Steve Jobs is the face of Apple, and much has been made about how powerful his presence is in the organization. Perhaps more than any other company in the marketplace, there is a belief that Apple's very existence depends heavily on Jobs himself. This was made clear in recent years as Jobs has fought cancer; you could see the stock price fluctuate as his health reports leaked into the marketplace.
But it doesn't take much thought to realize the absurdity of such a bias. Yes, Steve has a strong influence on Apple's mission, processes and products. But to suggest that he single-handedly carries the load of $32 billion in revenue, 34,000 employees and bunch of cool products, just doesn't make sense. So what's the real secret behind Apple's success?
During the recent announcements of their new product, the iPad, Wall Street discussed how Apple distinguishes itself among its competitors. One reporter shared the following observation:
Truly outstanding designers, engineers and managers, Jobs says, are not just 10 percent, 20 percent or 30 percent better than merely very good ones, but 10 times better.
So while Jobs may not be the super hero that the world makes him out to be, he's still a brilliant guy. He's figured out that to create world class products that people line up for takes more than expressing his own ego. It takes a phenomenal team, and Apple has done an incredible job of finding, motivating and growing a very talented group of individuals. With Jobs as the face of Apple, they have a strong and smart personality to represent them in the marketplace. But what really makes him smart is the fact that he understands it truly is about talent—just not his alone.
Jennifer
