Keeping up with current events has become a hobby of mine, a welcomed mid-day reprieve from the daily duties of my job. While browsing the news for fresh and interesting stories—aside from Irene or stale coverage of the 2012 Election, I stumbled upon this article that references yesterday’s shocking headline.
Steve Jobs has resigned. The whole world, it seems, has reeled at this momentous juncture in Apple’s history.
What will happen to this incredibly influential company? Who can possibly replace one of the greatest businessmen and inventors of our time? Will Apple continue its reign with the iPhone and iPad, or without its creative genius at the helm, will it flounder and surrender to its competitors?
Only time will tell.
I would argue, though, that Steve Jobs is replaceable. Maybe Apple itself will not survive the disruptive and tumultuous times ahead, but there is no doubt that someone will. Because that is what we do. We adapt, we forge on, we fail, learn, and try again until it works. It is the American way.
It is the way that our private sector is intended to operate. To allow people like Steve Jobs with incredible talent, imagination and vision to develop a dream and see it to fruition. It is survival of the fittest. Just as Sony (mentioned in the article above) did not advance with the times; it suddenly found itself becoming obsolete as Apple seized those opportunities, took the risks, and rose above. Steve Jobs will certainly not be forgotten, and his contributions to Apple and to society at large with his technological revolutions will forever be associated with his name; but the world keeps turning. He will be replaced, and whether his replacement is a viable one or not remains to be seen.
Apple may rise out of this time stronger and more influential than ever, or it may become antiquated—a mere memory as another company takes its place and their products becomes just as common. But no one can ever take the iPod, iPhone, or iPad away from Jobs or the existing company of Apple, and that is as it should be. Whatever the future may hold, and as technology continues to transform culture and societal norms, Jobs will always be accredited with raising the bar; setting the standard. For thinking outside the box, and taking risks that no one else would.
Well done.
A world without Jobs is certainly imaginable…but without his influence? Now that is a true debate.
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