A CEO, whether of a large or small company, must possess a range of skills to be an effective leader. They are responsible for managing the business and meeting the needs of customers, employees, investors, legal requirements, and the community.
While some tasks can be delegated, CEOs need vision to steer their company in a clear direction.
They must be receptive to feedback, adaptable to change, motivating to others, and trustworthy. Balancing visionary leadership with practical management, they face the complex demands of modern business, requiring dedication, resilience, and a relentless drive for excellence.
For Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, being unique is also part of the job.
In podcast interview with Acquired, Zuckerberg addressed how he believes his company differs from Apple:
Zuckerberg is like referring to how his company is a polar opposite to Apple in a lot of ways, and even commented how different the two companies are in their marketing strategy.
He noted that Meta prefers to have a strategy where there’s a focus on shipping things to get feedback rather than waiting for something to be perfect before releasing it, by pointing the flaws in Apple's strategy.
"If you wait until you get praised all the time, you’re missing a bunch of the time when you could’ve learned a bunch of useful stuff and then incorporated that into the next version you’re going to ship."
Comparing Meta to Apple, is like comparing an orange to an apple.
While both are giant tech companies, they serve fundamentally different purposes and have distinct business models.
Apple has built its empire around hardware, with iconic products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Its focus has always been on creating premium, user-friendly devices that integrate seamlessly into people's lives, emphasizing privacy and ecosystem control.
On the other hand, Meta, formerly Facebook, is rooted in social networking and the virtual world. It has evolved into a leader in social media with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, but its focus have shifted towards the metaverse and virtual reality.
Whereas Apple is hardware-centric with a strong software ecosystem, Meta is more about digital experiences and connecting people.
And when Apple has just introduced Apple Intelligence to enhance the experience of using its products, Meta is more into opening itself towards a more collaborate development of AI with developers.
So here, while both companies aim to shape the future of technology, the two are certainly polar opposite.
With Meta's vision is fundamentally different than Apple's comparing them is like trying to weigh the value of an orange against an apple-they simply serve different purposes in the tech landscape.