Tim Cook says that he thinks about Jobs every day
In the letter, Cook stated “This year, as much as any other, we’re reminded of the profound impact our products have on the world. I feel so lucky that we spend our days creating wildly innovative tools that connect people, inspire them to think differently, and empower them to make their own dent in the universe, too. It’s one of the many gifts that Steve gave to all of us.”
No ad that Apple ever created expressed Jobs’ philosophy better than the spot known as “The Crazy Ones” which starred those who experienced fame and notoriety because they were different. The commercial featured iconic non-conformists like Muhammad Ali, John Lennon, Ted Turner, Richard Branson, Jim Henson, Amelia Earhart, and others.
Many believed that Steve Jobs himself should have been included in “The Crazy Ones” spot. Nonetheless, the memorial service was so emotionally charged being held so close to Jobs’ death that the sound of his voice narrating the ad set off human waterworks and there reportedly was not a dry eye in the house.
Steve (and his estate) was Disney’s largest shareholder for several years
Jobs was known to be a taskmaster and notoriously hard to get along with. Yet he was able to build a team around him that was loyal to a fault. Guys like former design chief Jony Ive, former marketing head (now an Apple fellow) Phil Schiller, and of course current CEO Tim Cook among others.
When Jobs left Apple for a few years back in 1985, he used $12 million of his own money to start NeXT. This became Steve’s way back into Apple after the company was bought by Apple in 1997 for $429 million. Not only did it lead to the creation of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple ported over NeXT’s operating system to the Mac to create Mac OS X which later became macOS. The NeXT operating system also became part of iOS, watchOS and tvOS.
