Steve Jobs of Apple finally admitted that his illness is more than just a simple hormonal imbalance. He is taking a six-month medical leave of absence, leaving Tim Cook in charge of the day-to-day operation at Apple. I suspect for the past year it was someone other than Steve taking care of the day-to-day operation at Apple, while Steve battling his health problem.
The stock will undoubtedly trade down today. But is it a bad thing that Apple from now on will gradually move out of the shadow of Steve Jobs? There is no doubt Steve Jobs has contributed enormously to the success of Apple. But I don't believe Apple is entirely managed by a few strong personalities (or one strong personality). I think the company has the needed management process (from strategy to operation to marketing, etc.) in place to continue its success in the market.
In the past several months, I have seen some welcome changes taking place at 1 Infinite Loop. For example, for the first time, Apple allows variable pricing for the songs to be sold in iTunes Store. Yesterday, there were reports that Apple has allowed third-party mobile browsers to be installed on iPhone.
I am hopeful that a post-Jobs Apple will be more open and flexible in its way of dealing with developers suppliers media and investors. In that sense, Jobs-less Apple may not entirely be a bad thing.
Disclaimer: I own common shares of Apple.
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