Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple:
Tim Cook has pretty much been running it already anyway, but without Steve around will things still work okay? Look how Ballmer has been doing for Microsoft…
Also, stock price should be interesting to see over the next few days.
He is around as Chairman of the Board. I don’t see much changing.
I just see people losing a bit of faith in the company or being reactionary to the change while it will likely be just fine. I don’t doubt that apple has a lot planned out for the near future.
Jony Ive will leave and that will mark the beginning of a slow, inexorable drift into mediocrity- like Sony. It’ll take a few years perhaps, maybe ten, but this is the end of the era for sure.
Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently – they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Don’t know about you guys, but I can directly attribute my professional career and ultimately who I am to Steve Jobs and Apple. I first used an Apple computer when I was in sixth grade way back when. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I used a MacPaint to start illustrating. It was fantastic. I went on to earn a BFA in Graphic Design, all on the Mac. I’ve owned three iMacs, a G4 and G5 towers, a Newton, several iPods, two iPhones, an Apple TV and an iPad. I even owned stock for several years.
Unfortunately, I share Stuffed Vulture’s point of view. Hopefully, Steve hammered the mantra home enough and surrounded himself with enough great people that they in turn will do the same.
Anyway, thanks, Steve.
What??? Ive isn’t going anywhere. He’s got a golden umbrella so huge his feet will never touch the ground. You actually think another company can pay him anything close to what he likely makes (or can make) at Apple?
When the company you work for has stock that is traded at the highest or second highest market cap, and it’s based mostly on products you design, they’ll do what it takes to keep you there and happy forever.
Jobs probably hasn’t done much but give keynote’s for years anyway. What he does more of is be a champion of design, and I’m sure he’s engrained that in so many that work there it won’t matter.
Sorry If I am not up to Apple snuff… But how large of a role was jobs playing in the actual ID of the company??
Correct me if I am wrong but I don’t think you give the ID staff enough credit.
Of course for former CEO got most of the credit Hoodzy, it’s simply because there’s such a huge public view of the keynote speaker, Jobs. He’s been everywhere in the media, and so has a couple of their designers. It’s really just how the perception of things work. I don’t think anyone is really thinking that he made every decision at Apple, but heck… he did start the company and create the brand from the bottom up as well.
Personally I don’t foresee this impacting Apple too much, sure the stocks might go down temporarily, but once the next “new CEO Apple product” comes out and continues to show the Apple brand’s success it’ll be back where it was if not higher. I’ll be keeping an eye on what’s going on more with Apple, as I’m sure many others will for the time being 
Is it so hard to imagine getting bored designing a flat screen with a fillet and aluminum highlight? And if his finances are in order, why not head to Fiji with a surfboard never to look back. Maybe he wants/wanted the CEO position, got passed and is pissed. Maybe the different working relationship will change to not his liking. Maybe he wants to make a go of it alone. When the possibilities are endless, the one you have been doing for the last decade may not look as bright.
Or, you are correct.
Guys, you do realize the guy had pancreatic cancer a few years ago and a liver transplant two years ago? I have no doubt that his health is failing.
I just hope that he can continue living in dignity for a long time. What he has done at Apple will not be forgotten soon, no matter what direction the company takes.
As for the company, I think they will survive for at least a couple of decades. They have a huge stack of cash that will allow them to continue to take risks (When is Apple TV taking off?). Their dominance in the US cel market seems unbeatable in the medium term. I can’t see them tanking with these factors plus a very good management team at all levels.
Good point. Ive could jump ship and surf Fiji if he wanted to. And who knows, maybe he does. I say if Ive bolts, Apple has more problems than Jobs stepping down as CEO.
Anyone who’s ever worked in the corporate grind knows that the CEO plays a massive role in shaping corporate culture, mindsets, and goals.
Steve Job’s had a near-violent “Get it right or else” mentality which drove so much of Apple’s engineering and design. I don’t doubt that even without Jonathan Ive they could release tons of great products (think of your current job…could YOU deliver products that were as good if your boss stepped down? Probably).
It’ll definitely wreak some short term havoc on their stock, but the corporate culture is so engrained that I think it’ll be hard to break that momentum for quite some time.
iResign ?
iReplaceable?
iMStillChairmanOfTheBoard
Health issues or not, this had to happen at some point, and best to do it while Apple is doing well, and Steve can still be active as Chairman of the Board. Similar to when Phil Knight appointed a new CEO to Nike but is still the Chairman. In essence this allows them to coach the next CEO and the organization through the transition.
Good thing Jobs has basically been coaching Tim Cook for years.
Relevant:
Tim Cook just got a $390 million bonus.
In a related story, I liked this quote about Jonathan Ive;
“That’s been the case since his college days, said Clive Grinyer, who went to school with him. Grinyer recalls visiting Ive’s apartment, and being shocked to see hundreds of foam models of a single product. Each one was good enough to have been the final product, he said.”