“There’s a poem on a wall at Apple Computer’s headquarters that starts like this: ‘Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.’ The poem, once part of an Apple commercial, is an ode to people who, to use Apple’s term, ‘think different.’ But it could be just as much about Apple and its founders, who started the company on April Fool’s Day, 1976 – kicking off the personal computer revolution. Three decades later, founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are billionaires. Apple’s sprawling campus here is a far cry from the local Homebrew Computer Club where the two hippies showed their first PC to their friends,” Bob Keefe writes for Cox News Service. “Apple’s award-winning designs for its iPods and curvy computers, of course, don’t even resemble the wooden-box prototype Apple I that got it all started. Apple nonetheless remains the round peg in the square hole of the computing industry, and – to the surprise of many who once predicted its demise – is in better shape than ever.”
“Apple’s biggest problem in the future may be Jobs himself. The chief executive’s control and influence over the company is legendary. Jobs is part of every major product design, and his vision and touch are on everything Apple does publicly,” Keefe writes. “‘Steve is the one thing no other company can duplicate,’ says Gartner analyst Van Baker. Yet despite Jobs’s importance to the company, Apple has said little publicly about plans for a successor when he quits or dies. Increasingly, such a plan may be needed. Jobs turned 51 in February. Two years ago he survived what was first thought to be a fatal form of pancreatic cancer. And after selling his Pixar Animation Studios to Walt Disney, Jobs is Disney’s biggest shareholder and a director – positions expected to take some of his attention away from Apple. ‘There’s definitely kind of a tragedy in the brewing here,’ says Roger Kay, analyst and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, a consulting firm. Other tech companies have clear succession pictures. But who can even name another top executive at Apple besides Jobs?”
“Apple spokesman Steve Dowling says the company has a succession plan but it is confidential. About the only clue Apple has given publicly about who might replace its co-founder came when Jobs chose chief operations officer Tim Cook to run things for the month or so he was recovering from cancer surgery. Cook is a long-term Apple employee,” Keefe writes. “Regardless of who might succeed Jobs, Apple won’t be the same without him, says Rakesh Khurana, a Harvard professor who has studied CEO succession.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We don’t know about the CEO position per se, but the public face of Apple should be someone with a love of design, who strives for perfection, who can express ideas clearly and passionately, and who has charisma on-camera and in public. The public face of Apple after Steve Jobs should be Jonathan Ive. (See related article below.)
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Related article:
What happens when Steve Jobs dies? – August 20, 2003
OK, I’ll do it.
But I want $2 a year!
MW= set
AAPL Dude is all set to take over the helm.
Well remember, we Mac users didn’t have Steve Jobs for most of the existance of Apple.
Of course not a drop of worthwhile innovation came out of Apple in all those years either.
Well there was the Cube I guess.
It’s just hit or miss really, we all could walk out in front of a bus tommorow morning and our lives suddely changed.
We will deal with it and if Apple can’t make the grade, we will consider another option.
I’m already considering another option if these Mac OS X exploits continue. I’ll get a cheap PC and just use it to surf the net, nothing more.
Steve is immortal. Please don’t feed horrible thoughts like that to me. The mere mention is troubling at best.
You mean Steve Jobs will die one day? Jeez…. I never… I mean I…….
AAPL Dude
twice the current salary….a bit much dont you think??
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MW=what
What me worry?
Jonathan Ive is a fine chap I’m sure with a fondness for pond water. At best a prophet preparing the way. Not a savior.
Vista is for Losers,
The “Cube” was Steve Jobs’ baby. If you don’t know that, you don’t know much. And you don’t know much history: Jobs has a cube fetish.
Steve Jobs has been with Apple for about half the life of the Mac platform. Mac debuted in 1984, so it’s 22 years old. Jobs left in 1985. One year with Jobs and Mac. Jobs returned in 1997. That’s about 9 years and counting. Jobs has been with Apple for about 10 of the Mac’s 22-year existence.
You should lurk around and read a lot before posting next time.
“What happens to Apple when Steve Jobs quits or dies?”
I read somewhere that Steve’s resignation or death will cause a tiny, spontaneous rip in the fabric of the space-time continuum causing the multiverse to collapse inwards at 300 times the speed of light. The resulting event horizon will reverse the causal trend from the big bang and time and space will fold into an invisible cube shape with enough energy to repeat the original vibrations of creation. A few picoseconds later, Bill Gates will take the credit.
Steve is the human form of Apple’s Reality Distortion Field® and is therefore omnipotent, ominpresent and immortal.
