Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO
Having grown up using a PC from middle school to college I didn’t know much about the history of Apple but I had heard of Steve Jobs. He co-invented the personal computer back in the early 80s (ok, technically 70s).
After college I worked for a small design firm where all we used were Macs. That was 2005. I was amazed at the state of OS X and the company behind it. I read articles about Apple and of course Steve Jobs was always mentioned. He is credited for leading Apple from the brink in 1997 to the most profitable company in the world in 2011. John Gruber stated yesterday:
Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.
This is what intrigues me most about Steve. He isn’t directly responsible for any of Apple’s current lineup of products. They were all built by teams at Apple and released at the right time. Job’s magic is about putting together amazing teams of people who can create tightly integrated hardware and software products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. It isn’t about the products - it is about the organization behind them. The driving force to obliviate their current best seller because they have created something better. That is company culture and I believe it is Apple’s greatest asset. They aren’t stuck protecting the past - they are looking forward to the future and creating the next big thing.
As a fledgling entrepreneur I thank Steve Jobs for creating a company culture where innovation thrives and amazing products are created and shipped regularly. Thank you Steve.
