Makes me think about the saying "you die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain". Hate to say someone "died at the right time", but it just makes me think how things would be if Steve Jobs was alive. Would APPL be more or less successful? Would Jobs have been a billionaire buying up other companies, or tryin to get to space? Would other the public still be adoring him/what would he think about others who are basically trying to "copycat" him, ala Elizabeth Holmes and the rest?
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I would love to think that AAPL would have their own Crypto that is changing the universe.
Probably working on an electric self driving Apple Car.
True, I wonder if he would be going up against Musk. I also wonder what would be Musk's place with Jobs still around.
I am ex Apple and worked for them when Steve died. While his death was expected, the reaction was quite impressive. Flowers all over the HQ, at the flagship store on Regent St in London, etc.
I think with Steve at the helm...:
- the quality of products would be higher and different. I don't think he would have launched the recent Studio Display. While the iPhones are still amazing launches, the leaps and bounds in smartphone technology are gone. They are more of a commodity now and Steve would have gone a bit crazier than Tim.
- the number of SKUs would have been lower
- Macbook Air/Pro product line-up would have been cleaner and a bit more logical. Entry level MBP is too close to MBA.
- the initial plans for Titan were in scope when he passed away, although the team was dissolved multiple times afterwards. He would have kicked this in high gear earlier.
- Apple Pay playbook as well as expansion of Apple Protection Plan was planned and executed (APP, now Apple Care/Care+)
- Debit play (US market) and GS card deal were not foreseeable back then as they are fairly recent. Debit/pre-pay cards generally are seeing growth.
- Apple Health is bigger than we thought it would be; his death, the pandemic, IoT in general and better batteries /w smaller tech footprint will drive this even more.
More generally, I think Steve was a hardliner while Tim Apple is more collaborative in his leadership style. The challenges the company has faced and is still facing weren't as massive back then. The ongoing semiconductor shortages, Covid/lockdown crisis, supply chain problems, et al are, however, tailor-made for Tim. His focused operational approach and leadership principles around "Theory Of Constraints" are very much spot-on for the current market dynamics.
Steve was charismatic and the embodiment of the ideal tech leader in the Silicon Valley. He was feared, loved, and admired at the same time - when he spoke, everyone was looking forward to every syllable. If Steve was alive today, the world would want him to steer the ship.
But, given the enormous challenges Apple is facing as a company, mainly supply-chain/logistics, diversity and sustainability - Tim Cook is the leader some may not want, but Apple absolutely needs since these challenges and their solutions are better embodied through him.
Would you say that Tim Cook was a better CEO for apple given the market dynamics of the last 4-5 years? How do you think apple would have fared if jobs had been there?
I truly believe that every company, regardless of size, stage, strategy and future outlook requires different CEOs at different points in time.
Tim has the operational experience and a more methodological approach around supply chain and logistics - this is perfect for the ongoing environment large-scale international companies are facing.
Tim was also one of the first executives to drive electric vehicles, promoting the future of personal transportation. While Steve was still driving around in his SL 6 months at a time.
If Steve was still around for the last couple of years, I think we would have seen more extreme products. He was a risk taker, a go-getter and a better salesman. He also had a better stage presence and "gravitas" in the valley. But, people were also afraid to end up in the same elevator with him. Afraid of getting fired, questioned or otherwise tormented. This was not that common, but it has happened.
Tim is a very different leader - while his product vision might not be as wild as Steve's - his influence on diversity and sustainability are far more appropriate for Apple's current era.
Thank you, very insightful.
I could see him being more health and payment focused. Seems in some ways every company is just trying to do the same thing now, ala building a streaming service. Also makes me think how if you're CEO of Apple you're in some ways playing not to lose.
The one area Apple really failed at was social media. There were several attempts (iTunes Ping, anyone?) but they luckily realized that they won't be able to succeed back then. The Apple Watch and their HealthKit integration are probably the best solutions for social media and content they will ever have.
Arguably, they provide the hardware so the social media networks can be enabled and used.
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