Tim Cook's coming out statement: A carefully planned declaration of a new era for Apple

A few days ago, I wrote an article about transsexuals, analyzing the homogeneous and heterogeneous characteristics behind them, the Internet, Obama, and Guanyin, and proving that the advent of a gender-neutral society will help bridge the divisions in the industry and society. Then the next day, Cook issued a coming-out statement, and I missed his case.

Today, I would like to make a judgment on Cook’s sexual orientation and Apple’s future innovation and operational trends.

Let's just give a conclusion: the announcement of Cook's identity is a careful plan by him and Apple, a combination of strong personal will and corporate will. It suggests that Cook is using a psychological catharsis to step out of Jobs' shadow, re-infuse youth into Apple during its transformation, and adapt to the future neutral innovation requirements.

That’s why I say this is a well-planned and carefully selected one.

First of all, this is not a secret disclosure, it is just a confirmation. The media has reported it many times in the past and even made a ranking. Cook himself also said that he usually did not hide it from his colleagues. This shows that releasing the statement at this time has more flavor.

Secondly, there is a contradiction in the statement. In the second paragraph of the opening, Cook said that he often used Martin Luther to motivate himself, "I now realize that my desire to protect my personal privacy has prevented me from doing something more important."

This shows that he deliberately protected it. But later he said, "For many years, I have been open about my sexual orientation in front of many people. Many colleagues at Apple also know that I am a homosexual... I have never denied my sexual orientation..."

The context is obviously contradictory. It gives people the feeling that this external confirmation is a natural outcome, perhaps because of deep feelings, or perhaps, as he said, it can no longer interfere with "doing something more important."

Finally, the statement was not made in his personal capacity, but was tied to Apple. If it was a passive disclosure, Cook’s cautious style should have separated his personal privacy from Apple. After all, it is not a trivial matter. There are countless people who oppose homosexuality around the world. Apple is a listed company, and its stock price and corporate brand must be taken care of.

Not only did he not separate, but he also matched his sexual orientation with the company's position, emphasizing that Apple was critical of the government's gay policy.

In addition, the statement has a complete structure and logic, and the wording is excellent. Cook's expression has both the individual self and the greater self, as well as a global vision, and he did not forget to return to himself in the end. The entire text is mature and poetic, and it has touched the hearts of countless people.

It cannot be denied that the CEO has expressiveness. However, combined with the above details and the maturity of Apple’s PR system, I think this is not driven by pure passion, but rather a carefully crafted response, the result of consensus among Cook, the board of directors, and the PR department.

So, what are the potential business purposes or benefits of Cook's coming out?

I think we should think about the following three aspects.

First of all, this should be Cook's reshaping of his personal status and brand, marking that he has truly stepped out of the huge shadow of Jobs.

In the past 16 years, especially before 2011, Cook has been hiding behind Jobs. The supply chain, design and marketing myths he established for Apple were all said to be the work of Jobs.

Over the past years, Jobs has had many CEOs. Cook was an airborne soldier, not only was he not fired, but his power continued to rise. I think in addition to industrial changes, it must be related to his personality. It is really difficult to get along with Jobs. Jobs is a typical charismatic personality. On the one hand, his abandoned child complex and awareness of death make him have a strong desire for control, and he is a tyrant; on the other hand, his practice of Indian philosophy, Eastern Zen, music and other arts makes him extremely focused and has a strong aesthetic intuition. In the biography, he loves to cry, has a morbid cognition of time, and always thinks that he will die soon, so he hopes to achieve eternity when he is young.

I think Cook's homosexuality has given him a protective color: he has both the decisiveness, creativity and decision-making ability of men, and the delicacy, obedience, communication and dedication of women, which makes him more suitable for the requirements of Jobs and Apple. In the biography, Jobs often insults people who are not innovative, but is very jealous of CEOs who are innovative but exaggerate their power.

Cool said he admired Jobs and thought about him almost every day. To some extent, it should be said that Cook and Jobs made each other successful and made Apple successful together.

But if Cook is only satisfied with the myth of the founder, his existence is meaningless. Apple is already in a passive position today, and innovation is facing a crisis. If there is no disruptive change, Apple will live in people's memory, and Cook may become a sinner.

Therefore, I see the coming out statement as an emotional outburst by Cook, to establish his position and show the outside world that he is the most suitable leader after Jobs. In the statement, he tied his personal fate to the fate of the company, as if to mean that Jobs equals Apple, and he, Cook, also equals Apple.

Many signs have proven that Cook is indeed changing Jobs' style. For example, Jobs never came to China, while he frequently shows up. Jobs rarely accepted interviews and only gave a limited number of speeches, while Cook has already lived in the mass media.

