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What happens to Apple when Steve Jobs quits or dies?

smh.com.au — Steve Job's control over Apple is legendary. Jobs is part of every major product design, and everything Apple does publicly. But what happens post-Steve...

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 24, 2006

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  • D4V1S, on 10/12/2007, -32/+104Steve Jobs is Immortal, dont you know anything?
  • wilsonics, on 10/12/2007, -9/+35DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS (insert sweaty shirt here)
  • haqattaq, on 11/07/2007, -7/+29What happened when Walt Disney died? nothing- The company had already established a path to travel...

    besides, Steve will be frozen and will return someday to lead again..


  • sporktek, on 11/07/2007, -7/+23Jeez, you believe Steve Jobs is actually going to *die*? Nah, never. He's already put in place measures to transfer his life-force into a shiny white plastic and brushed aluminum vessel after his primitive meat body has ceased to function. He will then issue commands to his minions using multicolored lights and beep-beep-boop sounds.
  • deepsub, on 10/12/2007, -6/+21When Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, for a while, it did better... much better.

    It took John Scully's obsession with developing the Newton the neglecting the Mac, and the rise of Wintel that led to Apple's near death in the mid 90's.

    Anyone who thinks they can predict stuff like this is... thinking different.
  • TripOverFeet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19Steve can truse Jonathan Ive, the creater of the iPod and basically all iHardware. If he trains him for long enough, there is a possiblilty that the company will be able to survive. Maybe it won't be as great as it was when Jobs was running it, but at least we can worship someone. (other than the late steve)
  • AoSimon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20Not quite true I think. While Gate might have as much influence on MS as a company as Jobs does on Apple, also as a company, Gates simply doesn't have that much influence on CONSUMERS and STOCKHOLDERS as Jobs does... there's this whole "Jobs is God" mentality among fanboys and speculators, and this could prove disastrous to Apple if Jobs departs all of a sudden. It's not what actually goes on in the company that'll kill Apple, but what outsiders PERCEIVE to be happening inside Apple (lack of leadership, chaos, mass suicides, etc) that'll hurt the company.
  • cmiller1, on 10/12/2007, -25/+36Yeah, and just look at how far off the path HIS followers are these days.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15Question: Will they bury Steve Jobs in a cube?
  • Godric, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15The marketing guy takes over. Just like at Microsoft.
  • master_of_fm, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15"Microsoft already owns a share of apple, don't you know that ?"

    "No, they don't. You might want to double check that."

    um yeah they did, back in 1997, it was also the closing scene from "Pirates of Silicon Valley"

    http://news.com.com/2100-1001-202143.html
  • soundboy64, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Ives will take over as Chief Design and Chief Executive Operator to become the CDEO
  • Rice, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11The iMac will be retired in his honour.
  • tktk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Nope, they'll cremate him with lots of magnesium and then put his ashes on display.

    In a Cube.

  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12And just look at the utter crap disney are producing now!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I have a soft spot in my heart for Phil Schiller. He's a cool guy. Still, there will NEVER be another Walt Disney, or Steve Jobs. Jobs really is a salesman at the core. A P.T. Barnum. He can make you hang on every sentence, every word. There's not many people this day and age that have that ability.

    So when it comes time for him to leave, Apple needs to go in another direction with regard to leadership. If you can't fill the shoes, don't try. Just keep making good products.

    So, guys, you are witnessing the great second coming of Apple. Pay attention. They are making tech history right now. Sadly, all good things come to an end. Let's just hope we've got a lot of wave left to ride here.

    It sure is a fun time to be alive and working with all this cool stuff.
  • flavius731, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Totally agree with cacoe here. If its a dupe, what-the-*****-ever. Thats the whole power behind this joint. If everybody has seen it and doesn't give a *****, then no one diggs and therefore no one sees it. If its a hot topic, i want to read more than one article about it. If it makes it to the top, well people ***** read it. It doesn't matter if its a dupe.. maybe its a better article.... maybe it was posted at a more influential time. maybe i liked the god-damed poster's ID. does it really matter? get over it.
  • saska, on 11/07/2007, -3/+8I beg your pardon? Everything short of the apocalypse happened when Walt Disney died, if you want to talk about his vision for the company versus what it became.

    I mean, Michael Eisner. Just let those two words sink in.

    Fortunately, Pixar will save them. Linked to Jobs. Coincidence?...
  • tktk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A: Hopefully every other Digg story won't be something about how great Steve Jobs is and fanboys everywhere will have to find someone else to obsess over.

    A.1: Every other Digg story will be about how great Steve Jobs WAS and fanboys everywhere will complain about the new guy.
  • airhead75, on 10/12/2007, -15/+20Woz will save the day!
  • Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The same question can be asked: what will Harpo do when Oprah dies/retires? What will Martha Stewart Omnimedia do when Martha dies/retires? They are relevant comparisons; these multi-billion dollar companies are anchored to a personality.

    Fortunately, Apple is not named after Steve Jobs. My suspicion is that enough people will be indoctrinated with his vision that Apple will keep doing its thing for a while (design driven, daring the risk to bring out new ideas where others flinch and falter). Beyond that, Apple's future is anyone's guess.

  • chriszma666, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13""Microsoft already owns a share of apple, don't you know that ?"

