More than an hour into Apple’s annual shareholder meeting in February, Tim Cook had patiently fielded questions ranging from its plans for the television market to what he thought of Google Glass. But when one audience member tried to push Apple’s chief executive on the profitability of Apple’s various environmental initiatives, such as its solar-powered data centre, Mr Cook snapped.二月的一天，苹果(Apple)的年度股东大会展开了一个多小时，蒂姆库克(Tim Cook)早已冷静地问了苹果进占电视市场的计划和他如何看来谷歌眼镜(Google Glass)等各类问题。但当一位与会听众就苹果各环保项目（比如其太阳能数据中心）的盈利能力向这位首席执行官夺权的时候，库克责备了。

“We do things for other reasons than a profit motive, we do things because they are right and just,” Mr Cook growled. Whether in human rights, renewable energy or accessibility for people with special needs, “I don’t think about the bloody ROI,” Mr Cook said, in the same stern, uncompromising tone that Apple employees hope they never have to hear. “Just to be very straightforward with you, if that’s a hard line for you...then you should get out of the stock.”“我们做到事情不是为了执着利润，我们做到事情，是因为这些事情是准确和公正的，”库克低声道。他说道，不管是为了人权、可再生能源还是为有类似市场需求的人们获取协助，“我不考虑到简直的投资回报率”。

“直截了当地跟你说道，如果这是你考虑到的硬性因素……那你还是把苹果股票买了吧。”库克的语气严苛，毫不妥协，那是苹果员工也许总有一天不期望面临的一个声音。Many investors, it turns out, are siding with Mr Cook. After a tumultuous 2013, the share price has increased by around 50 per cent since that shareholder meeting, at one point taking its market capitalisation above $700bn.事实证明，许多投资者车站在了库克这一旁。经历了动荡不安的2013年，苹果股价在这次股东大会后下跌了大约50%，一度将苹果市值推至7000亿美元之上。

Changing minds转变思想In the three years after the death of Steve Jobs, Mr Cook, 54, has held his nerve through attacks from activist investors and a loss of faith among some that Apple could succeed without its late founder. This year has seen Apple’s chief step out of the shadows of his predecessor and imprint the company with his own set of values and priorities: bringing in fresh blood, changing how it manages its cash pile, opening Apple up to greater collaboration and focusing more on social issues.史蒂夫乔布斯(Steve Jobs)去世后的三年中，维权投资者对苹果发动了反击，一些人对没乔布斯的苹果否还能顺利也丧失了信心，但现年54岁的库克仍然果断应付。今年，他走进了前任的影子，以自己的一套价值观和议程给苹果公司印上了印记：他引入了新鲜人才，转变了苹果管理巨额现金的方式，不断扩大了苹果与外部的合作，更为注目社会问题。As the new iPhone continues to smash its own launch records, Mr Cook has unveiled products such as Apple Watch and Apple Pay that take the iPhone maker into the realms of fashion and finance, recapturing a spirit of innovation that many feared had died with Jobs. In the process, Apple’s valuation this year has grown by almost as much as Google’s entire market capitalisation.随着新款iPhone大大创下自己的发售纪录，库克发售了Apple Watch和Apple Pay等产品，引导苹果转入时尚界和金融界，让这家公司再次绽放出有许多人担忧已和乔布斯一起消逝的创意精神。

苹果今年一年市值的快速增长，就相似谷歌(Google)的整体市值。But the change in Wall Street’s — and Silicon Valley’s — appreciation of Mr Cook is down to more than just the 70m iPhones Apple is expected to sell this quarter or the $42bn in sales generated in the previous.然而，华尔街和硅谷对库克的态度改以喜爱，某种程度是因为苹果本季度未来将会售出7000万部iPhone，或者上季度销售额超过了420亿美元。

