Comments on: Has Steve Jobs Chosen His Replacement?

By: Weekend Vid Picks: Apple and Steve Jobs Endure | Real Big Firm

Weekend Vid Picks: Apple and Steve Jobs Endure | Real Big Firm — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:13:48 +0000

[...] some believe that Jobs will be handing over the Apple reigns sometime soon, he’ll never really leave our hearts. After all, he got parodied on The Simpsons. That lasts [...]

By: Weekend Vid Picks: Apple and Steve Jobs Endure « NewTeeVee

Weekend Vid Picks: Apple and Steve Jobs Endure « NewTeeVee — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:02:01 +0000

[...] some believe that Jobs will be handing over the Apple reigns sometime soon, he’ll never really leave our hearts. After all, he got parodied on The Simpsons. That lasts [...]

By: Macworld 2009 to Be Apple’s Last | TheAppleBlog

Macworld 2009 to Be Apple’s Last | TheAppleBlog — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:58:11 +0000

[...] delivering the keynote, as opposed to Jobs, is a new source for rumors in itself. We’ve written about a world without Jobs before, but this seems to solidify the company’s position even [...]

By: Brandon Eley

Brandon Eley — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:11:51 +0000

@chano I base my confidence in Ive on the fact that he’s behind every single slam-dunk product Apple has produced in the last 10 years. The iMac, iPod and iPhone, as well as some of the most revolutionary designs (in my opinion) such as the Cube.

As mentioned above, I think Apple is about design and innovation. Whether he becomes CEO or just the public face of Apple after Jobs leaves, I think Ive will be the front man for the company. He will be leading the way with design (as he is now) and presenting it enthusiastically and getting all the Apple fans excited.

I think there are probably other people who could manage the day to day operations or financial obligations of a CEO. There are already really competent people on the management team such as Tim Cook.

But, when you think about the charisma and magnetism Steve Jobs has on stage I don’t think Cook can excite the audience like that. Ive can, and I think we’ll be seeing more of him in the next few keynotes.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:33:24 +0000

Jonathan Ivy is the closest to Steve in terms of just getting the essentials of design and what will work in a product and what will not. That is the most crucial thing, and I think a lot of the genius of the iPod and iMac were as much Jonathan Ive as SJ. Others like Phil and Tim know the business and run it well. Guy? That is just wacky. He never had a big role even in the old days.

By: Dick App;ebaum

Dick App;ebaum — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:33:19 +0000

@KenC

Had to reply to this…

Guy is one of the few who could guide AAPL… has the abliity/experience/attitude…

… but not that much younger than SJ.

More’s the pity!

By: Partners in Grime

Partners in Grime — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:12:45 +0000

Tim Cook.

By: KenC

KenC — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:27:13 +0000

Ive is not the first person to be called onto the Jobsian stage. Tons of people have been given opportunities to entertain the masses.

Having said that, Ive’s personality is NOT suited to be numero uno. He’s far too quiet and unassuming.

There are a ton of good candidates at Apple, to run the mother ship, and most are already on the Executive Team, but all of them are great at their existing jobs.

The two candidates I do like, one is an insider and one an outsider. Bertrand Serlet, has presented at MWSF, and was with Steve at Next and heads the software group. This is a critically important function, because while Apple sells hardware, it’s the software that differentiates the products. Bertrand has vision and is charismatic.

The other is no longer with Apple, but was one of the original Evangelists, Guy Kawasaki. Guy has the Apple/Silicon Valley background, and the charisma, and the public-speaking chops to carry off the difficult role of leadership.

By: Brockway

Brockway — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:47:29 +0000

I like Jony Ive, but I wouldn’t describe him as “charismatic”.

By: chano

chano — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:59:13 +0000

I think your proposal of Ive is a little simplistic. What do you base your confidence on?
None of us knows what is in Jobs’ mind on this matter. Ive is a fine designer, but there are many fine designers in the world.
Tim Cook will have had broader exposure to a stewardship role, but is that adequate prep for replacing Jobs? Jobs is not a designer on paper, but he is a visionary in a limited sense, one who looks at things and sees a better solution.
As a former pro accountant, I say Oppenheimer doesn’t really fit the role.
When the time comes, Jobs’ replacement will have to have at least a few of his qualities; such as being a continuous rejector of things as they are in favour of what they could be; an agitated innovator who is thinking about the next big thing even as he oversees the completion of the current new product. That is not easy. It needs the skills of a pragmatic dreamer, an agitator for better rather than for keeping the same old, same old; a savvy risk taker who has made some major mistakes and learned the necessary lessons.
This is a complex and difficult specification. The best solution?
Jobs should be assembling a team to carry out the process aspect of his skill sets. This includes people like Ive on design. But he also needs one special other, someone with the dangerous visions of an Alan Kay, the manic drive for performance of Jobs himself, an annoyingly high level of dissatisfaction with less than perfect ideas and a great deal of that innate marketing sense that is Jobs’ most surprising gift – to somehow understand the inner wants of huge numbers of people he has never met – a feel for the pulse of the market, if you will.
That is the essence of the undefinable ‘Jobs factor’ imo. Not an easy undertaking to find someone with those qualities. And the right candidate would likely raise Jobs’ hackles – like seeing himself as he was 10 or 20 years ago.