James Osborn

The recent ‘Steve Jobs health scare’  caused chaos to Apple stock. The seemingly endless list of triumphs for the company, which is performing better than ever before, was deemed irrelevant in comparison to speculation that it’s benevolent leader could be suffering from a second bout of cancer.

Many were questioning what relevance Steve’s health had to the company. After all… these issues are a ‘private matter’. There seemed to be a general acceptance among the tech community that Steve should be left alone and, so long as his performance was not affected, any private issues ignored.

I say different. Steve Jobs doesn’t belong to the company; he is the company! We saw with our own eyes the fall of Apple after he was removed from the board the first time. Now he is back he has done a fine job of ensuring Apple cannot exist without him. In the business world we break leaders down into five tiers. The fifth tier belongs to those who build greatness and aspire to make the company the best it can be. With or without them at the helm. The fourth tier belongs to leaders who are ambitious, egocentric and set up their successors for failure (or set up no successors at all)… sound familiar?
This technique can also be called the ‘Genius with a thousand helpers’ model - one genius at the helm and everyone trained or employed as ‘yes men’ or as ‘do-ers’ rather than leaders.

Microsoft, meanwhile have embraced a more commonly accepted model. Whilst they may be seen as a lumbering corporate machine they understand that the right people lead on to the right decisions. We have seen evidence of ‘Level 5′ leadership recently as Bill stepped down without consequence and barely a blip in the share price. Google are another example where the huge amount of talent ensures adequate leadership will follow on from Larry and Sergey.

Many would argue this self-protection is very prudent of the great man. That his micro-managing and simple brilliance is unrivalled in the industry and this has put Apple in a very strong position. However as we may be reaching the end of the reign of Steve it is important to consider whether the company can continue without him. Many bigger companies than Apple have failed due to over-reliance and it is essential for a successor to be adopted soon, otherwise we could quickly see a once successful company floundering without a head and struggling to recover from it’s biggest and most important asset’s demise. Is Steve’s health important? You decide, but there is no doubting that - as things stand - our beloved Apple cannot fall far from the tree.

Tagged as Apple, Business, Google, History, Leadership, Microsoft, Share price, Steve Jobs + Categorized as Business, Commentary