For Li Mu, Jobs was a special "chicken rib". This special "chicken rib" was not "tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away", but "tasteless to eat, but terrible to throw away".
Jobs' greatest value was his definition of the original iPhone, iPad, and API Store. In the development of smartphones and mobile Internet, Jobs was a great inventor who created an era, but he was not a good businessman. Apple's real money-making phase only began after Tim Cook took over.
Now, Li Mu had the latest definitions of the iPhone, iPad, and API Store in his mind. These definitions came from years after Jobs' death. From a definition point of view, Li Mu had completely surpassed Jobs. So, at this time, Jobs was of no use to him.
And Jobs was a relatively paranoid person. He always believed that he was right. Such strong self-confidence and belief made Li Mu very clear that it would be difficult to subdue Jobs.
Moreover, why subdue Jobs? Let him come up with the concept of the original iPhone and the original iOS? Obviously, he already had such advanced concepts as the internal combustion engine, gas turbine, and even nuclear reactor. Why did he still need Watt who designed the steam engine? He just needed to take out the steam engine step by step, then the internal combustion engine, and take out the new technology bit by bit like squeezing toothpaste.
In the long river of history, Li Mu's understanding of smartphones and mobile Internet was at least ten years ahead of Jobs. If there was no threat from Jobs, Li Mu could slowly enjoy this ten-year lead at a 1: 1 ratio, and he could even slow down the pace at the right time. But if there was Jobs, and Jobs might pose a threat to him, then in order to deal with Jobs' threat, he would probably have to speed up the consumption of his lead, and eventually compress the ten-year advantage to eight, five, or even less.
Li Mu was not willing to take such a risk. So, after the acquisition of Apple, Jobs must be absolutely controlled. If he was not controlled, then he must be de-threatened so that he would not be a threat to the future development of Makino Technology.
As for Tim Cook, the reason Li Mu wanted to lock onto him was not because he was afraid that he would affect the future of Mu Ye Technology. Rather, it was because he wanted to recruit Tim Cook under his command. He hoped that Tim Cook would gradually become a core member of Mu Ye Technology. In the future, Tim Cook might even take on more responsibilities than Lin Qingya, Kong Lingyu, Liu Xiaodong, and even Lei Jun.
The reason why Li Mu had such high expectations for Tim Cook was because, in Li Mu's view, Tim Cook was actually the high-end talent he needed at any time. The reason was simple: Tim Cook knew how to make money.
Jobs once asserted that no one needed a large-screen phone. The size of the iPhone 4 was the most perfect phone in the world. Large-screen phones were stupid and incomprehensible. There would be no market for them, and Apple would not do it. As a result, other brands launched large-screen phones. After Tim Cook took over, he immediately started with the iPhone 5, constantly increasing the size of Apple's phones. The iPhone 4 was 3.5 inches, the iPhone 5 was 4 inches, and the iPhone 5 was 5.5 inches. This completely violated the bold words made by Jobs when he was alive. In exchange, Apple's sales continued to increase, and Apple remained invincible.
Jobs refused to launch a mini version of the iPad, thinking that no one would want that kind of thing. But after Tim Cook launched the iPad mini, the mini's sales surpassed the sales of the regular model.
The biggest difference between the two was that Jobs regarded himself as a father of consumers. A father's attitude towards his son was: I think what's good for you is really good. You have no right to bargain with me. You should use whatever I give you.
Tim Cook regarded himself as a grandson of consumers. A grandson's attitude towards his grandfather was: I will give you whatever I think you like. I am willing to give up all my principles for you, as long as you pay me.
Therefore, a talent like Tim Cook would have no problem taking charge of anything. He would definitely find the most profitable solution in the field he was responsible for. As long as Tim Cook was willing to be one of Li Mu's generals, Li Mu was even willing to give him the position of CEO. Li Mu believed that Tim Cook was more qualified than him for such a role.
With the continuous development of Makino Technology, as well as the continuous growth of Taobao and Alipay, Li Mu knew that his energy would be more and more dispersed. Not to mention that there were many other arrangements outside, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. In the future, it would be more and more difficult for him to focus on the specific development of a particular business. Therefore, he must find a suitable and competent person in charge of each business.
…
Lin Ching-ah and Tim Cook chatted for a long time, but in the end, Lin Ching-ah did not give Tim Cook a real offer on behalf of Makino Technology.
She told Tim Cook that Li Mu had given her a clear explanation this time. If Apple could accept the series of conditions he proposed, there would be a possibility of further communication. Otherwise, there was no need to continue the conversation.