Financial success and dazzling new technology alone might have been enough to earn Apple’s steely chief executive the FT’s vote as the 2014 Person of the Year, but Mr Cook’s brave exposition of his values also sets him apart.傲人的财务业绩和令人耀眼的新科技，也许已不足以让这位钢铁般忠诚的苹果首席执行官夺得英国《金融时报》2014年年度人物(Person of the Year)的称号。但库克阐释自己价值观的勇气，某种程度让他与众不同。This was never more powerful than when he talked publicly for the first time about his sexuality.这一点，在他首次公开发表自己的性取向时展现出得再行引人注目不过了。“If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy,” he wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek in October.“如果听见苹果CEO是同性恋者，能协助一些人希望付出代价自我，或者给一些深感寂寞的人带给安慰，或者鼓舞人们坚决自己的平等权利，那么这有一点我用个人隐私来互相交换，”他在为《彭博商业周刊》(Bloomberg Businessweek)的10月号撰文时写到。

It was a rare glimpse into his closely guarded personal life that also put at risk Apple’s brand in less tolerant parts of the world. Mr Cook was driven to take a stand by his experiences growing up in Alabama, where he has talked of seeing discrimination that “literally would make me sick”.库克公开发表性取向的行径，获取了一个难得的机会，让人们以求一窥他维护森严的个人生活，但同时也让苹果品牌在一些不过于尊重的地方面对风险。库克在阿拉巴马州长大的经历促成他做出此举，他曾说道在阿拉巴马州看见的一些种族歧视现象“真是让我深感恶心”。“From one son of the South and sports fanatic to another, my hat’s off to you,” tweeted Bill Clinton, the former US president, in response to the article.“同为南方的儿子和可怕的体育迷，我向你脱帽致敬，”前美国总统比尔克林顿(Bill Clinton)放了一条推特(tweet)对此库克的文章。

His eloquent defence of equality came after a year of faltering progress on gay marriage in the US and as arguments rage about the lack of diversity among the people running the Silicon Valley companies, including Apple, who shape so much of our culture.在库克修辞地保卫公平之际，美国同性恋者婚姻运动遭遇了不如意的一年，也正逢舆论于是以白热化抨击还包括苹果在内的硅谷公司的管理者缺少多样性，而这些管理者对美国文化具备极大的影响力。Mr Cook has added three women to what was previously a white-male-dominated executive team and changed Apple’s board charter to commit to seeking out candidates from minorities when appointing directors.库克已在先前以白人男性居多的苹果管理团队里减少了三位女性，还转变了苹果的董事会章程，允诺任命董事时会从少数群体中挑选出候选对象。“People claim he has a cool exterior but he’s a very passionate guy and he stands up for what he believes in,” says Bob Iger, Walt Disney chief executive and Apple board member since 2011. “That is in both his personal life and at Apple.”华特迪士尼公司(Walt Disney)首席执行官、自2011年起沦为苹果董事会成员的鲍勃伊格尔(Bob Iger)说道：“人们说道他外表热烈，但他是个十分有激情的男人，而且敢于车站出来保卫自己的信仰。

无论对个人生活还是对苹果，他都是如此。”As well as diversity, Mr Cook has championed sustainability and supply-chain transparency, including a commitment to reducing Apple’s use of conflict minerals. While hyper-efficient under Mr Cook’s management before he became chief executive, Apple’s supply chain has not always been something to boast about, with recurring complaints about working conditions.除了反对多样性以外，库克还提倡可持续发展和供应链的透明化，还包括允诺苹果不会增加用于来自冲突地区的矿物。

虽然在库克兼任首席执行官以前，苹果的供应链在他的管理下早已展现出稳定增长高效率，但并不总是有一点推崇，其工作条件屡遭滋扰。But Anne Simpson, senior portfolio manager and director of global governance at the US pension fund Calpers, a prominent Apple shareholder, believes his ethical stance is more than just posturing. “He has a charming disregard for showmanship,” she says. “Tim Cook applies this Apple notion of elegance and excellence to these new arenas.”但是美国加州公务员卸任基金(Calpers)的高级投资人组经理兼任全球管理主管安妮辛普森(Anne Simpson)却坚信，库克的道德立场某种程度是种姿态。她说道：“他对作秀技巧的漠视自有其魅力。

