Steve Jobs has once again rocked Apple fans’ worlds by announcing for the third time in seven years that he will be taking medical leave from his CEO post over the corporation.
Jobs, who co-founded Apple in 1976, has taken an extended medical leave two other times. In 2004 he underwent surgery for a rare type of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 Jobs underwent a liver transplant. It is unknown whether his current leave has to do with complications or relapses of prior conditions, but it’s worth noting that Jobs has a history of not being forthright about his medical health.
In the email that was sent to Apple employees on Monday, Jobs noted that he would still hold the CEO title and oversee decisions, though Tim Cook will now bear the responsibility of being the operational lead. He also asked for respect of his privacy:
“At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
“I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011."
“I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.”
The big question now is whether Jobs will eventually return, or if this leave of absence will be the beginning of finally phasing him out of the CEO seat he has dominated. Some in the industry have begun picking apart Jobs’ note for clues in his tone and wording.
“In our opinion, those are not the words of someone taking a short leave who is confident he will be back at the company soon (or ever),” writes Henry Blodget of BusinessInsider.com. “Rather, in our opinion, they read like the tragic, heartfelt sentiments of someone who thinks he might never be coming back.”
“Importantly, last time Steve wrote a memo to Apple staff about taking a medical leave, his tone and wording were quite different. Then, he said he would be gone ‘until June’ and said he ‘look[ed] forward to seeing all of you this summer,’” Blodget points out.
Others have criticized Apple’s decision to keep clinging to Jobs’ leadership rather than passing the dependence onto a successor prior to this point.
“Apple missed an opportunity to hand the day-to-day responsibility to another executive,” Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer at First Empire Asset, told BusinessWeek.com. “I am worried that the current decision to keep Steve Jobs as CEO is another mistake.”
Jobs’ final departure would definitely be the end of an era, but the company can still be successful without him, as they've proven before. Also, Jobs has been grooming Cook to be his successor for at least the past few years. Maybe it’s time to put an end to this dependency on Jobs and trust Cook to effectively lead.
