The end of the Jobs Era...
okay, here's an interesting topic of discussion, that may flop, or be the biggest ever on AI (for my own pride, i am hoping for the latter).
What happend when the Jobs Era ENDS??? it has to someday. he'll either step down, be replaced, whatever.
what happens then? the stock price tank? soar? prices fall? skyrocket? apple gets bought out by sony?
someone must be considering this possibility, but the trail to the apple ceo chair is littered with those who just could not hack it for one reason or another. would there be someone insane enough to take over the reigns and keep the boat afloat?
anyway, just thought i would throw that one out there... i only have one request: please keep it CLEAN, people.
What happend when the Jobs Era ENDS??? it has to someday. he'll either step down, be replaced, whatever.
what happens then? the stock price tank? soar? prices fall? skyrocket? apple gets bought out by sony?
someone must be considering this possibility, but the trail to the apple ceo chair is littered with those who just could not hack it for one reason or another. would there be someone insane enough to take over the reigns and keep the boat afloat?
anyway, just thought i would throw that one out there... i only have one request: please keep it CLEAN, people.
Comments
Is he the best man? Right now, he's the only man. I don't even like him too much, but the brands go hand in hand.
He'll leave whenthe corporate culture is strong enough to maintain a sensible/profitable track without the help of an egomaniacal self styled tech guru. That time hasn't come yet.
Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar
the sony thing was discussed here
well, yeah, but that was only one scenario, and under the current set of circumstances based off sony's ceo shooting his mouth off.
it's different than what i am talking about here: i'm am talking the "what if..?" world here, if say january, steve decides that pixar is taking more of his time than he thought, and he wants to devote more time to them, or to family, or whatever. or what if it's even more sudden than that (act of god, etc.)?
what then?
i remarked how it was similar to aiko morita of sony, when he faded from sony, the company did hit some rough spots but more or less his vision is still alive at sony.
It's not even so much that Steve is a "visionary" - whatever that is, or even a good designer (although he is that); it's that he's hardheaded, forceful and charismatic enough to herd cats into focusing on making good, saleable stuff. Anyone who wants to take his place has to be similarly gifted. You can't run Apple with memos and passive-tense corporate-speak, and you can't run Apple as a capitalist (that's what Fred Anderson's for). You have to be product-centric, because that's where the focus comes from. And you have to be willing and able to keep people focused by whatever means.
Steve also has an intuition for talent, which is invaluable to Apple.
I think it's an open question whether Apple will be able to outlive Jobs. It depends on whether they can find someone with his basic temperament, and his talents. It's obvious by now that the garden-variety CEO type can't do the job, though.
Originally posted by Amorph
Anyone who wants to take his place has to be similarly gifted. You can't run Apple with memos and passive-tense corporate-speak, and you can't run Apple as a capitalist (that's what Fred Anderson's for). You have to be product-centric, because that's where the focus comes from.
I think it's an open question whether Apple will be able to outlive Jobs. It depends on whether they can find someone with his basic temperament.
y'know, amorph, to quote buffy the vampire slayer (or, more specifically, the first evil), "i do so love your sermons."
that hits the nail on the head for me -- the phrase "You can't run Apple with memos and passive-tense corporate-speak..." instantly brought visuals of gil amelio's never-ending keynote to mind. *shudder*
Originally posted by Amorph
The basic problem conventional CEOs have with Apple is that they have to be cat herders, and most executives simply don't know how to deal with thousands of highly intelligent, highly egotistical creatives who, left to themselves, will do things that interest them in ways that seem appropriate to them. This is Apple ca. 1995: A huge, chaotic stew of what-if technologies that bubbled up and disappeared while the core product withered (who really wants to be in charge of spiffing up the Mac OS? HotSauce is so much cooler!).
It's not even so much that Steve is a "visionary" - whatever that is, or even a good designer (although he is that); it's that he's hardheaded, forceful and charismatic enough to herd cats into focusing on making good, saleable stuff. Anyone who wants to take his place has to be similarly gifted. You can't run Apple with memos and passive-tense corporate-speak, and you can't run Apple as a capitalist (that's what Fred Anderson's for). You have to be product-centric, because that's where the focus comes from. And you have to be willing and able to keep people focused by whatever means.
Steve also has an intuition for talent, which is invaluable to Apple.
