Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'We can all perform at 90%,' but that's not enough—how to get the most out of yourself

CNBC

01-05-2025

Apple CEO Tim Cook sees a key difference between pretty good workers and brilliant ones: Top performers aren't content just being good at their jobs. They want to impact other people or the world around them.
"We can all perform at 90%," Cook told GQ in a video that published in April 2023. But "to get to 100%, you have to be inspired by something. You have to be working for some greater cause. There has to be some reason for doing it that's beyond just being excellent at something."
Some people find a sense of meaning by intentionally picking careers that can help other people — in fields like education or health care, or jobs that relate to a social cause. At Apple, Cook tries to energize his team by reminding them their work can make everyday lives better, he said.
Cook said he inherited the leadership roadmap from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who convinced Cook to come work for Apple in 1998. Cook struggled to find his own motivation before joining Apple, and found himself inspired by watching Jobs at work, he added.
Most of the CEOs Cook had met were "so divorced from and isolated from real people who are working and from the products of the company. And here was this guy who was so animated about the product," he said, recalling the moment he met Jobs in a GQ article published in April 2023. "This guy really wanted to change the world."Outside of Apple, Cook said he feels inspired by sports, his colleagues and people who think outside the status quo — all of which remind him that a better world is possible through problem-solving and collaboration.
"I look at people like [Malala Yousafzai who] just won't accept things as they are," Cook said. "I get very excited about it, whether it's the environment or human rights, or just treating people with dignity and respect."
Employees who feel that their work matters report higher job satisfaction and are more likely to get promoted, according to research from the 2023 book "Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection—Now and in an Uncertain Future." Feeling like your job impacts other people, on a big or small scale, can make you feel more motivated and have profound effects on your career, co-author and psychologist Gabriella Rosen Kellerman told CNBC Make It in January 2024.
"It might not inherently be life-changing, but just knowing that we're being of service to another human being is so meaningful," said Kellerman.