Apple CEO Tim Cook tells college graduates We have failed you

Apple CEO Tim Cook tells college graduates We have failed youApple CEO Tim Cook tells college graduates We have failed youApple CEO Tim Cook gave a wide-ranging commencement address at Tulane University about making the hard decisions, climate change, and the dangerous creep of algorithms.Cook, who grew up on the Gulf Coast in Alabama and went to Auburn University, began by makingsure to thank bedrngnis only the faculty but the workers, ushers, volunteers who prepared the space.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraCook urged graduates to make decisions that felt true to them even when others told them No, that you cant, that you shouldnt, that youd be better off if youd didnt try.He used the example of how he came to Apple in the first place. He had been at Compaq previously, a company that at the time looked like it welches going to be on top forever. But the status quo never lasts, Cook warned graduates. In 1998, Steve Jobs convinced him to leave Compaq behind to join a company that welches on the verge of bankruptcy. They made computers, but at that moment, people werent interested in buying them. But Cook was interested in being part of Apples transformation. For him, he said, it was a search for greater purpose that brought him there.The lesson? To be successful and fulfilled, Cook said, dont take the well-trod path. Dont waste time on problems that have been solved Instead, steer your ship into the choppy seas. Look for the rough spots, the problems that seem too big, the complexities that other people are content to work around. Its in those place you will find your purpose. Its there that you can make your greatest contribution.The tech wizard, curiously, warned against algorithms, which his company, in part, helped popularizeWe forget sometimes that our preexisting beliefs have their own force of gravity. Today, certain algorithms pull toward you the things you already know, believe, or like, and they push away everything else. Push back. It shouldnt be this way. But in 2019, opening your eyes and seeing things in a new way can be a revolutionary act. Summon the courage not just to hear but to listen. Not just to act, but to act together.Cook also discussed climate change and Franklin Roosevelt, and the duty to build a better world.Call upon your grit, Cook commanded. Make it your lifes work to neugestaltung the world, because there is nothing mora beautiful or worthwhile than working to leave something more beautiful than humanity.Below is video and the full transcript of his commencement addressHello Tulane Thank you, President Fitts, Provost Forman, distinguished faculty, other faculty laughs, and the entire Tulane family, including the workers, ushers, and volunteers who prepared this beautiful space. And I feel duty-bound to also recognize the hard-working bartenders at The Boot. Though theyre not here with us this morning, Im sure some of you are reflecting on their contributions as well. The Boot is a popular college bar right next to Tulanes campus which has been around for decades.And just as many of you have New Orleans in your veins, and perhaps your livers, some of us at Apple have New Orleans in our blood as well. When I was a student at Auburn, the Big Easy was our favorite getaway. Its amazing how quickly those 363 miles fly by when youre driving toward a weekend of beignets and beer. And how slowly they go in the opposite direction. Apples own Lisa Jackson is a proud Tulane alum. Yes. She brought the Green Wave all the way to Cupertino where she heads our environment and public policy work. Were thrilled to have her talent and leadership on our team.OK, enough about us. Lets talk about you. At moments like this, it always humbles me to watch a community come together to teach, mentor, advise, and finally say with one voice, congratulations to the class of 2019Now theres another very importa nt group your family and friends. The people who, more than anyone else, loved, supported, and even sacrificed greatly to help you reach this moment. Lets give them a round of applause. This will be my first piece of advice. You might not appreciate until much later in your life how much this moment means to them. Or how that bond of obligation, love, and duty between you matters more than anything else.In fact, thats what I really want to talk to you about today. In a world where we obsessively document our own lives, most of us dont pay nearly enough attention to what we owe one another. Now, this isnt just about calling your parents more, although Im sure theyd be grateful if you did that. Its about recognizing that human civilization began when we realized that we could do more together. That the threats and danger outside the flickering firelight got smaller when we got bigger. And that we could create more - more prosperity, more beauty, more wisdom, and a better life - when we acknowledge certain shared truths and acted collectively.Maybe Im biased, but Ive always thought the South, and the Gulf Coast in particular, have hung on to this wisdom better than most. Tim Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, which is about an hour from New Orleans and is similarly close to the Gulf of Mexico. In this part of the country, your neighbors check up on you if they havent heard from you in a while. Good news travels fast because your victories are their victories too. And you cant make it through someones front door before they offer you a home-cooked meal.Maybe you havent thought about it very much, but these values have informed your Tulane education too. Just look at the motto not for ones self, but for ones own. Youve been fortunate to live, learn, and grow in a city where human currents blend into something magical and unexpected. Where unmatched beauty, natural beauty, literary beauty, musical beauty, cultural beauty, seem to spring unexpectedly from the ba you. The people of New Orleans use two tools to build this city the unlikely and the impossible. Wherever you go, dont forget the lessons of this place. Life will always find lots of ways to tell you no, that you cant, that you shouldnt, that youd be better off if you didnt try. But New Orleans teaches us there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than trying. Especially when we do it not in the service of ones self, but ones own.For me, it was that search for greater purpose that brought me to Apple in the first place. I had a