蒂姆库克将苹果这种高雅和卓越的理念应用于到这些新的领域。”加州公务员卸任基金是苹果的最重要股东。Show must go on还是得作秀Mr Cook’s lack of showmanship has not always been seen as an asset.库克的缺少表现欲，并不总被视作一种优点。

Critics have been eager to point out that he is not so closely involved in new product development as his predecessor, and fails to elicit the same excitement when he takes to the stage to introduce them. But Mr Cook is aware of his shortcomings and has drawn on the worlds of fitness and fashion to assemble a new team of talents, including Angela Ahrendts, formerly of Burberry, and industrial designer Marc Newson.抨击人士仍然意图认为，库克对新产品研发的参与度不如他前任那样低，而且当他踏上舞台讲解新品时，也无法引发某种程度的激动。但库克告诉自己的短处，他从健美和时尚界招募人才，重新组建了一支新的团队，其中还包括前博柏利(Burberry)首席执行官福杰拉阿伦茨(Angela Ahrendts)，以及工业设计师马克纽森(Marc Newson)。“I thought it would be impossible to replace Steve, and to some extent that’s true,” says Professor Michael Cusumano of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. “But internally the spirit is still alive and the company is organising around a less confrontational culture. We have to give Tim credit for that.”麻省理工学院斯隆管理学院(MIT Sloan School of Management)教授迈克尔库苏马诺(Michael Cusumano)回应：“我曾多次指出乔布斯是不能代替的，而且这在一定程度上是个事实。

但乔布斯的精神仍然存留在苹果内部，而且公司于是以环绕着一种不那么对抗性的文化的组织在一起。我们有误此给与蒂姆称赞。”Bringing harmony to Apple’s internal fiefdoms has not been easy. There is still “huge tension” inside Apple, according to one person who has worked with the company for many years. “That tension is something he uses to run the company but it can be dangerous.”让苹果公司内部“各路藩王”人与自然共处不是件易事。

用一位在苹果工作多年的员工的话来说，公司内部依然不存在“极大的紧张感”。“这种紧张感是他管理公司的手段，但也可以很危险性。”When things do go wrong, Mr Cook takes swift and merciless action. In late 2012, after the premature launch of Apple’s flawed Maps app, he dismissed Scott Forstall, who led the creation of iOS and was a close ally of Jobs, and John Browett, the former Dixons chief who had led Apple retail for less than a year. The actions sent a message that Mr Cook will not tolerate underperformance or internal politics.当再次发生问题时，库克不会很快而无情地采取行动。

2012年底，苹果过早发售了有缺陷的苹果地图(Apple Maps)应用于之后，库克辞退了乔布斯的亲近盟友、领导研发iOS的斯科特福斯托(Scott Forstall)，以及前Dixons首席执行官、掌理苹果零售部门将近一年的约翰布劳伊特(John Browett)。此举传送出有一条信息：库克会忽视业绩不欠佳或内部政治。

At that time, the chief executive was also under pressure, given Apple’s lack of clear product direction beyond milking the iPhone. Sensing blood, activist investors began to circle the company; first David Einhorn, then Carl Icahn, have lobbied for changes to how Apple is run and manages its finances. Mr Icahn has pushed for Apple to raise huge debt to return up to $150bn to shareholders and urged it to release more products, including a television set.当时，身兼首席执行官的库克也忍受着压力，因为苹果除了从iPhone榨取利润之外，缺少明晰的产品开发方向。维权投资者闻到了血腥，开始围困这家公司，打头的是大卫艾因霍恩(David Einhorn)，接着是卡尔伊坎(Carl Icahn)，他们游说转变苹果的经营和财务管理方式。伊坎施加压力拒绝苹果筹措巨额债务，向股东归还1500亿美元，并呼吁苹果公布还包括电视机在内的更好产品。

