Today TIME magazine released the annual iteration of its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
2012′s annual list was announced today and among 98 other influential people, both Apple CEO Tim Cook and biographer Walter Isaacson were listed.
Each person’s picture has been accompanied by a multi-paragraph description of his or her accomplishments and fortes. These compositions have been written by other prominent figures in our world. Tim Cook’s was written by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore. Due to the overall lengthiness of the essay, we’ve included a portion below; you can read the rest from TIME‘s official page on Tim Cook.
It is difficult to imagine a harder challenge than following the legendary Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple. Yet Tim Cook, a soft-spoken, genuinely humble and quietly intense son of an Alabama shipyard worker and a homemaker, hasn’t missed a single beat.
He has indelibly imprinted his leadership on all areas of Apple — from managing its complex inner workings to identifying and shepherding new “insanely great” technology and design breakthroughs into the product pipeline.
Cook’s personal discipline, physical regimen and work hours reflect a philosophy summarized in his 2010 Auburn University commencement speech, in which he quoted President Lincoln: “I will prepare, and someday my chance will come.
Tim Cook took up as CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs unfortunately passed away in October of last year. Since then, he has been head of the company for the announcement/launches of the iPhone 4S as well as, more recently, the new iPad.
The relationship between Walter Isaacson and Apple is his strong ties with Steve Jobs. Isaacson was the authorized biographer of Jobs. Simply entitled Steve Jobs, the highly anticipated biography was released on November 21st and quickly became a bestseller. Though the 600+ pages book provided interesting details revealed about Jobs’ life and personality, Isaacson has other things to attest to. He was formerly the CEO and Chairman of CNN (Cable News Network) and the Managing Editor of TIME magazine among other notable positions. He is currently employed at Aspen Institute as CEO and President.
Walter Isaacson’s essay was written by former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeline K. Albright. It focuses mainly on his trio of phenomenal (I would say) biographies which include that of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. You can read the full editorial here:
The age of landmark biographies had, we might assume, long since passed, replaced by one of short attention spans, interactive gadgets and fewer bookstores. Enter Walter Isaacson and his trio of brilliant works about men of genius — Franklin, Einstein and Jobs. This is influence of the best species, educating us while demonstrating the continued fascination of the seriously examined life, rendered by Isaacson with the objectivity of a true historian and the flair of a born storyteller. But what most separates Isaacson, 59, from would-be peers is his wisdom in choosing subjects whose individual talents have affected all our lives.
Both as an author and as president of the intellectually fertile Aspen Institute, Isaacson is a purveyor of knowledge, a supplier to addicts who seek a deeper understanding of all manner of things.
To be included in TIME’s publication alone is a great honor and for such a noteworthy reason is to die for. The 2012 list will be next week’s cover story.
