It's what you believe in

It is not often that I lose sleep over an article that I read in a business magazine. I admit it used to happen a lot when I was in college, but not any more.

Which is why the last few days have been unusual.

I came across this on the Harvard Business Review blog the other day.

In 2009, when Tim Cook was asked by an analyst how Apple might change if he (Cook) were to permanently replace Steve Jobs (who had just taken a leave due to ill health), Cook's reply was little short of awe-inspiring.

"We believe we are on the face of the earth to make great products, and that's not changing."

"We believe in the simple not the complex... We believe in saying no to thousands of products, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us."

Even if this were a doctored answer, what hit me the most was the conviction that Tim Cook's words seem to have.

As the article goes on to say, "It's not what you sell it's what you believe."