Tim Cook Quotes

A leader's most important decisions are about people. Who do you put in which jobs? How long do you leave them in a job?

I have a good eye for talent, and my talent performs the best.

Of all the decisions an executive makes, none is as important as the decisions about people, because they determine the performance capacity of the organization.

CEOs who can hire properly, that's the most important part of the job. The CEO's job is really to hire the right team and execute the vision second.

The choice of personnel, perhaps the most important choice (because 'people are policy'), never proceeds according to plan, but there have been some successful transitions that upheld high standards.

As a CEO, you get sucked into dealing with all the tasks of being a CEO. There's a big meeting, a big discussion, and you get into all the big issues, which is your job. But what CEOs often lose sight of is that it's all about the people who work for you. For every 1,000 decisions, 999 were being made when I was not in the room.

My philosophy is to always find the smartest people you can. Hire people smarter than you.

Early in my career, I sometimes found it difficult to make the tough people decisions - I had to learn that. In business, you want to listen. You want to learn. You want to make sure you're not proceeding without information. But if you wait too long, you can actually hurt an organization even more.

Look first at management. That's the key to a company.

I've said many times that people are policy. And to be truly successful in any big organization you need to put people into jobs where they have relevant experience, relevant subject-matter expertise and the capacity to actually perform.

I want to be known as someone who develops individuals, not just companies.

But the art of management has not changed. The art of it is still 80 to 90 per cent man-management. It is just a matter of getting the best out of what you have got.

I put a lot of time and energy into studying the art of filmmaking, but I hadn't put a lot of energy or time into the art of learning how to manage people.

One of the main tasks of a manager is psychology.

Acquiring and keeping good people is a leader's most important task.

Here's what management is about: Pick good people and set the right priorities.

Good leaders understand that they are stewards. They must find the best people they can, giving them the opportunity to join in the journey developing them, and encouraging them to reach their potential. But they must hold on to people lightly. Those who start with you seldom finish with you.

There are very few black-and-white truths in management or in business, but one that I have found is that people either hire people who are smarter than them, or people hire people they can control.

When you're a leader and a manager, you have to make decisions which are right for your group to achieve the primary objective. Sometimes those decisions will be criticised.

When I go into management, I want to do so with 100 per cent commitment.

Football management is about managing people.

Promoting is a no-no - that's hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don't have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I'll be good at.

Decision making is always top of the tree when it comes to the big football clubs and where it takes you.

I had the best teacher there can be in man management or managing a football club.

Managing people is no different wherever you are.