I think it's an open question whether Apple will be able to outlive Jobs. It depends on whether they can find someone with his basic temperament, and his talents. It's obvious by now that the garden-variety CEO type can't do the job, though.
Wow! Great post. I was going to add to this thread, but you've already pretty much covered it already. Wait a second...it seems I managed to get a post out of this after all.
edit: here's the old thread. Looks like I suggested Ive there too. At least I'm consistent. And, damn, that was 18 months ago?!? Wow. I've been here too long.
edit2: Here's what I wrote in that other thread.
I dunno. I think that Ive's is almost as important as Jobs right now. Apple has been defined by Jobs' vision, but Ive's is really the realization of that vision. He cad dream all he wants, but someone's got to translate the dream into reality and that what Ive's does. I don't think that Apple would be as successful without either one, but if Jobs were to leave, I think that Ive's could take over the vision (maybe not the company).
Originally posted by torifile
A while back there was a thread asking this same question and many people thought that Jon Ive could be the next iCEO. Who knows? Apple's not your conventional company...
edit: here's the old thread. Looks like I suggested Ive there too. At least I'm consistent. And, damn, that was 18 months ago?!? Wow. I've been here too long.
Why didn't I think of Ive? He's a great designer, and definitely seems VERY enthusiastic about the products, who says he wouldn't make a great CEO. I wouldn't mind that at all.
Originally posted by filmmaker2002
Why didn't I think of Ive? He's a great designer, and definitely seems VERY enthusiastic about the products, who says he wouldn't make a great CEO. I wouldn't mind that at all.
Hell if being Enthusiastic and a good designer are the prerequisites then there are Thousands of worthy candidates. Really are aren't many Steve Jobs out there. I find most "Industry" personnel to be dreadfully boring when addressing crowds. Right now I can't imagine a suitable replacement...and that's scary.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Hell if being Enthusiastic and a good designer are the prerequisites then there are Thousands of worthy candidates. Really are aren't many Steve Jobs out there. I find most "Industry" personnel to be dreadfully boring when addressing crowds. Right now I can't imagine a suitable replacement...and that's scary.
You have a point about the prereqs. Damn, a lot of us would probably make good CEO's in that case. But Ive has been in the company for a number of years, he seems to share Steve's passion for the company and probably knows what is going on within the company (financial, corporate, etc.). But whatever. It is scary that there is no true suitable candidate right now, but Ive wasn't too bad an idea.
Doesn't that just make your skin crawl?
[shudder]
but in the what-if world, maybe we could nominate Burt Rutan.
innovator. visionary. pioneer. designer.
inspires by insanely great example.
already has his own jets (and spacecraft).
mac user... might be a beige G3... definitely Apple Extended Keyboard
Don't know if he has the goods or if he's just a puppet to Jobs, but how about Phil Schiller, current VP of Worldwide Product Marketing.
Originally posted by satchmo
Would Apple promote from within?
Don't know if he has the goods or if he's just a puppet to Jobs, but how about Phil Schiller, current VP of Worldwide Product Marketing.
actually, i was wondering when someone would suggest Phil "The Shill" Schiller when i posted this thread. he's tough for me to evaluate, because it's been his job to be the marketing mouthpiece for anything steve says. he sounds like a brochure on legs because that's what steve and apple ask him to be.
doesn't matter what it is, it has to be the most groundbreaking, amazing, intuitive, cost-effective, supple, massively-miniscule, colorful, inexpensive (but not in a cheap way...) thing that apple has ever made/done/created/said. y'know, until the next trade show, anyway. i often think how well (or badly) he would do apple infomercials (but wait, steve, there's more!).
ive isn't bad, BUT he's just not out-of-his-mind enough sometimes. remember, the eMac was SUPPOSED to be the next iMac, but steve said that it was cute and all, but then the now-famous sunflower story they ran in time magazine. i mean, i want to read ive's autobiography someday, and read the 10 chapters of what it's liek to work for steve day in and out.
not that i'm saying this is a good or bad idea, but larry ellison might swoop in and take over for his "good friend," if the need arose.
Originally posted by Francisco_G
My prediction for the hype surrounding WWDC is that Jobs will announce he has cloned himself thereby saving Apple a second time and invalidating this thread.
Probably not because in that case he would be an experimental goverment pig.
Originally posted by nx7oe
Probably not because in that case he would be an experimental goverment pig.
I notice that you're not a moderator yet.