Late on Wednesday, Apple announced that longtime CEO Steve Jobs, 56, will be resigning from his position for health-related issues. In a letter released by Apple, Steve Jobs stated:
“I have always said that if there ever came a day whin I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Steve Jobs has been struggling with cancer for several years, undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009. Jobs has been on medical leave since January of this year, but still working stubbornly from home.
Jobs is notable as a CEO not only because of how Apple has revolutionized technology and the music industry under his supervision, but also for his high public profile and fearlessness in taking risks. Notoriously, Jobs refused to market test any Apple products. Instead, he’d go with his instinct. If he felt a product wasn’t yet worthy of the Apple logo, he’d tell his staff to start over. When Jobs felt they were ready, the product would be released to the rabidly loyal Apple fans.
Steve Jobs will become chairman of the board and Tim Cook, 50, will assume position as CEO. Although Jobs is considered by many to be irreplaceable, Cook, who was hand-picked by Jobs, is a logistics expert for Apple who was instrumental in securing contracts in advance for technology used in Apple products. Cook has been serving as interim CEO while Steve Jobs took leaves of absence.
Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985. The employees he worked for say that he was intensely hands-on and would reprimand to his peers. Jobs went on to co-found Pixar, the hugely successful animation studio behind they Toy Story films, and returned to Apple in 1997. Jobs approached his leadership position in a different way this time: he trusted his design and business team much more and gave them more freedoms. He made the final decision in product design, but not the details along the way. Experts have stated that Jobs true brilliance was as an operations expert rather than a team leader overseeing product design.
To give some perspective on Steve Jobs’ “say all” at Apple, keep in mind that in 2007, three iPhone prototypes were produced. Jobs was not satisfied with the first two and told his team to completely scrap them and start anew. The third prototype pleased him…and the iPhone was released. Jobs says that his decisions were based on his understanding of technology and pop culture, intuition, and study.
As far as Apple’s future goes, experts say that the product road map in the technology industry is set two or three years out. Apple is going to have to find a strong leader like Jobs to continue their dominance further into the future.
We’re an Apple-friendly office here at One Fat Frog Restaurant Equipment. All of One Fat Frog’s computers are Macs and employees are constantly staying in touch via iPhones. One Fat Frog also has an iPad used for inventory and other online applications. It’s safe to say that Apple has changed the way One Fat Frog does business. One Fat Frog will miss Steve Jobs.
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