Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs reportedly left behind plans for four more years worth of Apple products when he died last week.The Daily Mail reported over the weekend that Jobs worked for the last year of his life on a plan for more products to ensure his Cupertino company's success after his death.
The report cites unnamed Apple sources who said that while he knew his end was near, Jobs was outlining new versions of the iPad, iPhone, iPods and Macbooks, as well as working on iCloud, the automatic remote backup of photos, music and other files.
Apple does not pre-announce what it is working on, so those reports, though having the ring of authenticity, do not make clear whether Apple now has plans only to tweak its existing products, or whether there is some additional roadmap for products that could create whole new markets, something Steve Jobs uniquely was able to do.
That's the big issue for Apple. Its ability to manage its current business is not really in doubt. The issue is whether Apple in the future can create additional brand new markets without Steve Jobs. You might use the analogy of Disney. It has a profitable business long after its founder, Walt Disney, died. But you might also note that much of its recent success is due to ownership of the ABC network and its properties, such as ESPN.
It is harder to see how Disney, without Walt Disney, has "created" and "innovated" in quite the same way without Walt Disney.
That's the big issue for Apple. Its ability to manage its current business is not really in doubt. The issue is whether Apple in the future can create additional brand new markets without Steve Jobs. You might use the analogy of Disney. It has a profitable business long after its founder, Walt Disney, died. But you might also note that much of its recent success is due to ownership of the ABC network and its properties, such as ESPN.
It is harder to see how Disney, without Walt Disney, has "created" and "innovated" in quite the same way without Walt Disney.
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