Apple without Steve
I was just wondering if Apple was ever successful without jobs? I have posted a thread kinda like this before but it seems that apple's success is directly related with steve jobs and his vision/ethics. Is this tru or does it just seem like this because i'm not privy to all the history of apple.
How old is jobs?
How old is jobs?
Comments
Oh, he'll try to do something great, and will do something great, but it will fail miserably.
That's just what I see happening.
I personally believe Jobs has done all he can do at Apple.
He was tossed out of Apple before because he simply does not have the ability to move beyond the most refined state and into the mainstream market.
I remember reading an interview with him in Wired magazine from long ago...way back before he even came back to Apple. This was back when he was letting Nextstep sort of bump along and Pixar was just starting to come on strong. Steve was using a Thinkpad with Nextstep on it.
I recall in the interview his discussion about his family buying a clothes washer. He discussed all the various options, type of detergent they would use, amounts of water and electricity, etc....a very deep discussion.
He said they finally agreed on a European model that used about half as much detergent and water as the American counterpart. It appears it also created less wear on the clothes also. I don't recall what the difference in cleaning time was compared between the two.
However the point was really that to him philosophy and end product was everything and he applies this to Apple both for benefit and detriment.
There are aspects of OS X for example that simple feel much better than XP. When I am multitasking heavily, OS X is more responsive in my opinion.
However the graphical overhead... things like the pinstripes, etc... could be removed and Apple simply refuses to do this, or more specifically Steve does.
Likewise the original iMac could be revised and sold at $599, the headless minitower/cube/post of the week for under $1000, many topics that go around here could all be attempted but they won't because of one person at this point.
It isn't as if some people are proposing things that are impossible. A headless sub-$1000 Mac has literally been dreamed, and to death in here a million times, but it is just not tasteful for certain parties at Apple to imagine it.
Nick
If Jobs and company were fired and replaced with competant management, there would be nothing standing in the way of Apple making a serious return to the mainstream market.
I don't doubt that Apple, like any company, needs a sound business person behind it. But what you're missing is that Apple already does. That person doesn't have to be the CEO. If you look at the people Jobs has surrounded himself with, his Executive Staff, these are some bright, competant people. There is an explicit reason why Apple can do what it has been doing since Jobs came back and actually has been turning a profit... and that's because Jobs has surrounded himself with intelligent people that can allow the company to thrive the way Jobs envisions it.
And don't say Jobs is just some burned out pothead. The guy has a mind for business too, and if he didn't, we wouldn't be sitting here today. But he needs more than himself, and that is exactly what we have. I wouldn't feel as good about the Bush administration if it wasn't for the people Bush chose to surround himself with.
I personally don't know exactly how Jobs feels about Apple and how much it does actually mean to him. Were I in his Reeboks, I'd be very worried about who I would have to hand control over to one day. That's why I think he should step back by hand picking a new CEO, and maintain a visionary role for the company like what Gates did. Apple could survive without Jobs, but the problem is finding the right person to carry it on...
Apple is in it's current condition because of Steve Jobs, it is not a good position.
I know people at Apple, and Steve Jobs drives them around the bend, when Steve Jobs leaves it should be with a cardboard box of his shit escorted out of the building by John Sculley
<strong>If Jobs and company were fired and replaced with competant management, there would be nothing standing in the way of Apple making a serious return to the mainstream market.</strong><hr></blockquote>
First off, Apple is indeed making a return to the mainstream market. Secondly, I don't think Apple itself even believes that it will ever be neck to neck in competition with Windows. People always bring this up, saying that should be the goal of Apple and this platform. I've said it before, and I don't think that is necessarily Apple's 'mission statement' if you will.
Apple has a history of being an innovative leader in this industry. Countless people have written articles on what the computing world would be like without the innovations Apple introduced. I personally believe that Apple doesn't believe it can take back all that lost marketshare to be close to or overtake the amount of marketshare lost to Windows. You do things, like the retail initiative and switch ads, to increase your marketshare and make investors happy by your ambition to grow yourself... but I don't think anyone honestly believes Apple is going to overtake Windows anytime soon.
Apple is in a position where it can innovate and turn an acceptable profit; Apple has carved that little niche in the world where they can make a difference. Apple won't stop trying to gain marketshare, but they aren't giong to go balls out and put their heart and soul into reclaiming it. The latter is surely a foolhardy idea. I honestly don't see a problem with Apple's strategy currently... just, I'd like to see them 'speak' to the professional user more.
<strong>Apple could hire the entire graduating class of the london school of economics, but if their hands are tied by a megalomaniac like jobs who micromanages the entire company down the the menu in the cafeteria, all their talent is irrelivent.
Apple is in it's current condition because of Steve Jobs, it is not a good position.
I know people at Apple, and Steve Jobs drives them around the bend, when Steve Jobs leaves it should be with a cardboard box of his shit escorted out of the building by John Sculley</strong><hr></blockquote>
You're not really tossing in anything to backup your position. What position are they in? Why is it bad? What exactly is Steve Jobs holding the company back from? How and why is he holding them back from aforementioned goal answered in previous question?
Jobs should not leave Apple entirely, but he has to step down and let someone with better marketing and economics sense to take over. Jobs should act as an advisor of some sort, and by staying in Apple, reasure consumers and shareholders.
But what we do have is a company doing relatively well in a tough economic climate.
Jobs is a visionary and a slick salesman. He can make any product look cool (except the flower power iMac). Remember, it was only a couple of years back when the PC industry was reeling and Jobs repositioned the desktop computer as a digital hub to the laughter of many.
Now every computer maker claim to offer a similar solution.
Now if we can only get him to lower the prices.
<strong>No doubt Steve had done alot for Apple, but it seems his magic is fading and his tactics questionable. This is reflected by Apple's reduced profits and share price, the number ONE indicator of performance.
Jobs should not leave Apple entirely, but he has to step down and let someone with better marketing and economics sense to take over. Jobs should act as an advisor of some sort, and by staying in Apple, reasure consumers and shareholders.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Show me a tech company that actually has a good stock price right now. The whole market is off, it isn't just Apple. We're in a recession whether people want to admit it or not. To top it off we're about to go to war. Woo for the economy <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Anyhow, this is sort of what Jobs already does. As I said before, he has a great executive staff that takes care of all of this. He has some very competent executive staff giving him their ideas about what to do with the company, crunching numbers to try and keep Apple in the black... Jobs is just in a position to approve those decisions, and I'd say he is doing fairly well. Within the next decade he'll step away, but he still seems to have an agenda, and I doubt he'll fall back until then.