For more than a decade, the man leading one of the world's most powerful companies began his day not with numbers but with people. When Tim Cook announced he would step down as chief executive of Apple later this year, he did more than mark the end of an era. He revealed a ritual. A habit so simple that it risks being overlooked. Yet it may explain far more about his leadership than any product launch ever could.
Cook wrote that for 15 years, he started almost every morning in the same way. He opened his inbox. Then he read messages from Apple users across the world. These were not investor briefings or boardroom summaries. They were personal notes. Stories. Complaints. Gratitude.
