Comments on: Steve’s Health, Again

By: doogald

doogald — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:51:53 +0000

Steve has had ten years to put together a team of very capable people to run the company. He does not do everything. There are talented marketers, industrial design teams, software design teams, bean counters, etc. People say that he is intimately involved in day-to-day operations, but then again they company seemed to perform quite well when he was out sick in 2004, with Tim Cook running the company while he was gone.

Will it be a blow if he leaves? Likely. But they have the talent in place to continue running their company well, with a market-leading MP3 player platform and a strong and impressively growing smartphone platform, and incredibly successful retail stores (I was just in a very busy store myself an hour ago). Do you think that these markets will disappear in an instant if Jobs’ health requires him to leave day-to-day operations of the company?

By: Zealot

Zealot — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:35:55 +0000

Good point Steve….but then Microsoft spent years preparing for the transition. Also, though I feel Bill Gates is an incredible man and leader (likely a greater leader in the long run then Jobs), he has never had the cult of personality that Steve Jobs has going.

As for how Apple will fare without Jobs…iPhone and iPod will give the company a lot of momentum, but I wouldn;t expect any more amazing new products from Apple. Steve Jobs, for better or worse, is the soul and vision of Apple.

By: Pony99CA

Pony99CA — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:31:35 +0000

@Zealot:

it does make one stop and wonder what sort of effect the retirement of such an iconic figure from the tech scene will have.

Why Jobs? Another tech icon resigned recently (or not so recently depending on how you look at it) — Bill Gates. What effect did that have on Microsoft or the tech scene?

@doogald

Im sure it could be true, but anybody who thinks that Apple’s success depends so completely on Steve Jobs as CEO that they would sell off their stock will just make me happy – I’ll happily buy it $40 cheaper.

And how did Apple fare under Sculley, Amelio, et al? I think it’s a huge question how Apple will fare without Jobs.

Steve

By: John

John — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:29:41 +0000

Poor Apple Fanboys… I’m sticking with Windows!

By: doogald

doogald — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:04:45 +0000

Is this the same Gizmodo that in December 2006 posted a rumor that the iPhone would be announced the next day, tagged the story “Apple”, and then it turned out to be the Cisco iPhone?

‘Nuff said. Im sure it could be true, but anybody who thinks that Apple’s success depends so completely on Steve Jobs as CEO that they would sell off their stock will just make me happy – I’ll happily buy it $40 cheaper.