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Steve Jobs On Medical Leave, But Still At The Helm

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Steve Jobs has been on medical leave for more than six months and in that time Apple's stock price has risen more than 20 percent. Since he's been gone, according to the San Jose Mercury News, Steve Jobs has relaxed and focused on the big picture -- rather than micromanaging every tiny detail:

"They tell me he calls in regularly. He talks to Tim, he talks to the top guys, he talks about the Apple stores," [analyst Tim Bajarin with Creative Strategies] said. "But while he used to micromanage everything in ways that most CEOs would not, right down to issues with the company cafeteria, the big change with his latest leave is that there's less micromanagement and more management of his executive team and the big-picture issues."

Corporate CEOs are traditionally concerned with big-picture issues. Jobs, though, is famous for being a micromanager: insisting on overseeing even the smallest of details. His detail-oriented focus has seen him actively participate in a number of projects at Apple, efforts that have even resulted in his name appearing on dozens of Apple patent applications.

Since Steve Jobs has been on medical leave, he's leaving more of the day-to-day work to Tim Cook and Apple's hand-picked upper-management team. If Apple's growing stock price is any suggestion, shareholders think having Jobs focus on the big picture is just fine.

Top Rated Comments

196 months ago
Even though I know you hate my smartphone platform of choice, I still love you, Steve.
Are you rocking the ESPN phone? :D
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
196 months ago
"Let the fools have their Tar-Tar Sauce."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
196 months ago
It'll be interesting to see how they pass off the role of CEO to (probably) Tim Cook. They have to do it just right or the stock could tank, not that it would do any permanent damage or anything.

Tim Cook is an operations guy, not a visionary leader. A better choice would be Steve Jobs apprentice Scott Forstall but he's not ready yet.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aknabi Avatar
196 months ago
wish the best for steve jobs.i love him really , if Tim cook become the CEO i won't be happy , i want Steve jobs to be the CEO for ever

and ever and ever... hi I am like 13 years old and put hello kitty stickers on my iPhone... and wait every night for Steve Jobs to call me on it
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
196 months ago
I wish Steve the best. I hope he recovers more, so he can be CEO again. But then again, I hardly think about it, as he still does the Keynotes.

Get well Steve.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
res1233 Avatar
196 months ago
I'm curious why you think Apple isn't after more quantity.

I'm sure they'd like quantity, but not while sacrificing quality. If Apple truly cared about selling in massive numbers, they probably wouldn't be making computers out of solid blocks of aluminum, and would stick to plastic boxes like everyone else.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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