New York Times noted,
“Mr. Jobs was neither a hardware engineer nor a software programmer, nor did he think of himself as a manager. He considered himself a technology leader, choosing the best people possible, encouraging and prodding them, and making the final call on product design.”
It is that “final call on product design” has set Apple apart from the pack and propelled the company to briefly top Exxon as the world’s largest company in market cap. And indeed, the first new product launch in Mr. Job’s absence–iPhone 4S–underwhelmed investors and Apple stocks suffered a heavy 4% sell-off immediately after the release.
However, we think most likely Apple could have encountered some kind of a problem pushing out iPhone 5 on time, and made iPhone 4S a quick fix rather than missing the launch deadline. On the other hand, we don’t believe iPhone 4S (in its current state) would even see the light of the day if Mr. Jobs were still at the helm, and he would have managed public expectation a lot better as well.
Mr. Jobs has been the face, image, heart and soul of Apple for decades, and Apple executives no doubt will face this question–WWSJD (What Would Steve Jobs Do)– in the foreseeable future. The infographic below documents some of the interesting yet less known facts about Mr. Jobs. Our thoughts go out to Mr. Jobs’ family.
Via EconMatters
