When Apple announced back in 2011 that its chief operating officer, Tim Cook, would succeed its ailing, revered cofounder and CEO, Steve Jobs, many commentators wondered whether he’d be able to fill such big shoes. Cook was an even-keeled, soft-spoken technocrat who knew how to get stuff done, but hardly a visionary. Could he oversee the creation of society-changing devices as his boss Jobs had? Jobs had a knack for knowing what people wanted before even they knew it, an instinct that made Mac computers, iPods, and, above all, the iPhone some of the most sought-after products of all time.
“I don’t see [Cook] as the kind of person who could ever have the focus, the kind of maniacal dedication [as Jobs],” CNET editor Molly Wood wrote, reflecting the consensus at the time.
