Steve Jobs taught Apple CEO Tim Cook a skill that few people have: ‘Never get...’

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs gave him an invaluable skill that, according to him, only “few people have” but one which he learnt late in life- to be able to change your mind in the face of new information. Tim Cook made the revelation in a 2024 interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying that Steve Job taught him never to stay “married to my past views” and to leave your pride behind when new information appears. This was Steve Jobs' success mantra. Cook recalled that Jobs had a unique ability to change his strategy quickly, which surprised him initially but which he later praised and adopted. “[I learned] not to be so proud you can't change your mind when you're presented with new evidence,” Cook said in the interview. 

Steve Jobs, inspiration to many

People close to Jobs said that such a flexible mindset was due to strong emotional intelligence. Walter Issacson, author of Steve Jobs’s biography, wrote that Jobs had a trait under which he used to “size people up, understand their inner thoughts, and hurt them at will,” emphasising that his emotional intelligence can influence people in a positive way and can also be hurtful. Former colleagues of Steve Jobs echoed that this combination of great skill and intuition helped in overcoming the company from an almost collapse state to turning it into a company that makes bold decisions and innovation.  

This mindset supports Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s idea that “people who are right a lot change their mind a lot”, which highlights strong decision-making skills. Many along with Tim Cook were influenced by Apple’s co-founder. Former Apple designer Jony Ive once considered Jobs as “the most remarkably focused person” he had ever met and described his determination as an “every-minute” discipline. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also recalled a crucial 2010 conversation with Jobs which, according to him, inspired the product focus that aided in making Salesforce into a USD 250 billion company.