Many people are wondering this morning is this the last time we’ll see Steve Jobs communicating as CEO. Surely his health issues must be serious enough for him to be taking yet another leave. Cancer is a bullet that can come to bite you anytime it so chooses.
Apple will survive and thrive without Steve Jobs. Perhaps not many will say this out of sympathy, yet an objective approach to understanding the organization would recognize that his efforts on behalf of Apple have been somewhat reduced since his diagnosis which can lead us to conclude that the ship has learned to run itself. Of course, he is a visionary, and of course he would be missed. However maybe its time for this baby to grow up beyond its father.
Apple’s brand is now about a relationship with its customers, far more than anything. It has learned how to touch people, make their lives easier and more fun…in effect improving our lives through its offerings. Whether an Apple TV that makes it easy to all watch youtube movies together, or an iPad which took a stale industry (tablet) and evolutionized it with very current technologies known to all, yet put together in a package like nobody else can.
I reviewed a number of the tablets that came out at CEO and although the Playbook from RIM looks like fun, just knowing that the iPad2 is around the corner makes me think to wait. Apple does it every time…so why would this be different? I expect the other tablets to actually increase the market rather than cannibalize from Apple by simply making a category take its place on the shelves of more retailers. With growing distribution and attention, I am going out on a limb to say that the more tablets out there, the higher will be Apple’s sales.
So when the market opens today, we’ll see reason looking at results and emotion driving the price swings, yet at the end of the day reason will prevail and if not today, then tomorrow, Apple will continue on its merry way of earning our trust and faith.
Sass
UPDATE:
Apple shares were virtually unchanged today after starting out about negative 5%. Another article on why Apple will thrive, not only survive…