With a growing need for someone to block and tackle Apple’s raiders and (given its tax investigation in Europe) regulators, Mr Cook’s focus on people, strategy and execution — rather than products — finally started to look like an advantage.苹果更加必须有人去抵御和应付攻击者以及监管者（苹果在欧洲遭税务调查），而库克对人、策略和继续执行——而不是产品——的推崇再一开始看上去像个优势。“He is very, very good at not allowing that pressure to in any way disrupt what Apple is trying to achieve,” says Mr Iger. “Clearly there were issues that were on his mind but Tim made sure they were never on the minds of the people who do what Apple does best.”伊格尔说道：“他十分、十分擅于不想这些压力以任何方式毁坏苹果正在努力实现的目标。

库克的脑海里毫无疑问有要操心的问题，但他保证专门从事苹果最擅长于工作的人才不用操心这些问题。”Mr Cook’s decision to expand its cash return programme of dividends and share buybacks helped to defuse the situation with the activists, returning $94bn to date. In the end, he stared down the challenge just long enough for the next wave of iPhone growth to hit and new products to emerge from Sir Jonathan Ive’s workshop.库克要求通过减少派息和买入股票不断扩大其现金归还计划，协助恶化了与维权投资者的关系。目前它总共向股东归还现金940亿美元。

最后，库克以充足的勇敢抵御寄居挑战，步入了iPhone又一波快速增长捷报，以及从乔纳森艾夫爵士(Sir Jonathan Ive)的设计室问世的新产品。“I don’t think there are any companies that have survived big assaults from two of the biggest beasts in the hedge fund jungle,” says Ms Simpson of Calpers. “He is cool, calm and collected — the corporate exemplar of ‘Keep calm and carry on’.”“我想不出还有哪家公司抵御寄居了对冲基金丛林中两头最凶狠的猛兽的反击，”加州公务员卸任基金的辛普森说道，“他很棒，很耐心，泰然自若，是‘维持耐心，继续前进(Keep calm and carry on)’这句话在企业界的模范反映。

”That calm can sometimes be taken for a lack of the urgency that is vital in the fast-moving tech industry. Many were disappointed that Apple Watch was not made available to buy this year. But analysts say Apple’s approach of waiting until it has perfected a product usually leads to stronger long-term performance. Samsung, whose smartphone sales have suffered this year, is on its sixth-generation smartwatch, but has still not found a real hit.有时候，人们误以为这种耐心是缺少紧迫感，而在瞬息万变的科技业，紧迫感至关重要。许多人对于Apple Watch今年还未上市深感沮丧。但分析师回应，苹果的风格就是一定要等到产品至臻极致，这经常不会带给更加强大的长年业绩。三星(Samsung)的智能手表已发售第六代，但至今没确实大火一起，其今年的智能手机销量也大幅度下跌。

With the momentum now back behind the iPhone and anticipation growing for the Watch, Mr Cook seems to have won back the confidence of Apple employees, something that analysts say was obvious in his demeanour at this year’s product launches.现在iPhone又夺取声势，对Apple Watch的期望也在加剧，库克或许新的夺得了苹果员工的信任。分析师回应，这一点从他在今年产品发布会上的展现出就可以看出来。“He’s had more of a sense of swagger and confidence” in recent months, says Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.Jackdaw Research的简道森(Jan Dawson)回应，最近几个月“他展现出得更为意气风发和充满著热情”。At its Worldwide Developer Conference in June, Mr Cook was mobbed by app makers who asked him to pose for selfies. By October’s iPad launch, he was even cracking jokes at his own expense. Clad in his habitual but unglamorous uniform of black untucked shirt and jeans, he said that Apple Watch had been well received by “people who know a lot about fashion and style — even more than I do”, pointing a knowing finger at the chuckling audience.在苹果今年6月举办的全球开发者大会(Worldwide Developer Conference)上，库克被应用于开发者团团围住，拒绝与他自拍电影合影。