People have seen that in the past month or so, Cook has been interviewed by well-known media at least three times, and he has emphasized that he thinks of Jobs every day. Really, this reminds me of the change of dynasties in history. Before the current monarch establishes his position, he will first constantly confirm the merits of the previous monarch and his inheritance relationship with himself, as if seeking more legitimacy for taking over the mantle.

Secondly, reshape Apple’s brand, establish new innovative thinking, and move towards openness through neutrality.

Apple was not the king of the PC era, but it caught the first wave of consumer electronics and the first wave of mobile Internet. As of today, it is facing another cycle. Apple's semi-closed business model and excessive profit grabbing of the industrial chain have overdrawn the industrial soil. In the past few years, sweatshops and psychological crises in the downstream are deeply related to its model. Terry Gou has implicitly expressed his concerns many times, and Foxconn has even allied with Google.

This is the crisis of Apple's closed system. The open model created by Google has brought a huge impact on its business. If Apple does not make adjustments and work hard on its brand and innovation, it will become more passive.

Cook came out and tied himself to the fate of the company, attracting global attention. I think this is a huge brand advertisement. The "homosexual" identity has caused huge controversy, but overall, except for the negative public opinion in the Middle East, Russia and Africa, the public opinion in Europe, America and Asia is full of more recognition, especially countless young people.

I think that Cook and Apple are conveying the following impression to the new generation of young people: he pays attention to details, the minority, and is full of sympathy; and Apple is a democratic, free ecological model that is full of innovation and inclusiveness. After reading the Chinese and English versions of the statement several times in a row, I strongly feel that Cook is endorsing the future of Apple.

Finally, Apple's micro-innovation and industrial layout also cater to the neutral and integration trends in gay culture.

In the past, Apple was positioned far from the masses, basically only eating the sweetest end of the market, and the grassroots consumer soil of the masses was not deep. In the era of making money from hardware, this model was of course invincible, but now, the hardware industry is increasingly standardized, and the division of labor is increasingly mature, detailed, and transparent. It will be difficult to rely solely on hardware. The market is increasingly focusing on services and applications. Therefore, Apple needs to bridge the gap caused by its past positioning, shift from hardware-driven to service-driven, focus on platforms that connect people and services, and create market demand that will not disappear due to short-term fluctuations.

Cook's homosexuality allows him to see more subtle needs that are often overlooked. I think his thinking will prompt Apple's innovation to focus on spiritual connections, such as psychology, health, entertainment, culture, and finance.

You can see that in the past year, Apple has acquired nearly 20 companies, a considerable number of which are concentrated in the fields of finance, entertainment, culture, and business. These businesses are close to the rigid life of the public and are the key to connecting people and services.

I think this trend is consistent with Cook's "neutralization" of homosexuality. In fact, I think this is an industry trend. A few days ago, Ma Huateng also established this future positioning for Tencent, which is to connect people and services.

In an article not long ago, I asserted that Apple Pay is a platform-based tool built by Apple that will support its move towards Internet finance, and then connect people with various on-site services, becoming an O2O Apple.

The O2O model is actually a fusion world. It bridges the gap between online and offline in the past and has a neutral flavor. I think this is the difference between the thinking of Jobs and Cook.

Judging from this, in the future, Apple's hardware products will have more levels and be more affordable, thus opening up greater opportunities for its downstream services. Otherwise, Apple will be constrained by its own business model.

From Cook's poaching, you can also feel that Apple is accelerating towards an era of integration and connection. Last year, Apple intended to change its marketing, and people thought he would recruit people from Google and the Internet, but he poached the beautiful CEO of Burberry, who emphasized the need to reshape Apple's channels so that it can reach people it couldn't reach in the past. This is consistent with Cook's statement that he focuses on subtle needs and a small number of people.

Of course, I believe that Cook's coming out statement has more charm. Perhaps it is a spillover effect. For example, after Cook's announcement, his boyfriend, an Asian investor who has worked in companies such as FB and Google, responded promptly and thanked Cook for speaking out. This makes people involuntarily think of why Jobs never came to China, but Cook frequently appeared in Asia, especially China. I think that in addition to his personal feelings, it should be closely related to the Asian market with China as the core.

A few days ago, Cook also made it clear in an interview that it is only a matter of time before China becomes Apple's most important market in the world. Combined with Apple's innovative trends and China's rich offline resources, including people and services, Cook's goal seems very clear.

Therefore, in my opinion, Cook's coming out was a carefully planned business event. It tied his own destiny to the fate of Apple by sacrificing his privacy. It was a sacrifice for the much-questioned Apple and the Jobs in heaven. It established the Cook era and made a clever annotation for the future destiny of Apple, which is the democracy and openness of the ecosystem.

As for whether Apple can go further, it depends on the luck of Cook and others. My own feeling is that he has been too tolerant in the past year and has made many compromises with Wall Street. If this time of coming out can reverse this trend, I think Apple in the Cook era still has strong vitality.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.