Apple without Jobs

Steve Jobs has been a unique and inspirational leader

There are many good reasons why there has been a global reaction to Apple founder Steven P Jobs’ decision to step down and call it a day. Apple Inc is regarded as one of the most valuable companies in the world — in terms of market capitalisation it briefly displaced oil giant Exxon Mobil, whose revenue is almost four times that of Apple, to become numero uno. Also, Apple’s products – MacBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad – continue to cast a spell on users who are willing to wait for hours in serpentine queues to be among the first to buy these products. In India Apple’s iPhone and iPad may have a relatively slender market share but both Apple and Steve Jobs are almost household names. Apple’s success story is linked to Mr Jobs’ charisma and deep involvement with the company’s product designs. To his credit, Mr Jobs has 313 Apple patents (much more than most granted to other technology chiefs), which demonstrates his eye for detail. He is also considered a business icon, “designer of designers”, charismatic person, powerful speaker and brand guru.

However, Apple has had its share of hiccups. It came under a cloud after allegations of running “sweatshops” in countries like China. The other Steve (co-founder Steve Wozniak, also known as “Wizard of Woz”) has always been overshadowed by Mr Jobs. Apple has had its share of controversy too. Music labels alleged being bullied into accepting Apple’s pricing and other terms even as they claimed that iTunes ate into their profit margins. Even print media houses protested against Apple’s “biased” revenue-sharing agreements for content provided on the iPad. Even so, these issues have not overshadowed Mr Jobs’ business achievements.

At the Stanford Commencement address in 2005, Mr Jobs outlined his philosophy: “... the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” The result is evident. Apple Inc is likely to exceed $100 billion in revenue by the end of its fiscal year this September. Over 15 billion iTunes have been downloaded. This July, in just one day over one million users bought and downloaded Mac OS X Lion. iPods and iPhones have been all the rage around the world. In the 2011 April-June quarter, Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones, 9.25 million iPads, 3.95 million Macs and 7.54 million iPods. And this June Apple launched its “iCloud” services.

Will Apple lose its magic after Mr Jobs? Analysts believe that as chairman he will continue to leave his mark on both the company and its products even as he hands over the reins to Tim Cook, the new CEO and old hand at Apple who has been handling operations in Mr Jobs’ absence. Similar concerns were raised when Louis Gerstner of IBM handed over the reins to Samuel Palmisano and when Paul Otellini took charge of Intel after Craig Barrett. However, Mr Cook will have to answer a bigger question: with Google acquiring Motorola Mobility, and the Android operating system catching the fancy of smartphone users, what should be Apple’s next move? Mr Cook has around $28 billion in cash to think about it.