蒂姆·库克接任科技巨头苹果公司掌门人一年以来成绩斐然，但最艰难的考验仍在前方。
且谈一场难续之剧。去年8月24日，当蒂姆库克接替病中的史蒂夫乔布斯而继任苹果公司的首席执行官那一刻，可谓是从堪比科技界摇滚巨星的手中接过了接力棒。乔布斯于去年十月突然离世，随即有声音高呼质疑：这位更显谦逊的二把手到底能否在苹果公司那桀骜不驯却又杰出过人的创始人离世后，将它继续经营下去？其实，他们的担心是多余的。随着库克先生在苹果掌权一周年纪念日的到来，苹果一如既往地刷新着各种各样的业界记录。
截至今年8月20号，苹果公司以超过6230亿美元的市场资本总额，成为史上最有价值的上市公司（忽略通货膨胀的影响）。该头衔曾属于另一个科技巨擘，微软公司。1999年12月，微软的市值曾以6150亿美元折桂。苹果公司如此骄人的业绩大部分都归功于乔布斯，因此他被誉为iPhone手机和iPad平板电脑之父。然而，库克在处理棘手的公司过渡阶段所用的方法之高，也值得称赞。
这过程中，并不一帆风顺。去年七月，在苹果季报收入发表之后，面对增额为21%至88亿美元的净利润，公司投资商仍不满意，造成苹果股价一度暴跌。今年年初，工会人士曝苹果供应商富士康在中国设的加工厂内，存在迫使员工过度工作和其它过失行为，苹果因此受牵连，遭到各方严词斥责。库克旋即高调出行，造访富士康在中国的工厂。在这之后，苹果联同富士康一并公开承诺，证改善工人们的工作环境。一家名为公平劳动联合会的非盈利团体负责该厂工人工作环境的监察，并于本周表示：该厂环境有所进展，但要想既减短工时又不侵害工人的收入，这些远远不够。
那些苹果的资深盯梢人说，富士康和其它事件标志着库克有可能比他的前任更在意来自公司以外的声音。“我觉得，他（库克）比起史蒂夫乔布斯，对外界的批评会更敏感一点。”一家名为创意战略咨询公司的总裁蒂姆巴加林如是说。诚然，苹果的新老板就听从了华尔街的呼声，从公司囤积的财富中里拿出一部分现金，退给了他们，这可是乔布斯打死都不会做的事儿。还有，本月初，苹果公司破天荒地兑现了15年来的第一笔分红。
除了妙解批评、讨好股东以外，苹果还会缩骨术，从一堆官司中华丽抽身。本刊付梓之时，在美国加州法院开场的有关智能手机和平板电脑专利的苹果三星激战终于宣告结案。库克在这点上像他的精神导师乔布斯：打官司，不惧你。不仅如此，看样子他还学成了其他乔帮特技，其中一条就是：对鞭辟入里的贬低刻薄话别有一番兴趣。当被一位分析人士问及，未来某一天个人电脑和平板电脑能否合为一体时，库克回击道：“你当然可以将吐司面包机和电冰箱捏到一起，但是用户很可能不会买这东西的帐。”
当下最大的问题是，苹果新掌门是否得到了他前任的真传、能否保持苹果的新鲜度使之立于市。美国一家名为福利斯特研究公司的老板乔治克朗尼今年初在他的博客中发文写道：像索尼，迪士尼这样的公司，其价值在它们的传奇般的创始人过世之后都逐渐褪减。他预测苹果靠骑在现有产品带来的利润背上，能在商潮里航行一段，但这之后也会陷入类似的命运漩涡中。但是若库克能保持公司里才华横溢的高官们一直不弃船，并激发他们向如数字电视这类亟待开发的新海域驰骋，那么苹果定能战胜此劫，逆势而前。对库克先生来说，他真正意义上的职场试镜，同苹果新品测试会一样，即将揭晓。
Tim Cook’s first year as the technology giant’s boss has been a success. But the toughest test lies ahead.
TALK about a hard act to follow. When Tim Cook replaced an ailing Steve Jobs as Apple’s chief executive on August 24th last year, he took over from the nearest thing the tech world had to a rock star. Some people wondered out loud how Jobs’s more humble second-in-command would fare in the absence of the firm’s brash and brilliant co-founder, who died in October. They need not have worried. As Mr Cook celebrates his first anniversary at Apple’s helm, the company continues to smash records.
On August 20th Apple’s market capitalisation reached over $623 billion, making it the most valuable listed company (if you ignore inflation) of all time. That title was previously held by Microsoft, another tech titan, whose market worth hit $615 billion in December 1999. Much of the credit for Apple’s phenomenal success goes to Jobs, the father of the iPhone and the iPad tablet computer. But Mr Cook also deserves praise for the way he has handled a tricky transition.
The process has not been without hiccups. In July Apple’s share price fell sharply after the company’s quarterly earnings disappointed investors, even though its net profit rose by 21%, to $8.8 billion. And earlier in the year Apple was lambasted for its use of Foxconn, a supplier under fire from labour activists for failings such as excessive working hours at its Chinese facilities. Mr Cook promptly went on a highly publicised tour of a Foxconn factory in China. Apple and Foxconn subsequently pledged to improve workers’ conditions there. This week the Fair Labour Association, a non-profit group that audits workplaces, said progress had been made, but more still needed to be done to cut overtime hours without unduly harming workers’ incomes.
Veteran Apple-watchers say this and other episodes are a sign that Mr Cook is more likely to pay attention to opinions outside Apple than his predecessor. “I think he’s a little bit more sensitive to criticism than Steve Jobs was,” says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a consultancy. Apple’s boss has certainly listened to calls from Wall Street for the company to hand back some of its cash hoard, something Jobs was notoriously reluctant to do. Earlier this month, Apple paid its first dividend since 1995.
In addition to disarming critics and delighting investors, Apple has been dishing out lawsuits. As The Economist went to press, a testy court battle in America between the firm and Samsung over various patents connected with smartphones and tablet computers was drawing to a close. Like his mentor, Mr Cook is clearly not afraid of a fight. He also seems to be developing other Jobs-like traits, including a penchant for pithy put-downs. Asked on an analysts’ call whether personal computers and tablets could one day merge into a single device, Mr Cook shot back: “You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user.”
The big question is whether Apple’s boss has also learnt enough from his predecessor to keep the creative juices at the company flowing freely. In a blog post earlier this year George Colony, the boss of Forrester, a research firm, noted that the fortunes of companies such as Sony and Disney faded after their charismatic founders departed. He predicted that Apple would suffer a similar fate after coasting for a while on the back of existing products. But if Mr Cook can keep the firm’s talented senior executives on board and inspire them to conquer new markets like digital TV, where Apple has yet to make much of an impact, the firm could buck this trend. His big screen test awaits.