Have to disagree about Jonathan Ive being Apple’s next CEO.
For one thing, Ive is a designer through-and-through in his roots. Being a CEO of what will be a $20 billion multi-national company means precious little time for design.
Secondly, being a CEO requires financial saavy. There is no way shareholders would get behind Ive being slotted into a CEO position (even if Ive were interested in such a thing, which I don’t he isn’t)
So it is a huge question for Apple. Apple does need to find someone who shares Jobs’ vision. It isn’t just about making your numbers, but about the unshakable belief in creating great products and an appreciation for the tiniest of details.
Basically, you need someone with Ive’s design sense with Tim Cook’s operational skill, the Godfather’s negotiating ability, and the salesmanship of FDR (think Big Deal).
AAPL Dude,
I’ll take a 50% pay cut and do it for $1.50 a year!
I have a cube fetish too and a Cube and to this day it’s still a great machine despite what the unknowing say about what a failure it was. Maybe in sales terms it was a failure, but it terms of design, quality and endearment among those who use and have them, it might quite possibly be one of the best computers ever built.
Steve’s health is my #1 risk factor for Apple. I can not imagine Steve dumping Apple for Disney. Apple’s potential for growth is just too spectacular. The payoff for the brilliant work since Steve’s return is coming in the next few years.
Steve Jobs is good for another 30 years for heavens sakes. What are we all talking about?!
At 80 he’ll be one helluva livewire with more experince under his belt than any other leader of a tech company ever. His judgement will probably be as good as ever too.
I’ll drink a toast to Stevie doing the next 30 years…!
MDN is the only source perpetuating the idiotic Ive as a successor story.
Get over it please.
Phil Shiller introduced the new iMac. I think he’s currently in line to do the keynotes when Jobs has had enough. He might have to do some more time on the tread mill to improve that portly figure though;-)
I like Jonathan Ive: he’s a Brit like me (different accent though), but I’ve never seen him on stage. I think he might be a bit too reserved, and he has a tendancy to use his hands a lot to express himself. Nice guy though, and a key designer at Apple.
Cpt. Obvious,
So, then, if Ive becomes “the public face of Apple,” you’ll be the first to credit MacDailyNews for calling it way back in 2003, right?
Let’s see … Steve is 51 years old. He keeps himself physically fit. He LOOKS physically healthy, though I know he had a fight with cancer. The fact that he looks and acts as well as he does is a good sign. Of course, he also has a MOUNTAIN of money, which means he can buy the very best medical care the planet has to offer.
My guess is that Steve will be around for a LONG time to come. I can’t see him leaving Apple … sure, he my exercise influence over Disney, etc., but that doesn’t mean he’ll leave behind his baby. Not again. He’ll stay with Apple, at least as a visionary and goal-setter (if not micromanaging after a certain point), for the rest of his life. And Steve will probably live a long time.
How long? Who knows? Medical technology is amazing, and we’re beating things now that killed us just a few decades ago. Steve is alive, today, due to the advances of medical science. Who knows what’s next? We may have Steve still giving the MacWorld Convention Keynotes at Apple’s 60th birthday in 2036. Or … even longer.
My Pension Fund report came in the mail last week. I was looking it over. It recommended two things: (1) that I project retirement at age 85, and (2) that I should expect to need at least 25 years of retirement income on which to live. Huh? They’re saying I can expect to work until I’m 85 years old … and that, even given that, I’ll still be needing at least TWENTY-FIVE YEARS of income on which to live?? I spoke to one of the fund’s managers on the phone and he confirmed it. The actuarials are projecting that people my age (40) will work until they’re around the age of 85, retire, and then they’ll live until they are around 110 – 120 years old. Part of those “retirement years” are expected to be years of part-time employment, hence they’re only projecting 25 years of income needed.
Surely with all the design talent available at Apple, a bionic body could be fashioned for Steve to allow him to live forever. Even adjusted for inflation, $6million is a drop in the ocean against the cash reserves the company holds.
Failing that, how about his head in a tank like on Futurama?
No. I’m sure MDN will be the first to credit themselves.
And if he doesn’t, will they credit me for calling their error?
Scotty,
“On the face of it, the closest Apple have to a successor-in-grooming is Phil Schiller. No offense, Phil, but the RDF hasn’t rubbed off,” Stevejack wrote in the related article:
What happens when Steve Jobs dies? – August 20, 2003
RIDICULOUS, Ive for CEO?
