do what they say," he added.
The CNN anchor may seem like a surprising confidante, but Cook said he spoke with him before making one of his most personal decisions: the op-ed he wrote in 2014 declaring "I'm proud to be gay." Cook said he went to Cooper because he admired how the anchor handled his own decision to come out publicly in 2012.
"I talked to Anderson Cooper at length — multiple times," Cook said. "Because I thought that the way that he handled his announcement was really classy. I was getting advice from people who I thought were really great people who had really deeply thought about it."
In 2013, Cook was facing his first Congressional testimony (he was called to testify about Apple's tax practices). He said he consulted with a number of people before the hearing, including the 42nd president himself, who he met through the Clinton Foundation.
"He knows a lot about the politics," Cook said of Clinton. "I’d not met him through a political connection. I’d met him through the foundation."
It was the same hearing that prompted Cook to reach out to another prominent business figure -- Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
"I looked back to say who’s done this before? I knew Lloyd and thought he’d be honest with me," Cook said.
Steve Jobs' widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, also counseled Cook prior to his Congressional testimony. Cook, who elsewhere in the interview called the day of Steve Job's death "the worst day ever," noted that she has a unique understanding of the company and Cook himself.
"Laurene has the lens of knowing me and deeply understanding Apple."
TopicsApple
(责任编辑：綜合)
Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now
Daniel Kaluuya's Oscars speech thanked his parents for having sex
Google Maps now lets you draw missing roads and add real
Lyft offers free rides to COVIDIvanka Trump's unpaid interns share cringeworthy financial adviceDressage horse dancing to 'Smooth' by Santana wins gold for chillest horse
Okay forget everyone else -- this horse named Lorenzo is our favorite Olympic athlete now.
。Lorenzo,
...[详细]Terrifying drone image of Australian bushfire takes top prize in wildlife photo contest
A grim drone image of a line of fire ripping through the bush in northern Australia has claimed the
...[详细]NASA's completed Artemis 1 rocket test could be a greenlight to the moon
The rocket meant to blast NASA’s Artemis 1 missionto the moon completed a final hot fire test
...[详细]YouTube temporarily demonetizes James Charles' channel over misconduct allegations
Makeup vlogger and influencer James Charles has had his YouTube channel demonetized amid a sexting s
...[详细]Researchers create temporary tattoos you can use to control your devices
In the future, your tattoos could be much more than just ink designs.
。Scientists have created a new
...[详细]Treating water, testing for COVID: Meet the robots that handle our poo
From the robots that fail miserably at their jobs to the robots dealing with our literal crap, Masha
...[详细]Perseverance's first Mars focus is a rock named using Navajo language
The Perseverance Mars rover has its eyes set on its first area of interest, a rock that's been given
...[详细]Apple to launch Independent Repair Provider program in more than 200 countries
Apple's Independent Repair Provider program is expanding in a big way. The program, which gives thir
...[详细]Did our grandparents have the best beauty advice?
Do our grandparents really know what's best?They're older and wiser, and they have no shortage of ad
...[详细]SXSW beat the pandemic by building Austin in VR for festival attendees
I was in a freefall high above Congress Avenue, or some acid-dream version of it, in Austin, (defini
...[详细]New Zealand designer's photo series celebrates the elegance of aging
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has a hidden 'family portrait'
