“Lance Armstrong is to Tour De France as Steve Jobs is to Apple”, that is the stature of this phenomenon called Jobs. Although his stint as the CEO of Apple Inc has terminated, he is no way bidding adieu to the world of technology. In his letter of resignation to the board of directors he mentioned that he would be “watching and contributing” to Apple’s success as the chairman. Battling pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant in a span of seven years can take its toll, but it was not to be with Jobs. Being on medical leave for nearly 45% of the time in the last two and a half years, Job’s passionate involvement ensured that Apple delivered products which changed the perspective of generations to come. The market value of Apple Inc. rose nearly four times, making it comparable to the GDP of some countries. From being deserted by the board of directors due to power struggle in 1984, who would have thought that Jobs would drive Apple Inc to be rated as the most admired company in the United States, consecutively for the last three years.
A tribute to the legend by his fans
The social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook were inundated with messages, paying tribute to the visionary. “What makes Steve Jobs particularly special is that it’s as if he has personally handed you an iPhone or an iPad. So it feels like a gift from a family member”, says J. Krosnick, a psychologist from Stanford. “Apple won’t change; I will not mess with the formula that has worked so well for years”, assured Tim Cook, successor to Jobs. John Sculley, the other half of the “dynamic duo” at Apple stated that Jobs timed his resignation to perfection.” It would not have been good for Apple had he stepped down before the launch of the iPhone and the iPad”, observed Sculley. He assured that Jobs has left Apple in a perfect state for the coming cloud and mobility era.
In a career spanning nearly 35 years, Jobs had to take some tough decisions in order to ensure things went the way he wanted to, which invariably turned out to be the right choice. In the early 90s the industry giant looked fragile on account of mismanagement. The absence of Jobs made the organisation vulnerable to both external and internal forces. However with the launch of the PowerBook Series, Apple garnered nearly 21% of the market share in less than half a year. It was in the year 1996, when Jobs returned to Apple as the chief executive officer immediately decided to buy NeXt(USD 375 million), a company founded by Jobs when he was not a part of Apple. He also resorted to stern measures, shut plants, lay off thousands of workers and sold stock to arch rival Microsoft in order to receive a cash infusion of around USD 150 million. The organisation underwent some sweeping changes during the next two years. It was in 1998 when the iMac was launched, a blockbuster, resulting in 94% gains on net income, profits ballooned to USD 600 million and stock prices shot up 140% much to the delight of the investors.
With a share price of USD 190 in May 2008 during the pre-recession period, the present share price of Apple Inc “stands out” at USD 384. It is a testimony to the fact that Jobs understood the customers’ needs and never compromised on quality. Although the fact that Jobs is no longer with the company may sound like music to the ears of rivals like Samsung, Tim Cook has his task cut out to maintain the legacy of his predecessor.
The Michelangelo of the digital industry revolutionised the music, mobile and the electronic industry and has set a benchmark that is difficult to maintain. A full day in Apple’s Cupertino headquarters during his last day as the CEO is a sign of his commitment.
As he fondly referred to Wayne Kretzky’s words “I skate to where the puck going to be, not where it has been”.
No comments:
Post a Comment