Can Apple Survive without Steve Jobs?

Tuesday, 18 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced yesterday he’s taking some time off for medical reasons, the third time he’s done so in six years. And Chris O’Brien is nervous. The San Jose Mercury News columnist says the source of his anxiety is the fact that it’s “hard to know what new product will drive Apple’s growth over the next decade.” And times of uncertainty are exactly when “the visionary genius of a Steve Jobs” is comforting both to consumers and investors. His absence has prompted O’Brien to consider just how important Jobs is to Apple and if the company can survive without him.

The Wall Street Journal says there’s no question that Apple’s COO Jeff Cook can “ably” run the company—he’s done it several times in the past. The worry to investors is the duration of Jobs absence, which has been left up in the air. Because so many people regard Jobs as a design guru, a protracted absence from Apple’s helm could shake consumer confidence in the company as a brand.