Tim Cook invokes Steve Jobs in his last message to Apple employees—just like he did when he became CEO

Today marks a historic turning point for Apple. After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook is no longer the company’s CEO. Instead, John Ternus is stepping into the role—only the third person to do so this century. The first, of course, was Steve Jobs, whose impact on the company and industry has not lessened in the years since his passing. One his last day as CEO, Cook sent a final message yesterday to Apple employees. What is most interesting about the message is its striking similarity to the first message Cook sent to employees upon assuming the role in 2011. Here’s how both messages compare, and how each touches on Jobs’s legacy. Cook invokes Jobs’s legacy On August 29, 2011, it was hard to overstate the anxiety that Apple’s own employees felt about the company’s future. Steve Jobs had just stepped down as CEO of Apple, and that day Tim Cook assumed the role. Jobs brought the company back from the brink of failure upon his return in the late 1990s and subsequently changed the tech industry with the introduction of the iMac, iPod, and iPhone. More importantly, Jobs reintroduced a culture of creativity and innovation at Apple. That culture was not only largely responsible for Apple’s…