In Memorian: Steve Jobs
October 5th, 2011Although the news wasn’t unexpected, I felt very sad to learn Wednesday afternoon that Steve Jobs died peacefully, after a long illness. According to a statement from Apple’s board of directors: “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”
As with many geniuses, Jobs was temperamental, apt to scream at someone for messing up, but he was also considered one of the greatest CEOs of our time. I met him several times, and can recall two instances where I spoke with him briefly. That story was written some weeks back, when Jobs stepped down as Apple’s CEO as the result of his deteriorating condition.
You’ll be reading a lot about his life, about Apple, and about the future of the company. I’ll have more to say in the days to come. I realize we all filled with sadness, but we should also celebrate his glorious life and his amazing achievements. That’s the best way to remember Steve Jobs.
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Steve’s stature must now be sized up by historians. In all likelihood, he will come to be mentioned in the same breath with Edison and Ford as inventors and industrialists who have changed the world for the better (I could testify to how much he has transformed and empowered my own life). But let this be noted for the moment: the day after Steve died, the price of AAPL only went down 88 cents (and the day he resigned as CEO it went down only eighteen dollars). This in spite of the dire predictions of the doomsayers who thought that Apple was such a one-man-band that AAPL would go into the toilet the moment that Steve was out of the picture. Different people may interpret this fact variously. My own view is that this is a remarkable tribute to the health and viability of Apple as Steve rebuilt it, and a vote of confidence in the wisdom he displayed in choosing his eventual successors. So, among all the other tributes that are pouring in, Wall Street has also had its say.