A few years back the prevalent term was the "Jobs' premium" when discussing Apple's valuation, referring to the extra value placed in Apple's stock with Steve Jobs leading the company. Rumors of cancer's remission or reemergence would cause the stock price to fluctuate violently. Investors were constantly wondering aloud what would happen when Jobs ultimately had to step away from the company for good.Well that day came and passed on August 24 when Jobs announced he could "no longer meet [his] duties and expectations as Apple's CEO." He stepped away from Apple for the final time in August and passed away yesterday afternoon. The stock price moved a little then and a little today but the imprint of Jobs' vision for the company appear to have withstood the Jobs' premium.
Tim Cook has handled the responsibilities intermittently throughout Jobs' battle and should be more than capable going forward. The iPhone 5 will likely be released next year with Jobs' fingerprints all over it. The iPad 3 will also be released next year, likely the exact extension of what existed in Jobs' mind. And the culture he created will continue to manifest itself not just in Apple, but in all the companies and leaders he helped to inspire. There's a company and country full of Jobs' disciples; influenced by his vision and they will continue use his blueprint. They will continue to find the products we need but don't yet know we want.
Jobs' legacy is undoubtedly partially the products he created, but also the way he approached solutions for problems others could not see. Over the last 18 hours, he's been compared to Edison and Ford and other great minds of generations past. I've struggled with whether this is appropriate or if it is over (or under) stating his influence and it will take decades to fully comprehend his scope.
But beyond the product and the physical legacy, as a visionary, Edison and Ford feel about right as his peers. There certainly aren't any around today.
credit: Arik Hesseldahl for ideas incorporated
in my humble estimation, jobs should be remembered as more of a vaderbilt or rockerfeller than as a ford or edison. his genius was first and foremost in the realm of business, not technology. he is the poster child for "the blue ocean srategy"--he created (and subsequently and more importantly created a DEMAND for) an entirely new market with his revolutionary products and profited accordingly. His legacy is more fitting to be a chapter in a marketing or entrepreneurial textbook than to be in that of software or computer engineering.
ReplyDeletethat said, great post; keep em coming
I think his greatest addition was thinking through the necessity for things that didn't exist previously, or realizing inevitable evolution of certain industries far before anyone else did.
ReplyDeleteVisionary is a cliched term but I think it's his forward thinking that will ultimately be remembered. Agreed, far more than technology.