通常來說，如果有人被指定為一家大公司的總裁，肯定會喜出望外。但五年前蒂姆·庫克接任蘋果掌門時并沒顯露出高興的跡象。

2011年8月24日，蒂姆·庫克正式出任蘋果公司首席執(zhí)行官。雖然史蒂夫·喬布斯身患癌癥后，庫克臨時擔(dān)任過該職務(wù)。但這次是真的。2011年8月的一份聲明中，蘋果稱喬布斯已經(jīng)遞交辭呈，并建議董事執(zhí)行接班計劃任命庫克。當(dāng)時庫克擔(dān)任蘋果首席運(yùn)營官，兼任常務(wù)總裁。

沒到兩個月，蘋果董事會主席喬布斯與癌癥抗?fàn)幎嗄旰笈c世長辭。

庫克接任首席執(zhí)行官沒多久，外界關(guān)于他下一步有何舉動，將帶領(lǐng)蘋果走向何方揣測良多。畢竟，眾人眼里喬布斯才是帶領(lǐng)蘋果走上輝煌之路的領(lǐng)袖。庫克能扛住這面大旗么？

五年過去了，庫克承認(rèn)犯下了一些錯誤，最近表示蘋果地圖是最嚴(yán)重的一個。這款應(yīng)用是庫克剛上任時啟用的，當(dāng)時目的是取代iPhone和iPad預(yù)裝應(yīng)用中的谷歌地圖。然而新地圖體驗極差，庫克為此道歉。

近來蘋果財務(wù)表現(xiàn)不佳，庫克也要負(fù)點責(zé)。今年初，庫克領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的蘋果宣布第二財季iPhone銷量同比下滑，這是公司歷史上第一次。當(dāng)季蘋果全球總收入也出現(xiàn)下降，已是連續(xù)兩個財季下滑。

于是，投資者對蘋果的未來發(fā)展越發(fā)擔(dān)心。畢竟iPhone是蘋果收入的頂梁柱。iPad銷量又一直不振，不少人擔(dān)心今年發(fā)布的新款iPhone——很可能又是一款小幅升級的產(chǎn)品，能否終結(jié)下行的趨勢。

面對種種質(zhì)疑，庫克還是一如既往的淡定。他表示iPhone銷量還可以，仍然有很多盈利。當(dāng)前平板市場相當(dāng)疲軟，銷量一蹶不振，他居然表示iPad前景不錯。

庫克上任五年來害有其他不盡如人意的地方，例如塑料玩具般的iPhone 5C，后來果然慘不忍睹，有關(guān)蘋果音樂功能和設(shè)計的批評也不絕于耳，蘋果稱新固件iOS 10中會逐一解決問題，但看來看去也沒什么新意。

蒂姆·庫克的不同之處

單從財務(wù)角度看，庫克接手以來還是獲得了巨大的成功。

到2012年9月29日，也就是庫克上任一整個財年里，蘋果收入1565億美元，利潤達(dá)417億美元。截至去年9月的最近一個完整財年里，蘋果總收入飆升至2337億美元，利潤躍升至534億美元。期間蘋果的現(xiàn)金儲備也大幅增加。

過去五年里，庫克在增加蘋果用戶數(shù)量方面做了些貢獻(xiàn)，其中推出5.5英寸大屏款的手機(jī)，例如iPhone 6s作用不小。iPhone進(jìn)駐企業(yè)市場的進(jìn)展也不錯，目前客戶已經(jīng)包括IBM和思科等，都已應(yīng)用定制版iPhone和iPad。iPhone上市前，蘋果只有Mac臺式機(jī)打入過企業(yè)市場，其他產(chǎn)品進(jìn)展緩慢。在庫克領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下局面正在改變。

庫克也積極帶領(lǐng)蘋果進(jìn)駐新市場。如今蘋果已進(jìn)軍可穿戴領(lǐng)域，蘋果手表也成了全球最成功的可穿戴設(shè)備。斥資30億美元收購耳機(jī)制造商Beats后，蘋果在音樂領(lǐng)域由依賴單曲專輯下載，轉(zhuǎn)為兼容Spotify等流媒體應(yīng)用。

目前來看收效不小。去年蘋果音樂等服務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)增長強(qiáng)勁，并無放緩的跡象。

呼吁隱私保護(hù)的人士也紛紛為庫克點贊。今年初，美國聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局要求蘋果協(xié)助破解圣貝納迪諾槍擊案主犯Syed Farook的iphone，庫克堅決拒絕，在法庭上表示蘋果不會研發(fā)破解工具，雙方為此交戰(zhàn)數(shù)回合。庫克還發(fā)表了一封公開信，支持公司在iMessage服務(wù)中采用的點對點加密技術(shù)，并表示個人隱私極為重要。后來庫克還表示哪怕打到最高法院也會堅持立場。此案后，庫克迅速成為全球最重要的隱私保護(hù)代言人之一。

此外，庫克還顯示出謙和善良的一面，收獲了不少好評。庫克領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的蘋果非常注重公益，他經(jīng)常鼓勵員工做慈善。2014年庫克公開宣布自己是同性戀，成為《財富》500強(qiáng)里唯一一位公開同性戀身份的首席執(zhí)行官，也由此成為LGBTQ平權(quán)重要的代言人。看來庫克在位期間最重要的貢獻(xiàn)是推動社會公平。

長路漫漫

五年之后，庫克的工作遠(yuǎn)未完成。

今年9月初，庫克即將站上舞臺中心推出新一代iPhone，很可能就是傳說中的iPhone 7。這款新機(jī)實在太重要了。如果成功，蘋果的核心業(yè)務(wù)的頹勢可就此逆轉(zhuǎn)。一旦失敗，股東會更加擔(dān)心占蘋果收入大部分的iPhone業(yè)務(wù)。

與此同時，庫克既然說到iPad有機(jī)會成功，就要想辦法兌現(xiàn)，跟Spotify互掐的爭斗要努力打贏。庫克也不能忽視其他領(lǐng)域的機(jī)會，例如醫(yī)療、虛擬和增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實，對了，還有汽車。

不過，蘋果一向臭屁地?zé)嶂员Ｃ?，所以庫克本人和公司層面對即將宣布什么都三緘其口。不過如果要從過去五年找點蛛絲馬跡的話，庫克接下來五年還是可能冒點險的（就看你了，蘋果汽車），可能從推動勢頭迅猛的印度市場銷售做起，豐富產(chǎn)品線也是重要工作。

過程中庫克可能還會犯錯，還會為錯誤決策道歉。但目前來看，庫克跌倒了完全能站起來，拍掉灰塵繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。而且蘋果兜里的現(xiàn)金會越來越多。

關(guān)于庫克入職五年紀(jì)念，蘋果并未置評。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：李翔

審校：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.