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Is Tim Cook really the problem? Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first, and Tim Cook can only stay CEO as long as he's acting in t

Is Tim Cook really the problem? Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first, and Tim Cook can only stay CEO as long as he's acting in their interests. Maybe it's too easy to blame the system, but I don't see how Tim Cook should take the majority blame.

deltarholamda 4y ago
If not him, then who? Ultimately he is the one who makes the decisions; that's why he has the title of CEO and not "Puppet Of The Board." I suppose we could simply blame the entire customer base of Apple, but that seems less than productive.
quadrifoliate 4y ago
> Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first, and Tim Cook can only stay CEO as long as he's acting in their interests. And it is his job to explain to them that plastering ads all over the UI is going to destroy the entire privacy-conscious image that Apple has built up over the past decade, specially the past five or so years. You can't just say "There was no alternative but to show ads", it's a reductio ad (lol) absurdum by which you can excuse any bad decisions that a CEO makes by saying "Well, the board made them do it".
reaperducer 4y ago
Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first First, no. That's a gross oversimplification of the situation, and there are thousands of counter-examples. It's one of those things people see on HN and then pass along as if it was the absolute truth. It isn't. But, for fun, let's pretend it is true. Then the way Tim Cook answers to shareholders is to preserve the long-term value of Apple as a brand and a company, and not to sell out for short-term gains. The majority of Apple shareholders are massive corporations that invest for the long-haul, not day traders trying to make a quick buck.
Mistletoe 4y ago
The problem goes deeper and is one we see everywhere- the stock price has to always go up. This is only good for shareholders, for everyone else it is usually bad. How does humanity solve this feedback loop? The free market dream doesn't seem to be working.

deltarholamda 4y ago

If not him, then who? Ultimately he is the one who makes the decisions; that's why he has the title of CEO and not "Puppet Of The Board." I suppose we could simply blame the entire customer base of Apple, but that seems less than productive.

quadrifoliate 4y ago

> Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first, and Tim Cook can only stay CEO as long as he's acting in their interests. And it is his job to explain to them that plastering ads all over the UI is going to destroy the entire privacy-conscious image that Apple has built up over the past decade, specially the past five or so years. You can't just say "There was no alternative but to show ads", it's a reductio ad (lol) absurdum by which you can excuse any bad decisions that a CEO makes by saying "Well, the board made them do it".

reaperducer 4y ago

Apple has to answer to the shareholders and board of directors first First, no. That's a gross oversimplification of the situation, and there are thousands of counter-examples. It's one of those things people see on HN and then pass along as if it was the absolute truth. It isn't. But, for fun, let's pretend it is true. Then the way Tim Cook answers to shareholders is to preserve the long-term value of Apple as a brand and a company, and not to sell out for short-term gains. The majority of Apple shareholders are massive corporations that invest for the long-haul, not day traders trying to make a quick buck.

Mistletoe 4y ago

The problem goes deeper and is one we see everywhere- the stock price has to always go up. This is only good for shareholders, for everyone else it is usually bad. How does humanity solve this feedback loop? The free market dream doesn't seem to be working.