到了10月的iPad发布会，他甚至自己说起了笑话。他还是一贯的穿着，非常简单质朴：白衬衫，牛仔裤，衬衫领口骑侍郎着。他说道，Apple Watch获得了“有为时尚与风格——比我还不懂的人”的冷淡赞誉，一旁说道，一旁心照不宣地拿着音节发笑的观众。

“He’s informal, candid and approachable,” says Ginni Rometty, chief executive of IBM, who praises him as “very authentic. It’s the hallmark of a modern CEO. What you see is what you get.”“他沉默寡言、诚恳、平易近人，”IBM首席执行官罗睿兰(Ginni Rometty)说道，并赞许他“十分本真。这是现代CEO的特质。所见即所得。”Opening up之后对外开放A partnership with IBM to sell iPads and iPhones to big corporate customers is just one example of how Apple is looking beyond its own walls more under Mr Cook, something Jobs had resisted.与IBM合作，将iPad和iPhone销售给大企业客户，只是苹果在库克领导下超越自身藩篱的一个例子，而这是乔布斯仍然不愿做到的。

Among dozens of small, technology-focused acquisitions, the $3bn purchase of Beats Electronics, the celebrity-endorsed headphones and music streaming service, stands out as Apple’s largest ever deal. The acquisition still bemuses many Apple analysts, but in Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre, Beats’ founders, Mr Cook has instantly regained credibility with the music industry after years of neglecting the iTunes download store. If Mr Cook is guilty of missing the rapid growth of subscription services such as Spotify, he has moved swiftly to compensate for it — though for a high price.在数十项小型、以科技为核心的并购中，对Beats Electronics的30亿美元并购沦为苹果目前为止仅次于的一笔并购。Beats Electronics是一家有知名音乐人背景的耳机制造商和音乐流媒体服务商。这笔并购依然让许多苹果分析师深感疑惑，但与Beats创始人吉米艾欧文(Jimmy Iovine)和安德烈罗米尔扬(Dr. Dre)合作，让苹果忽视iTunesiTunes商店数年后，很快在音乐界修复信誉。如果说库克对错失类似于Spotify的音乐订阅者服务的快速增长深感伤心，那么他已很快填补了这一点——尽管代价了很高代价。

Prof Cusumano sees all this as evidence that the company is opening up more, including in allowing developers to customise more of its iOS software.库苏马诺教授指出，这一切都指出，苹果正在增大开放度，还包括容许开发者对其iOS软件展开更加多自定义。Mr Cook must balance that with the secrecy that surrounds its product development. Already, there are whispers on Apple’s campus about another secret project, on the scale of the iPhone or Watch, which is pulling in talent from across Cupertino.库克必需在对外开放与环绕其产品开发的神秘感间找寻均衡。在苹果内部早已有关于另一个秘密项目的传闻，它规模与iPhone或Apple Watch非常，正在整个库比提诺招兵买马。

But whether another hit product can emerge to fend off questions about Apple’s life after Jobs, Mr Cook learnt long ago to be patient and trust his instincts, just as he did when he ignored the doubters to join the then-struggling company in 1998.但关于否不会问世另一个疯狂产品，来超越关于后乔布斯时代苹果前途的批评，库克许久以前就学会了冷静和坚信自己的直觉，正如他在1998年重新加入于是以处在困境中的苹果时对批评者置之不理一样。“Even though I’m an engineer and an analytical person at heart, the most important decisions I’ve ever made had nothing to do with any of that,” he told an interviewer at Duke University, where he studied for an MBA, last year. “They were always based on intuition.”“尽管我本质上是一名工程师和分析人员，但迄今为止我所做到过的最重要的要求都与此无关，它们总有一天是基于直觉，”他去年在曾就读于MBA的杜克大学(Duke University)对一名采访者回应。

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