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Yesterday Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Apple’s CEO.  That’s right, the event that all Apple fans have been dreading but secretly knew was coming sooner or later has finally arrived.  The good news: one day after the resignation notice was made public Apple hasn’t imploded and their stock hasn’t fallen into the negative.  The bad news: there is some uncertainty about the future of Apple now that Tim Cook is at the helm.  I’m not really going to talk about future strategies and what may or may not go wrong with an Apple that doesn’t have Steve Jobs as CEO.  I am, however, going to take this time to reflect on the past.

MacWorld 1997

In 1997 Apple was in very rough shape.  They were floundering during the era of PC proliferation, and were fighting a losing battle in their perceived war with Microsoft.  During their yearly MacWorld event, Steve Jobs took the stage and did a “state of the union” address, Apple style.  He overviewed his plan to bring Apple back to relevancy and get the company back on track, a strategy which included swathing through the board of directors like a hot knife through butter and, most importantly, mandating a community-wide mental shift.  "We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft must lose.  We have to embrace the notion that for Apple to win, Apple has to do a really great job." The competition was over in Steve's mind, and the spotlight was back on product innovation.

Fourteen years later Apple has recently spent time as the most valuable company in the world.  They have since shrugged that title off to Exxon, but the timing of Steve Jobs’ resignation could be no more poignant.  He came in as Apple’s savior, lifted the company from irrelevance and placed their name on the tip of every technology user's tongue with products like the iPhone, iPad and Mac.  I’m not very astute when it comes to business history, but I can’t think of any other greater turnaround story off the top of my head.

I’ve been an Apple user since 2006, which is about a week compared to some of the tech vets out there.  That year, I owned my first iPod - a gift from my brother - and bought my first MacBook (the sexy black model).  Sure, I had used Macs before in school, but up until that point I was an earnest Windows user.  Since I bought that little black Macbook 5 years ago I’ve owned 3 other Mac computers, and several Apple-designed mobile devices.  I’ve only ever known Apple while Steve Jobs was leading the company to great heights, so I’m interested to see what the next few years will hold for my current favorite technology company.

Apple, Q3 2011

With all of that said I don’t expect Apple to fall back to the depths of the mid 90’s.  Steve Jobs has had to step down at Apple temporarily in the past due to his health, and it’s a safe bet that the company has been planning for this eventuality for a long time.  I also think that Jobs’ new position as employee and chairman of the board will keep him involved in critical decisions that will shape Apple’s next couple of years.  Beyond that, it’s difficult to say.  Truthfully I feel that the next year or two are already predefined for Apple.  They know what products will be released and where their research and development will look for the next breakout product so it may be 3, 4 or even 5 years before we see a “Job-less” Apple, and even then he may still be serving on the board of directors.

Legacy

As far as reflecting on the legacy of Steve Jobs goes, there’s a long list of accomplishments that coincide with bringing Apple back to life.  In many cases he helped to shape the tech industry as we see it today, particularly from a hardware and OS point of view.  It should also be noted that Steve Jobs’ strength wasn’t always in inventing brand new technologies, but rather perfecting them to the point that they would be adopted and loved by general consumers.  The personal computer, personal media player, smart phone and tablet computer all existed before Steve Jobs put his spin on them.  With that said he is responsible for doing all of the above the right way, and that's where his genius lies.  To me, Steve Jobs and Apple Computer have long exemplified a certain element of American exceptionalism, and the day that he isn't dreaming up the next awesome device that people around the world will love is a sad one.  I hope that he maintains influence at Apple and guides them on the right path moving forward.  Only time will tell.