It’s hard to know how the new chief executive of Apple would be feeling right now.
Thrilled to have become the leader of the world’s greatest tech company?
Sad that his mentor, colleague and friend Steve Jobs has finally been forced to step down because of poor health?
Or petrified at the idea of following in Jobs’ footsteps?
I expect it would be a combination of all three. Cook will now have to fill the biggest shoes in global business and prove he can come close to replicating Jobs’ ability to pull together product design, marketing and sales.
But there’s one very interesting question here: Will Cook take power of Apple’s direction or will he share power with Jobs?
There are relatively few details about what role Jobs will actually take as chairman of Apple. It would appear for be a non-executive role, but that may not preclude Jobs from having a big say in key company initiatives. Indeed, Jobs letter to the Apple board says he looks “forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role”.
One way of looking at Jobs’ resignation today is that it formalises the arrangement that has existed while Jobs has been on medical leave – Cook runs the company, but Jobs continues to have a say on product development.
In the short-to-medium term, that arrangement probably suits everyone – investors, the board, Apple employees and customers. It allows for a smooth transition between the two leaders and will help reassure the market that Jobs’ genius isn’t lost to the company.
But thinking long-term, Jobs’ continued involvement in Apple may prove to be something of a challenge for Cook.
Even in a small company, working as CEO when the founder is still involved as chairperson can create leadership difficulties and means power must be delicately shared between the two roles.
It will not be easy for Cook to step out of Jobs’ shadow and put his own stamp on Apple’s products and strategy.
The best template for this may well be one of Apple’s eternal rivals: Microsoft. While founder Bill Gates remains chairman of the company – and is still an “advisor on key development projects,” according to his company bio – he has managed to create space for chief executive Steve Ballmer to put his strong stamp on the business while remaining strongly connected to his global empire.
This could be the perfect model for Jobs – and the best of both worlds for Cook, investors and Apple fans.
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James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