Are you mad? Ive is great at what he does, being a CEO would mean he would not have time to engineer the think and feel for Mac products. It would detract from his greatest strength.
What a ridiculous sentiment. LOL
“Failing that, how about his head in a tank like on Futurama?”
Great idea there. Can you imagine the head, centre stage, in a glass cabinet, doing the Keynote!!!! Hell that’s funny.
“i’m thrilled to be here to deliver this Keynote on the 100th Anniversary of Apple Computer in 2076..”
Nothing wrong with a cube fetish if you can tolerate those sharp corners.
JPM ANALYST,
Can you read? if so, you need to re-read MDN’s take because you didn’t get it right your first time through. This time, don’t just ignore words you don’t understand. Look them up; they mean things.
One thing for sure is that M$ won’t be the same with out the Ballmer man.
Start the Steve Jobs is dying story countlist!
Lets see I remember this as #3 now.
Ive’s as CEO is a ridiculous thought that only MDN could conjure up from the fairy tale Apple world that they live in…
Being a great designer/engineer has absolutely nothing to do with being a great CEO/leader.
Jobs is not the only smart ass at apple.
Mike et al,
Where in their “MacDailyNews Take” did MDN say that J. Ive should be Apple CEO?
MDN said Ives should be the public face of Apple. They do have a point, but there is a problem. I saw Jonathan in London and though we were expecting a talk, in fact he just threw it open to questions. He isn’t a man that it happy in the glare of the lights for sure. So I question if he is a future public face.
He’s agret guy and great designer and I hope his relationship with Apple lasts many more happy years.
This is a real concern. It isn’t just a health issue. What if he has an accident or something. This does worry since Apple has never been able to function without him.
Ive is no CEO material. Apple needs to be run by a visionary biz man not a designer.
I’m willing to bet that MS can function better without Balmer than Apple without Jobs.
Only time will tell I guess.
Ive’s has been groomed for the past few years as the next CEO. Apple won’t accept a CFO… it’ll be an “artist” like Jobs that gets the position. Cook though may be a very close second in command to handle the numbers, kind of like the old Eisner/Wells duo that saved Disney in the 80s/early 90’s.
Does working at Apple mean executing what Jobs wants? How much autonomy or decision making is by upper management?
Just thinking: if someone is younger and has as much vision and passion for computing like Jobs, why would they work at Apple? Maybe they’d open their own startup ’cause working at Apple would be just doing what Jobs wants?
Anyway, long live Jobs! =) (and hope they’ve a kick ass successor/successors)
Steve Jobs is just too hot for me to handle. Though, I can’t wait to get my hands around the neck of Bill Gates.
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Do you think M$ worries about Steve Ballmer (aka Monkey Boy) being killed in a horrible chair thowing accident? I think that wild Bill Gates has probably considered hiring a Soprano to take him out.
Long live Ballmer at MS! My theory is that the longer he stays in his position, the crappier Windows will stay and maybe, just maybe, everyone will start recognizing the Mac as an alternative, write tons of awesome software for it and Macs will sell in increasing numbers. Don’t need 50% marketshare, i’d be happy if Apple had 25%.
In the great Jobsian tradition, I believe Dowling, that the successor plan is just one more Apple secret. Steve Jobs will micromanage as much as he can from beyond the grave with with pre-recorded video and technologies yet to come. Then, when the time is right, the whole successor plan will be announced at a big hoop-la Apple Event.
And we will all be surprised and say that it was an insanely great decision!
The other alternative would be The End of the World™ coming first, at which time, a successor plan for Apple won’t matter a smidge.
Hmmm. Steve’s head floating in a giant, clear cube. That would be one fascinating paperweight.
But let’s be serious now. What does Ive know about computers? He’s a design guy.
I know Steve was always more of the sales guy, but at least he understood computers. Is Ive even sufficiently conversant in anything other than industrial design?
I’ve neutralized this worry by planning ahead – that is, I’m going before Stevie.
“Steve Jobs will micromanage as much as he can from beyond the grave. . .”
Oooooo. I’ll bet he’s pre-recorded tons of DVDs with future keynotes, a few temper tantrums, and some barbs for Michael and Bill.
You think they’ll put his head with the frozen one of Walt Disney?
Phil Schiller is hardly the cool CEO Jobs is. Actually, he’s a pretty big dork. Jonathan Ive shares Jobs’ vision but when he talks about his products he sounds like he’s about to start masturbating which is probably not what you want during a keynote speech. Or maybe you do.
i vote for Stewie from the Family Guy to replace Jobs.
It’s a triumverate.
