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Imagining Apple without Steve Jobs..."He would be Impossible to Replace"

statesman.com — "It would be a disaster," said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Cos. in Minneapolis, who has had an "outperform" rating on Apple's shares since June 2004. "He would be almost impossible to replace."

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 22, 2007

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  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+41This shows how much image really matters in the public opinion... what happened to Bill Gates when he announced his step-down? Almost nothing.
  • sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -3/+33I buy Macs because of the product, not because some dude tells me it's a good idea.
  • cyberdork, on 10/12/2007, -7/+36I wish I had 3% of the PC market. I would be friggin' rich!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32It's also kind of sad how the company relies on the strengths of ONE guy. If Jobs retires, they're basically *****? That's no way to run a business!
  • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19"He would be almost impossible to replace."

    Keyword: Almost
  • brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13"I know a few people(true linux zealots) that thought it was the second coming. I mean, they threw a party and everything."

    The sad thing is, Bill isn't the one that writes their terrible software. Steve Ballmer is the biggest threat from Microsoft to the free world.
  • griz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12@ bluenet

    I have to assume you mean Pixar. Which is a highly successful company. I might also remind you that althought NeXt was not successful in and of itself. Apple later bought that company. Must have been something there. Oh wait, it was the foundation for OS X.
  • cvk_b, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Guy Kawasaki would have my vote if SJ stepped away.
  • tuxthepenguin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10What about Jonathan Ives? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ives
    He's the Senior VP of Industrial Design at Apple. In my opinion he's the real "magic" behind Apple.
    Don't get me wrong I like Steve just as much as the other guy.
  • quakenul, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Lame for leaving "almost" out of the topic
  • Keyframe3D, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9"Imagining Apple without Steve Jobs"

    no need to imagine, it happened once and it was not good.
  • mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Good pick. Seriously, there are people who could maintain Apple's creative vitality if the board was brave enough and smart enough to appoint them.
  • PDelahanty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yeah, but I still wish Jobs hadn't completely killed off the Newton line. Handwriting recognition was vastly improved by the time the MessagePad 120 came out. Looking at what features the iPods have now, I can only imagine where the Newton would be today.

    I still want a tablet Mac.
  • bobv, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I too buy for the product. I actually bought mac at first just because I was sick of Windows, then I fell in love with it. It was Microsoft that made me a mac user and it was Apple that kept me a mac user.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9People always like to slam Apple for ONLY having X%, but keep in mind that the worldwide PC market is a couple of hundred billion dollars, so even in the single digit percentages they have billions in sales a year. Apple is making billions off of the iPod each year. If they're selling a couple billion worth of anything in a year, the company is not exactly hurting.
  • PDelahanty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6You don't want a Mac simply because Steve Jobs is CEO? Did you have one in the early 90s when John Sculley ran the show?
  • dankCIA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I don't think Steve Jobs would be that hard to replace. He is a great CEO but CEO's in general are fairly easily replaced. What is hard to replace are the thousands of dedicated employees at Apple that actually make things happen. Steve jobs is just there to be a spokesman for the company, no way is he the one coming up with apple new ideas. Jobs takes care of the business, as and CEO should, and the employees take care of innovation. That being said i don't see why Jobs couldn't be easily replaced, after all 99.9% of the company would be the same.
  • michaelb1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5he is heavy into it.
    There are stories of him taking an ready for market product and having it completely redone.
  • griz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Is it just me, or could anyone else picture Kevin Rose on stage at Macworld saying, "Today, I am proud to introduce, the new iTeleporter. This is truly Amazing!!"
  • ditoa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Nobody is irreplaceable. Steve Jobs is well known and accepted as he is very enthusiastic in a popular way, whereas Steve Ballmer is very enthusiastic in a madman sort of way.
  • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Jonathan Ive has my vote. Who cares about management skills? That's what the other executives are around for. Jobs is hardly a management genius - he's a visionary, and that's what makes Apple what it is.

    Apple wasn't fading in the 90s under Sculley because of a lack of management skills, it was because of a lack of vision (and focus).

    Ive could fill that visionary role just fine, IMO, and without some of Steve's dark quirks that are ultimately damaging to the company (and the platform).

