14 DAY TRIAL // A good chunk of the news stories circling the world today are focused on Tim Cook’s October 30 op-ed where he openly revealed he was gay, coupled with an analysis of what it means to be part of this minority today.
The stories are getting quite some traction, and justifiably so. In a world where only Hollywood celebs can afford to make such bold statements without fear of losing their jobs, the essay on Businessweek inspired many to embrace LGBT people as normal human beings, rather than anomalies.
Employees fully support Cook, don’t give a damn about his sexuality
A Quora thread titled “What is it like to work with Tim Cook?” includes statements from what we’re led to believe are genuine staffers on the Cupertino company’s payroll.
“My experience with Tim was as a report of one of his direct reports. He interviewed me. I participated in weekly revenue reviews with him. This was the basis for my perspective,” writes one person. “No one knows the detail of their business better than Tim. And you'd better know the detail of your part of his business as well.”
“Your life is your work. Your work is your life. There is no such thing as work - life balance. There is no time for small talk, only purposeful communication in small bite-sized pieces. Charm is for bracelets. Building your career through job changes makes you a job hopper (read: untrustworthy). Endurance rules,” the anonymous employee reveals.
Several others followed suit describing their experience at the office around Cook. None whatsoever even remotely touched on the “gay” subject, and we’re inclined to believe it’s not because they’re afraid to talk about it, but because it’s a non-issue.
As Cook himself put it, “Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me.” And it seems he was right.
Tim Cook versus Steve Jobs
Some even go into the Tim vs. Steve debate, regarding which of the two personalities is / was better suited to run Apple. The sexuality topic is notably absent in these debates as well.
One user mentions that, much like Steve Jobs left operations entirely to his COO, Cook now delegates all (creative) things that Jobs would have handled to Jonathan Ive. Something that’s also been known for a while now. Finally, most respondents also agree that Cook is a fierce leader with a soothing southern accent who both punishes and offers praise when needed.