Innovator Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO from Apple

Wednesday, the business world was hit with the sad, but not surprising, news that Steve Jobs, co founder and CEO of Apple, is resigning as CEO. Jobs wrote an official resignation letter – NYtimes.com has the letter here. He will move on to serve as chairman of the board. His successor is COO Tim Cook who has served as CEO during Jobs’ previous two medical leaves. Cook joined Apple 13 years ago after Jobs came back in 1996.

The worry and the sadness of Jobs' resignation is rightfully due to his extraordinary innovative insight and leadership that most believe are irreplaceable. Jobs is the man behind Apple’s greatest products: the iPod, which lead to more convenient mobile music and the recording industry compromising on licensing music; the iPhone, which jumpstarted the smartphone era; and the iPad, which no other company has yet to reach it’s volume of sales. Whether you own any of these products or prefer PCs and android, no person could deny the power of Steve Jobs and the amazing mind he possesses to create products that have revolutionized technology. This is not to say he is the only person contributing to this era of technology but when he creates his product, his energy and faith in it is untouchable.

I have not seen any other major CEO create the kind of passion and anticipation behind products in the same fashion as Jobs. I utterly believe that he loves his creations. His presentations are detailed, enthralling, and, most importantly, about the product. Jobs may personally prefer the simplicity of jeans and black tops, but it seems it’s his way of taking attention off of him and placing it on the product. Nevertheless, his product showmanship has branded Jobs with Apple products.

Jobs is an example of how to persevere through a firing and comeback. Jobs co founded Apple only to be ousted years after. Without Jobs, Apple stumbled on the brink of bankruptcy. Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, took a salary of $1, and then introduced the iMac. After the iMac, Jobs went on to introduce various products, most of which were major hits. While watching “CNBC Titans: Steve Jobs”, I learned that Jobs never really got over being fired from the company he started. But instead of doing something stupid and unproductive, he turned his embarrassment and anger into making his way back and being so integral to the success of the company that on the day of his resignation most are sadden to see him gone.

Most are worried that Apple will not stay successful and Cook cannot live up to Jobs. The reality is Cook is not Jobs; Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs. Cook must learn to emulate the passion Jobs has about the products – such passion has led to anticipation which has led to long lines for the debut of products. But Cook should not try to emulate Jobs in entirety. With Jobs having been on medical leave twice, Apple should have been prepared for his exit. If Apple releases subpar products post-Jobs and fails to recreate the same publicity for each product, the blame is on the company. Jobs cannot stay at Apple forever. His exit is at the pinnacle of his game and company; this is the best time for Apple to learn how to move forward in the post-Jobs Apple era.