    As long as someone who truly understands and believes in the Apple vision, and not some transplanted corporate suit, is in the driver's seat, all will be well.
  • uberdesigner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I heard from someone who worked inside the company that Jobs was a tyrant. This was around '00. I'm sure I'll be dugg down for relaying this. Oh well.
  • Lynn, on 10/12/2007, -21/+24Without Steve Jobs Apple will not change at all. They will still be less than 3% of the PC market.
  • alphadog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3No one is irreplaceable. Yes the stock would take a hit. But under the right leadership Apple would bounce back.
  • Ellsass, on 11/05/2008, -0/+3He can design, but can he manage?
  • MacTad, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10@treelovinhippie

    You REALLY don't know much about Apple, do you?

    *snickers, shakes head and scampers off*
  • drmobutu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Guy Kawasaki probably wouldn't do it for one dollar a year, though...
  • mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Here's a good article about the development of the iPod.

    http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,71956-0.html
  • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10I know a few people(true linux zealots) that thought it was the second coming. I mean, they threw a party and everything.
  • PuffyC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yea, more nepotism, that's just what corporate America needs.
  • johnpaul191, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3it's a far change from the days of the two Steves building Apple Is in the garage..... but Steve Jobs still (at the least) has a lot of technical knowledge. he also has a natural ability to sell products, and (most importantly?) a good eye for what will work. a lot of smaller tech companies bring in a business person that has little technological knowledge so there is an understanding gap. some have great techie minds, but make products way too confusing for the average consumer.

    he's a good representation of the all-in-one fearless leader. being a founder is just an added bonus. one day he will step down, and that's just an obvious fact. i'm sure somebody at Apple has a list of possible candidates. it would be totally irresponsible not to.
  • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There are plenty of people at companies who have done far worse and stayed - remember that a lot of companies were involved in these backdating issues because at the time it seemed OK. Almost every company you know of would be stripped of leadership if it really were such a problem.
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7@ibeetle - last report IIRC was 2.58% in 2005, 3.14% in 2006.
  • dzarkw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Losing Steve Jobs would be a big deal, but losing Jon Ive would be even bigger.
  • gareth805, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ridiculous, its the oldest lie in the book that someone in business is irreplaceable. Regarding of what a lot of Macophiles might believe, Apple is much bigger than Steve Jobs.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Jim Allchin could definitively be a candidate.

    Ballmer will of course throw a chair or two, but...

    - - -

    http://kvp.com/
  • drmobutu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Job's didn't "try leaving" Apple - they kicked him out!
  • MikeCP, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3People have been talking so much about Jobs stepping down lately. It kind of baffles me. Is there any credible evidence to say that he's considering? I'm pretty sure there isn't. Lately it seems like there's a story about it once a month. 51 is too old to run a company by any means. Also, AFAIK, Steve's never shown any sign of willingly leaving his the position he's in to start up something else.
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@mc actually it's philanthropy - he's planning on spending his immense fortune on making the world a better place.
  • AClayeJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I just wish someone would buy Steve some new clothes. He's been wearing that same tired ole black turtle neck for 10+ years now.
  • coldfirenj, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Businesses is just that, businesses. A guy like Jobs brings a whole new element to the industry. Its not just the bottom line, its about a vision. True or not... most probally not, Jobs is not going to leave small shoes to fill.
  • BullTaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The article speculates on what would result if Jobs were forced out due to options backdating irregularities:

    "If Steve Jobs were anything other than what he is, he'd already be gone," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, a high-tech research firm. "There was a crime committed . . . it looks like Steve Jobs was kind of the ringleader."

    http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/01/08/is_legendary_apple_ceo_on_the_way_out?mode=PF
  • MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Jobs has always been a tyrant. You think that's news?
  • marinist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If he's that "impossible to replace", Apple's future is in trouble.
    Or possibly more likely: Too much attention and importance is put on Steve Jobs.
  • BlackAdderIII, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2In the light of recent keynotes, I'd find it easier to imagine him saying "the iWheel. This is simply amazing."
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2OMFG I'm calling the apple board right now ;).
  • drmobutu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah!!

    I HATE iced tea with high fructose corn syurp...
  • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's just the topic du jour from the anti-Apple propaganda machine. Don't worry, they'll soon revert to "slave labor" nonsense or "easily-scratchable something." It's the Circle of Life.
  • drmobutu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I knew a guy who worked at apple who posted a flyer on a company bulletin board that made some joke that Jobs saw and didn't like - He was fired, immediately.
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