Tim Cook has emailed Apple staff on the 4th anniversary of the passing of Steve Jobs, thanking them for “remembering both who he was and what he stood for,” reports the Telegraph. Cook said that Jobs was “a brilliant person” who left an incredible legacy.
Cook also made two references which which seem to indirectly refer to less flattering portraits painted of Jobs in biographies and movies …
What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture. Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better.
Cook wrote that Jobs “loved the people with whom he worked so closely,” and invited staff to stop those who worked with him to “ask what he was really like.”
Apple’s CEO sent a similar email last year, thanking staff for “helping carry Steve’s legacy into the future.”
Cook also tweeted a message about honoring his memory by “continuing the work he loved so much.”
[tweet http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/05/apple-announces-steve-jobs-has-passed-away/ align=’center’]
Apple still carries the memorial page it created in 2011. The full text of Cook’s email can be read below.
Today marks four years since Steve passed away. On that day, the world lost a visionary. We at Apple lost a leader, a mentor, and many of us lost a dear friend.
Steve was a brilliant person, and his priorities were very simple. He loved his family above all, he loved Apple, and he loved the people with whom he worked so closely and achieved so much.
Each year since his passing, I have reminded everyone in the Apple community that we share the privilege and responsibility of continuing the work Steve loved so much.
What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture. Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better. And, of course, the joy he brought his loved ones.
He told me several times in his final years that he hoped to live long enough to see some of the milestones in his children’s lives. I was in his office over the summer with Laurene and their youngest daughter. Messages and drawings from his kids to their father are still there on Steve’s whiteboard.
If you never knew Steve, you probably work with someone who did or who was here when he led Apple. Please stop one of us today and ask what he was really like. Several of us have posted our personal remembrances on AppleWeb, and I encourage you to read them.
Thank you for honoring Steve by continuing the work he started, and for remembering both who he was and what he stood for.
Tim