Now, Tim Cook could guarantee that as long as Apple accepted the requirements of Makino Technology, Makino Technology would fully acquire Apple, including the iPod business that Apple was about to face huge losses, and the premium compensation that Apple would have to pay to shareholders when it was delisted from NASDAQ.
In fact, as long as these two guarantees were in place, the hearts of Apple's senior executives had been greatly relieved. They did not need to make up for these two big holes, because if they did, their own assets would shrink significantly. If Li Mu could help them make up for the holes and buy their shares at 80% of the market price, it would be a life-saving grace for them.
Therefore, when Tim Cook brought the words back to Apple, the entire Apple core management was only thinking about two things:
First, how to ensure that 90% of the core management and 80% of the employees accepted the conditions of Makino Technology;
Second, how to ensure that Jobs accepted the conditions of Makino Technology;
The first point was not difficult. After all, most people would not want to push themselves into the awkward situation of unemployment. Moreover, Makino Technology was a top company in the industry. A better platform and more resources also indicated greater opportunities. Moreover, the key point was that Makino Technology promised a salary increase. Even if some people could not accept the offer due to special circumstances, it was not a problem to ensure that most people would accept it;
However, the most crucial point was Jobs. No one was sure that he could be persuaded to accept the conditions of Makino Technology, because it seemed that Jobs had to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
But everyone knew that although Jobs was a genius, he was also a paranoid person. No one was sure that they could persuade him.
Finally, a core member who knew Jobs particularly well said, "I'll talk to Steve. I know him better than any of you. I should be able to persuade him."
…
A day later, Tim Cook, with a heart full of excitement and excitement, officially informed Lin Ching-ah that Apple had fully accepted the conditions of Makino Technology and wanted to proceed to further negotiations.
Even Tim Cook did not expect that someone could really find a way to get Jobs to agree to a six-year non-compete agreement with Makino Technology.
However, Apple's shareholders had put in a lot of effort to get Jobs to sign the non-compete agreement. They promised that no matter what percentage Makino Technology ultimately gave them, they would make sure that Jobs' shares would be offered 150% of the market price. That is, if Makino Technology's offer was less than 150%, the difference would have to be shared by Apple's shareholders in proportion to Jobs's share price.
Fortunately, Jobs did not own a lot of shares. He owned about 5 million shares of Apple stock. If he bought them at 150% of the market price, he would only be worth a little more than $30 million. It was estimated that the shareholders would have to split the difference equally.
Everyone was curious as to how the core team member persuaded Jobs to accept the six-year non-compete agreement. When the core team member told the story, everyone suddenly understood.
In fact, the reason he persuaded Jobs was simple: reputation.
He told Jobs that now that Li Mu was interested in taking over Apple, it would be the best way for the iPod to exit. This was because Li Mu promised to take care of all the losses caused by the iPod business. He would refund the users, return the goods to the distributors, and settle the outstanding payments that Apple owed to the contractors. Jobs was the father of the iPod. If the iPod exited in a dignified manner, his reputation would be preserved. But if the iPod exited disgracefully and was attacked by consumers, distributors, and contractors, Jobs' reputation would be completely ruined. No one would remember that he had invented a great product called the iPod. Everyone would only remember that his iPod had ruined a lot of people and became a huge scandal in the electronics industry.
In addition, the core team member also subtly reminded Jobs that Li Mu was an expert in manipulating the media and user opinion. He had unprecedented resources. If he was even slightly dissatisfied with Jobs, he could use the iPod incident to destroy Jobs' reputation through Makino Technology's powerful publicity channels.
Moreover, Jobs still had Pixar Animation, which was developing smoothly. However, Li Mu's influence in Hollywood was growing. A Hua Xia zombie movie from the 1980s had made him take away $300 million in the box office in the United States. This was not only a great demonstration of Makino Technology's information promotion ability, but also a strong proof of the influence of the Shadow Leopard ticketing system on the box office. If Jobs really annoyed Li Mu, Pixar's future development in Hollywood would be extremely difficult.
Jobs finally relented.
After leaving Apple, he still had Pixar. Even if the iPod was defeated by Mango, the world would still remember how he amazed the world with the original iPod. However, if the iPod eventually became a big stain on his life, and his Pixar was attacked by Li Mu, then he would really have nothing left.
So, Jobs made his own decision. He accepted Li Mu's conditions. Although he would not return to Apple, he was willing to sign a six-year non-compete agreement. In the following time, he decided to leave the Internet and software development. He wanted to focus all his energy on animated movies. Because the more serious the setbacks and crises that Apple encountered, the more he felt that animated movies were pure and beautiful. He felt that giving up the Internet and hardware field, and the competition to do something pure and beautiful was a better choice. After all, he had earned enough money to last a lifetime.
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