Steve Jobs on Medical Leave Again

It seems that Apple is trying to downplay this latest medical leave for Jobs. But, given his health history, I think there is probably some cause for concern for the company.

Like the guy or not, Apple would not be where it is today without Jobs.

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Methinks Steve Jobs is probably on his way out of this world, though I hope I'm wrong.

I wonder if it's too late to whore myself into his will.

I think you maybe right. He hasn't looked all that healthy to me the times I have seen him in recent months.

Here's hopin' he pulls through whatever it is again.

Since he's so closely tied to Apple, could it be AIDS?

Anything is possible.

Its been reported he has HIV. I doubt that though.

I sold short some Apple stock today.

He and his wife are strict vegans, and won't touch processed food, from what I understand. Getting proper nutrition can be tough for vegans, and recovery from trauma (which is what happens when you have hunks of your body cut out) can some times be difficult. Interestingly enough, being someone who avoided processed food probably helped Jobs survive the cancer. Pancreatic cancer has been found to grow aggressively in people who have a diet high in high fructose corn syrup.

Its also possible that Jobs' body is rejecting the transplant. If he turns up around Memphis again, then he needs a new liver (since they're apparently the best in the world at liver transplants), if not, then either he's decided to just "go with the flow" (unlikely), or something else is wrong.

It's pancreatic cancer that until recently was in remission.

I'm intrigued by the assumption that the company can't survive without him...

Well, they forced him out in the early '90s. And during the beginning of the big tech boom, I was doing a daily Apple "deathwatch" as their stock went down, down, down. Then they brought him back. He immediately did a couple things that I thought were boneheaded--and turned the company around, putting it in a place where the iPhone and iPod are viewed as the top-of-the-line in their market classes. Based on that--and that Jobs doesn't seem like the type that grooms a successor, I'd say his death would take a big bite out of Apple.

Not grooming a successor is not smart, but maybe someone in the company is smart enough to be able to think like Jobs. Otherwise, it may very well be Apres moi, le deluge.

Sss, ooo, pancreatic, that's a death sentence.
Shit.

Or maybe he'll have multiple successors and, like Alexander's generals, they'll tear up his empire.

No shit. I remember when Michael Landon died of that. He went downhill VERY quickly.

Michael Landon, Bill Hicks, Patrick Swayze, it gets 'em every time.

He's had enough time to demonstrate that his way of running a company is working and that the is a fairly large chunk of the population that appreciates quality even at a premium. I think they will at least try to think his way for a while after he's gone. I would imagine they'll loosen the reigns a little with the app store and as few buttons as possible thing, which would be a good thing.

Take it for what you will, I subscribe of the premise of "Good to Great" and that corporations run by "cult of personality" CEOs rarely long outlast their boss.

That said, I've been wrong many times in the past, so I could be wrong now.

I can think of another company that is so closely built on one person's vision. The people who can combine Job's brilliance when it comes to design and ability to take the pulse of consumers (versus corporations) makes him irreplaceable. There just isn't anybody out there like that. Maybe someone has the same kind of ability to relate to consumers, but you also have to be a ruthless and brilliant manager to accomplish what he has. Microsoft has shown it can adapt to the market, while Jobs/Apple has been able to drive the market. I don't buy Apple products, but the trickle down effect of their innovations has made computing a lot easier for all of us.

Apple is such a unique animal... yes it would indeed be a problem to replace someone as talented as Jobs. Philip Schiller the SVP of Marketing may not have the technical expertise to do so, but can relate to the public in the way Jobs did. SVP of iOS developemnt Scott Forstall has the software background and public relations, but does he know anything about hardware? I don't know who they have in hardware since the canned their SVP of Device Development this year over the iPhone 4 antennae issues.

I certainly wish Jobs well, despite the odds.

I'm not sure if the issue is relating to the public as much as to stock holders. When Jobs is gone, who will handle that?

Jobs ability to relate to stockholders is a direct correlation to his ability to make products that a significant number of consumers clamor to have.

You're more right than you think.

I've got a connection at apple who has worked with alot of the VP's, and he thinks part of the reason Apple has been shipping products without flash is because Jobs hates it, and is keenly aware of his mortality, so he's trying to leave his legacy.

Who said that?

What makes you think he hasn't groomed a successor?

Whatever predictive text system you're using to post, stop it. It's just bad.

Has anyone seen a successor? Has there been talk of anyone as the "face of Apple" but Jobs?

Add to this that he just doesn't seem to be the sort--the ego won't allow it--and if I were a bettin' man I'd lay money that he hasn't.

Who said what? That he has pancreatic cancer? That's fairly easy to ascertain.

I forgot who made the post pardon me. Who is assuming that the company can't survive without him?

You might be right. That doesn't mean he hasn't been doing that behind the scenes.