comfortable job at a company called Compaq that at the time looked like it was going to be on top forever. As it turns out, most of you are probably too young to even remember its name. But in 1998, Steve Jobs convinced me to leave Compaq behind to join a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. They made computers, but at that moment at least, people werent interested in buying them. Steve had a plan to change things. And I wanted to be a part of it.It wasnt just about the iMac, or the iPod, or everything that came after. It was about the values that brought these inventions to life. The idea that putting powerful tools in the hands of everyday people helps unleash creativity and move humanity forward. That we can build things that help us imagine a better world and then make it real.Theres a saying that if you do what you love, youll never work a day in your life. At Apple, I learned thats a total crock. Youll work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands. As you go out into the world, dont waste time on problems that have been solved. Dont get hung up on what other people say is practical. Instead, steer your ship into the choppy seas. Look for the rough spots, the problems that seem too big, the complexities that other people are content to work around. Its in those places that you will find your purpose. Its there that you can make your greatest contribution. Whatever you do, do nt make the mistake of being too cautious. Dont assume that by staying put, the ground wont move beneath your feet. The status quo simply wont last. So get to work on building something better.In some important ways, my generation has failed you in this regard. We spent too much time debating. Weve been too focused on the fight and not focused enough on progress. And you dont need to look far to find an example of that failure. Here today, in this very place, in an arena where thousands once found desperate shelter from a 100-year disaster, the kind that seem to be happening more and more frequently, I dont think we can talk about who we are as people and what we owe to one another without talking about climate change.applause Thank you. Thank you.This problem doesnt get any easier based on whose side wins or loses an election. Its about who has won lifes lottery and has the luxury of ignoring this issue and who stands to lose everything. The coastal communities, including some righ t here in Louisiana, that are already making plans to leave behind the places theyve called home for generations and head for higher ground. The fishermen whose nets come up empty. The wildlife preserves with less wildlife to preserve. The marginalized, for whom a natural disaster can mean enduring poverty.Just ask Tulanes own Molly Keogh, whos getting her Ph.D. this weekend. Her important new research shows that rising sea levels are devastating areas of Southern Louisiana more dramatically than anyone expected. Tulane graduates, these are peoples homes. Their livelihoods. The land where their grandparents were born, lived, and died.When we talk about climate change or any issue with human costs, and there are many, I challenge you to look for those who have the most to lose and find the real, true empathy that comes from something shared. That is really what we owe one another. When you do that, the political noise dies down, and you can feel your feet firmly planted on solid grou nd. After all, we dont build monuments to trolls, and were not going to start now.If you find yourself spending more time fighting than getting to work, stop and ask yourself who benefits from all the chaos. There are some who would like you to believe that the only way that you can be strong is by bulldozing those who disagree or never giving them a chance to say their peace in the first place. That the only way you can build your own accomplishments is by tearing down the other side.We forget sometimes that our preexisting beliefs have their own force of gravity. Today, certain algorithms pull toward you the things you already know, believe, or like, and they push away everything else. Push back. It shouldnt be this way. But in 2019, opening your eyes and seeing things in a new way can be a revolutionary act. Summon the courage not just to hear but to listen. Not just to act, but to act together.It can sometimes feel like the odds are stacked against you, that it isnt worth it, th at the critics are too persistent and the problems are too great. But the solutions to our problems begin on a human scale with building a shared understanding of the work ahead and with undertaking it together. At the very least, we owe it to each other to try.Its worked before. In 1932, the American economy was in a free-fall. Twelve million people were unemployed, and conventional wisdom said the only thing to do was to ride it out, wait, and hope that things would turn around. But the governor of New York, a rising star named Franklin Roosevelt, refused to wait. He challenged the status quo and called for action. He needed people to stop their rosy thinking, face the facts, pull together, and help themselves out of a jam. He said The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it and try another. But above all, try something.This was a speech to college students fearful about their future in an uncertain wo rld. He said Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world. The audacious empathy of young people, the spirit that says we should live not just for ourselves, but for our own. Thats the way forward. From climate change to immigration, from criminal justice reform to economic opportunity, be motivated by your duty to build a better world. Young people have changed the course of history time and time again. And now its time to change it once more.I know, I know the urgency of that truth is with you today. Feel big because no one can make you feel strong. Feel brave because the challenges we face are great but you are greater. And feel grateful because someone sacrificed to make this moment possible for you. You have clear eyes and a long life to use them. And here in this stadium, I can feel your courage.Call upon your grit. Try something. You may succeed. You may fail. But make it your lifes work to remake the world because there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than working to leave something better for humanity.Thank you very much, and congratulations class of 2019You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people