It is always tough to replace a leader. And it’s all the more tough, when the leader is an icon like Steve Jobs: the man who signifies his company for most. Other than, may be Bill Gates, no other CEO commands the following that Jobs has.
Often called the prophet of personal computer revolution, Jobs letter to his employees stating that he would take himself "out of the limelight" for six months after learning in the past week that his still vaguely defined health issues are more complex than I originally thought," has it seems conformed the worst fears of the technology industry. There has being rumours about Jobs’ health, a pancreatic cancer survivor.
With the company's driving force taking a four-month medical break, stormy weather seems to be looming over the company's future. Being the face of company which he co-founded in 1975, Apple may have to reel under tough times to cope up with Jobs absence.
Task seems tough for Tim Cook, who will oversee the company while Jobs takes medical leave. Cook, 48, had also filled in for Jobs before, during his cancer treatment in 2004. Here are some of the critical challenges that Apple will have to deal with without Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs
One of the biggest challenges for Apple as well as the interim CEO is Jobs himself. As, to many people, Apple is Steve Jobs. In the 33 years since he co-founded Apple, Jobs has attracted the fervent devotion of his followers -- the Mac faithful, and more recently, iPod and iPhone fanatics. To them, Steve is a secular messiah; to his detractors, a cult-leader.
Apple's unmatched record of hit products has only been achieved under the famously tyrannical leadership of Jobs, whose obsession with sleek design and the hard to define "cool" factor of his gadgets is unique in the corporate world. Again and again, it is this aesthetic, and Jobs' commercial success exploiting it, that have distinguished Apple products from so many copycat competitors.
Investors
The markets have forever been hyper about Steve Jobs. As some say: Jobs sneezes, and Apple's share prices drop. This time too the markets didn't respond any differently. The company's share price dropped as much as 10 percent on the announcement of his medical leave.
There are also speculations that Apple Inc probably will be sued by investors unhappy with the company's about-face on the health of its visionary chief executive. Analysts and investors complained that Apple was slow to disclose Jobs' true medical status and to form a succession plan after his 2004 cancer treatment because of his crucial role in vetting the company's forward-looking designs.
However, legal experts said that the law is not clear on what duty the company has to disclose personal medical information of its CEO.
Also, in case if Jobs is not back at the helm and he misses Apple's own World Wide Developer Conference, analysts fear that share price will again tumble.
Source : infotech.indiatimes
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