    No, they don't. You might want to double check that."

    No, I think you should check that. I'm a huge mac fanboy and I'll admit that MS owns a portion.

  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I'm sure Steve will die of a heart attack just by looking at this digg. Its definately very creepy to see people talking about what will happen when you die; especially since its being done in such a lax and detached manner.
  • diafel, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14The man is 51, and will likely live another 50 years, yet people are speculating on what happens after he's gone? We're still speculating on next week's Apple products!
  • tktk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What's even more creepy is that some news organizations have pre-written obits. for famous people. That way, when someone famous dies, they can pull up the pre-written text, add some recent info and then send it out.
  • jasqwerty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5But that business really took off after Jesus died, so...? We should kill Jobs?
  • compu73rg33k, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Then everybody goes to his funeral and business goes on. Wtf is going to happen when all CEO's die? Steve Jobs isn't going to be the first person to die.
  • Kestral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The answer is simple: Tim Cook (the COO). He took over when Steve was dealing with cancer.http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2004/tc2004082_9514_tc024.htm
  • trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3He got through pancreatic cancer. I think he is a man with a purpose and not going to die anytime soon. And when he dies, hopefully he will have assign a heir.
  • Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Johnathan Ive is a genius, I nominate him to succeed. But what do I know...
  • hobophobe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Let me guess, Apple will sell iTunes songs five of which will have golden tickets...
  • kazem, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9Steve's departure will be the demise of Apple, I firmly believe.

    Look what happened when he was kicked out the first time.

    He is a visionary, just like Bill Gates is a businessman. Both of them drive their companies.

    Intel and IBM have had staying power beyond a single CEO. So perhaps if Apple grows larger and more diverse, it will obtain similar 'staying power'.

    I have always pondered this question myself, so I am glad it's made the front page.
  • FluffyArmada, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@popularme : screw off dude... just because something has to do with Apple doesn't mean you have to make a huge deal out of it.
    Apple users like their computer, and they find this sort of stuff interesting. If you don't like reading Apple related stuff, waste your time somewhere where there isn't going to be any.
  • snowbooch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6i think apple has a well established culture with a vision and a purpose of its own. after jobs leaves, i'm sure there will be plenty of people who share this perspective willing to step up. if i had to compare the company to something, i would sooner compare it to porsche than microsoft. apple products are as much designer items as they are pragmatic and as long as the new leader gets that, i'm sure he'll find the minds and the means to keep the company on track
  • drwiii, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6The same thing that will happen to Nintendo after Miyamoto dies. Life goes on, the new generation takes over, and new legends are born.
  • bossm4n, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7What happens to Apple when Steve Jobs quits or dies?

    We will stop seeing a Digg post about him 3 times a day. JEEEEEZUS!
  • C00001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think a lot of times, in the immediate sense, an MBA can be a foot in the door or a bump in pay grade, but otherwise not much else. I'm all for higher education, but in business, if you can't figure it out in the time it would have taken you to get that MBA by just diving in, you probably just aren't going to.
  • bbatsell, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10While I agree that there are numerous other talented visionaries in the company, and it wouldn't be in dire straits should Jobs depart, calling Jobs a figurehead is most certainly going overboard and is pretty far from the truth.
  • AndrewMayne, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3When Jobs took over Apple he brought over a bunch of his NeXT folks. They're a very smart bunch. Like PIXAR, Apple will be able to function without Job's day-to-day involvement with the right people. He's got a lot of confidence in Ive, Schiller, Cook and others. They get it - or at least each one gets part of the equation.
  • ANorton, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Jesus died but his company (Christianity) is still making millions.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -11/+14Jesus isn't dead - he came back. If Jobs can do that - then you can start worshipping him.
  • neo7779, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Before he Quits or Dies he will have a contest. A contest where 5 golden tickets will be hidden in iPod boxes. The five winner will get to tour the mysterious Apple plant. The winner will be the Person that does not sell the secret of the new iPod In-visa to the evil Slugworth PC Company.
  • imagine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's not even tech news anymore... it's mostly trivial apple news making it to the front page.
  • vic128, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11everyone knows Jonathan Ive is the creative force in the house, thus it would make sense if he were to succede him
  • dandiemer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3digg just for the blunt title.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Somehow the world keeps turning
  • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I think its funny how people post on digg asking WHO CARES when there is a list on the bottle of the screen that should answer their question... there is also a big fat number too
  • cathode, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I'll reserve my worship for people who can come back to life, thank you.
  • lasermike026, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It'll be just as bad if Jobs stays past his prime. The real issue is people do not learn. If the people at apple learned what makes Jobs a good leader of a technology company you wouldn't need Jobs.

    I am I too much of an engineer when I think business and marketing people do not have a clue on how to run a company especially a technology company. I beginning to think a MBA isn't worth the paper its written on.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Apple doesn't always innovate, but they understand marketing and product promotion like no other tech company. Don't expect Apple products to be chock full of features, but do expect easy of use. Compare Apple Store and Sony Style Stores. Apple Stores generate a tremendous amount of floor traffic unlike Sony Style Stores. People line up to get service from Apple's Genius Bars. Apple Stores stock a wide range of 3rd party software, peripherals and accessories. Some Apple Stores have seating and floor areas set aside for presentations and trainings.
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