1: Jonathan Ivy
2: Tim Cook
3: Avie Tevanian.
These three together have what makes me the best CEO Apple could possibly have.
So it takes three people to replace me. The biggest problem isn’t sucession, but going from $1 salary to these three’s salaries! (No Triumverate of airplanes, that’s for sure!)
All will be revealed…
“Apple spokesman Steve Dowling says the company has a succession plan but it is confidential.”
Deep in the Apple labs is a product they have yet to release to the public: iClone!
There’s just as much evidence that Al Gore is being groomed as the next CEO as there is that Ive has been.
Ampar “
You think they’ll put his head with the frozen one of Walt Disney?”
Walt can’t still be frozen surely. All that spinning in his grave during the Eisner years would have generated a lot of heat.
“Statement Of Changes In Beneficial Ownership” [Steve Jobs files SEC Form 4, sells 4.57 million shares of Apple Common Stock on 3/19] Securities and Exchange Commission
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I want a cube real bad. I might just buy one as a backup. I guess I have to make some money first, cus I definitely don’t have any right now. Off to the office.
Steve Jobs is as important to Apple as Walt Disney was to Disney Studios before he died. There are some clear similarities between Mr. Disney and Steve Jobs.
Disney was a obsessive perfectionist who inspired awe and admiration. He led his studio to succeed in a way that was considered impossible by others in the film industry. Other studios wrote off the market for animation and kid’s films as a ‘niche’ market. Disney embraced it. and the rest is history.
When Walt Disney died their were all kinds of stories about how he left a set of sealed instructions for the future of the studio, to be opened only on specific dates.
As we know, there was some turmoil in the following years,but Disney studios grew and, overall, has remained a powerful force in the media world.
Apple without Steve Jobs will be like Disney without Disney. Expect some rough seas, but also expect the legacy of such a strong personality to influence and inspire the future path of the company.
The name is Ive ….
Not ‘ Ives ‘
Not ‘ Ivy ‘
Ive …
Got it you ignorant bloody yanks?
Okay, how about Schiller as CEO, and a new position for Ive — CCO (Chief Creative Officer)? He can come up with the designs and let Schiller figure out how to present them to the World.
There will be a mass suicide of Mac Zealots (myself included) and the Multi-Verse (thats not a typo) will Implode. Thats it…
Quote:
MacDailyNews Take: We don’t know about the CEO position per se, but the public face of Apple should be someone with a love of design, who strives for perfection, who can express ideas clearly and passionately, and who has charisma on-camera and in public. The public face of Apple after Steve Jobs should be Jonathan Ive. (See related article below.)
So MDN is recommending Martha Stewart?
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I think that Jonathan as a CEO would be like ‘Poison Ivy’!
what about the rumours of APPLE buying out Disney?
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Have John Lasseter and his people create a virtual Steve Jobs to run Apple, or may be it has already happend and we just don’t know it…
Edgeley Exile 43: A lot of heat sure. And the angular momentum is what powered EPCOT for years.
Steve could die any day. You and I could die any day. Nothing is sure. Only the Lord Jesus can give us peace with God and eternal life.
Long live Apple! Say a prayer for Steve! Get your life in order with God!
Chosen1
Great post nani. As a fan of both Walt/Disney and Jobs/Apple I couldn’t agree more. Both had/have a belief that the way to succeed is to make great products. Make great products and you will win over the public. Unfortunately that doesn’t include IT departments.
Let’s make a mass suicde pack ala Jim Jones or Heaven’s Gate.
Before Steve dies he will let the board know where he will be reborn. Like in the movie, Kundun, the little reincarnation of Steve will recognize the things of the former Steve. No problem dudes.
Steve Jobs has had himself cloned in the early fall of 2002. By the time the first Steve Jobs expires, he will have taught himself everything that he knows. This way Steve Jobs will continue to lead Apple for the next millennia.
Mass suicide pact. Gods, you Macheads are such losers.
Come on guys, Mr Burns er, Rupert Murdoch is still going strong in his seventies. I reckon Stevo is good for another 25 years. What a beat up. This piece should’ve been released at Easter when not much happens.
How about bringing back Woz?
I doubt it!
Woz isn’t interested in this sort of stuff any more.
Leo LaPorte interviewed him on TWIT, and he said that he does what ever he can to stay out of attention.
Besides, Woz is older than Steve!
This is not a story…..YET.
Bill Gates will be crying the most, he’ll have lost his best R&D person that he never had to pay a cent for.
We must clone Steve now.