Steve Jobs was an undeniable giant of industry, and a legendary figure in the tech sector. Many business analysts consider him the greatest CEO of his era, perhaps alongside Bill Gates. He built, rebuilt and led Apple to become the most valuable company on earth. His genius for design, innovation and management were extraordinary. He left the world far too young, having passed away in 2011 at the age of 56. Steve Jobs died one of the richest people on earth, with an estimated net worth of $10.2 billion.
Despite his remarkable achievements in business and the resulting great personal wealth, Jobs declined to sign Bill Gates’ “Giving Pledge”, in which billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortune to good causes. Warren Buffett signed on to the Giving Pledge, so did Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Ellison (Oracle) and Sara Blakely (Spanx!). While it’s certainly possible that Jobs was charitable behind the scenes, there’s no easily accessible evidence to suggest that he was.
In fact, it’s been reported that Steve Jobs told his close colleagues that spending time on giving would have been a distraction from his real work, of building “insanely great products” and growing and running the world’s greatest company. While Apple as a company did some giving or social impact work under Jobs’ stewardship, such as its contributions of iPods and iPhones to the Project RED Campaign led by U2’s Bono, the company’s presence in the social responsibility sphere was noticeably less than that of its successful peers in Silicon Valley.
At the same time, many wondered if Steve Jobs’ successor could ever truly fill his shoes. Well, it appears that Tim Cook is off to a great start! Apple has never been valued as highly as it is today, with perhaps the greatest financial performance quarter in business history just behind it. For the quarter ended December 2014, Apple posted $75 billion in revenue and $18 billion in profit, with more than $175 billion in cash. Going forward, the Apple Watch is expected to continue the string of breakthrough consumer innovations from Apple, even driverless cars are purported to be on the horizon to compete with Google’s ambitions.
So, there’s one thing that I’m glad that Tim Cook has done very differently than Steve Jobs.
Now, Tim Cook. As CEO, Tim Cook has taken the unremarkable but critically important step of instituting a charitable giving/match program at Apple. The Apple that never before matched employee giving is now offering to match employee giving up to $10,000 per person per year. Tim Cook implemented this program as one of his early changes at Apple. It’s been reported that Jobs was opposed to an employee match program for years, suggesting that what employees did with their money was their business, not Apple’s.
The richest company on earth clearly can afford to give back and “share value” (a Michael Porter term), and to focus some of their enormous resources and skill on creating social impact in the communities where they do business. A first step is a robust charitable giving match program. What a difference this program can make in communities throughout California, and the US. International expansion should follow. Cook’s decision was a good first step in bringing Apple to where it should be as an icon of 21st century American business.
The next step for Tim Cook on the “impact” curve? A suggestion: step up and lead the corporate sector in supporting education and job preparedness for low income youth, especially in the STEM space. If Congress won’t support President Obama’s $6 billion per year proposal to make community college free, why doesn’t Apple offer its own targeted version of “free” education for needy, talented students? Apple is uniquely positioned, by brand recognition and by resources, to fund college and high school programs that enable lower income young people to pursue careers in the tech field. In fact, Apple has long benefitted from the deep and sustaining loyalty of young people, particularly students, to their products. How about a return on the customers’ investment in Apple with a serious commitment to educational access and an inclusive tech community?
I have no doubt that most buyers of Apple products would be delighted with the more generous and socially committed Apple. Apple could easily (and remarkably) pay for the entire $60 billion ten-year cost of the Obama program and still invest in its growth and share capital with its investors, but that certainly doesn’t make sense from a fiduciary duty perspective. On the other hand, just 1.5% of Apple’s annual operating cash flow would provide about a billion dollars each year to fund an educational initiative that would make a real difference in closing the growing opportunity gap that has the potential to divide the country if left unaddressed. A company like Apple with a market value of more than three quarters of a trillion dollars could set aside annually shares equal in value to just a tiny fraction of its market cap to fund a STEM educational trust for the nation’s underserved youth that would change the game for the US in terms of global competitiveness for the next generation and beyond.
I believe thoughtful investors would see the light as well, as Apple’s investment in the future includes investing in people that have too often been left out. Apple is serving the interests of investors by being “insanely great” in a commitment to affordable education that supports its own growth and prosperity while also encouraging inclusive business practices and intense and focused social impact programs. If investors are willing to tolerate the dual class share structures at Google and Facebook in order to participate in the upside, why wouldn’t they be willing to accept a commitment from Apple to serving the educational system that will undoubtedly produce the next Steve Jobs?
Imagine for the moment “The Apple STEM Network”, free for those with financial need. Focused on innovation and inclusiveness and impact. Starting in its own backyard of Northern California (Oakland, for example), and expanding from that footprint across the country and the world. High schools, community colleges and even the programming “boot camps” that are becoming increasingly popular (see, SeedPaths in Colorado).
With a sustainable and meaningful commitment to educational and financial return, Apple really would be positioned to be the world’s greatest company. A legacy built on the technology leadership and managerial genius of Steve Jobs and now driven by the moral courage and social commitment already demonstrated by Tim Cook in many ways. A commitment from the business community’s strongest and richest leader to closing the opportunity gap through education would really change the economy and the country at a pivotal point in our history.
And a last word for those who have benefitted so much from the wealth creation of this past decade, recall the words of Andrew Carnegie, the man who built more public libraries than anyone, who said “the man who dies rich dies ashamed.” Only business and business leaders truly create wealth. Our exceptional American economy is a reflection of the relentless, and honorable, commitment to that end. Now in this period of growing inequality is the time to share just a bit more for a common purpose.
