CEOs come and go, right? So why does Jobs matter so much? Apart from taking Apple from the brink of doom and turning it into one of the most valuable companies on earth, Apple has completely transformed several industries and outright invented others. Unlike Gates or Dell, who focused on the more technical side of computing, Jobs turned Apple into a company focused on distinctive design led products that were built for the ordinary user. Standard features on today’s computer, such as the desktop layout, are mainly due to Job’s pushing of the user-friendly computer so many years ago.
However; the most amazing thing Jobs ever created in the fifteen years since he took over as CEO again was the Apple Brand. Using tactics developed during his time as head of Pixar, the products created and released on his watch were hits not just among gadget geeks but with tens of millions of people who saw them as attractive and chic, whilst also creating a brand loyalty hinging on reliable, user-friendly computers. The company now marketed itself with such hype and scale that it created an almost cult-like dedication of Apple fandom that has been both mocked and analysed in popular culture. While there were companies who created computers, music players and mobile phones, Jobs’ Apple became a company whose products were seen as so distinctive that they attracted a dominant market share despite premium prices, leaving their competitors in the dust.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we will no doubt hear from many sources and techies that Jobs’ move from CEO sounds the death knell for Apple. Looking back on how Jobs changed Apple from a struggling company to the powerhouse it is today, it is easy to argue that Jobs’ departure could precipitate stagnating innovation and a contraction of the Apple brand’s colossal market share. Hundreds of companies, however, have outlasted their seminal founders. Much like Disney, Apple is a company composed of thousands of capable people who all had a hand in bringing Job’s revolutionary ideas to life. Jobs has laid a foundation that can be maintained and expanded on; Apple has become an integral part of modern life. His replacement as CEO need not disrupt Apple, indeed a successful replacement could cement Apple’s position in global markets as one of the most innovative companies of the twenty-first century.
