Tim Cook Quotes

I like that Ben & Jerry's is willing to speak out about social and political issues that aren't always safe - but are the right thing to do.

I believe we must go further in redefining what United's corporate citizenship looks like in our society... and we intend to live up to those higher expectations in the way we embody social responsibility and civic leadership everywhere we operate.

American business needs more conscience, not less, whether from religious motivation like Hobby Lobby or from secular intentions.

My own feeling is that a corporation has no right to have a political or social influence.

It is a truly powerful phenomenon when a brand makes a stand for what it believes in.

The fashion industry is often charged with having kept its blinders on as one Seventh Avenue company after another lost employees to AIDS. Consumers, it was feared, would shun the racks of designers whose names were associated with the disease. And to stand up against AIDS would, in many minds, confirm the business's stereotypical image.

Through their own actions, customers can hold companies responsible to higher standards of social responsibility. Through collective action, they can leverage their dollars to combat the force of those investors who myopically pursue profits at the expense of the rest of society.

In terms of companies, they must stand for something bigger. They must be dedicated to something larger than financial results. I reject the Milton Friedman belief that a company's sole responsibility is to the shareholders.

A social contract is the way out of this dilemma for corporations that want to lead in the 21st century by showing consumers how seriously they take customer loyalty and goodwill.

A great business has to have a conscience. You have to know who you are and who you are not.

Our job as a business is not to promote a political agenda. That's not what we do.

So often, we leave the selfless side of ourselves for nights and weekends, for our charity work. It is our duty to inject that into our day-to-day business, into the work that we do, to improve corporations, to improve civil society, and to improve government.

Actually, that issue of 'Don't be evil' is probably the number one reason we throw out ideas.

I always saw myself as a large stockholder trying to make a difference. I wasn't raiding anybody.

Consumers no longer want only a great product - they want to buy products from companies that align with their own character and values.

The question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no they do not.

We have tried to define precisely what it means to be a force for good - always do the right, ethical thing. Ultimately, 'Don't be evil' seems the easiest way to summarize it.

I don't believe it's appropriate for me or any other CEO to wade into every political dispute. That's not what we're here for.

If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn't have done it.

A lot of people say that I'm an activist CEO. I just think I'm a responsible leader of a business.

While they believe the pursuit of profit is important to sustaining a business, millennials also say that pursuit must be accompanied by a sense of purpose, by efforts to create innovative products or services, and, above all, by consideration of individuals as employees and members of society.

For millennials, conducting business with a purpose that goes beyond making profits is critically important in determining the kind of company they want to work for - and the kind of company with whom they are willing to do business.

Lawmakers must stand up for companies that choose public safety over profit margins.

A company's ethical behavior is ultimately triggered by some sense of caring. And care is a sense of closeness to someone or something. A company must bring value to whom or what it is close to.

So many tech companies have embraced a mission that they say is larger than profits. Once you wrap yourself up in a moral flag, you have to carry it to the top of other hills.