Steve Jobs has been on medical leave from Apple for more than six months now. In that time, Apple’s stock has risen more than 20%. But not to worry, Steve Jobs fans, Steve hasn’t gone anywhere! According to a new report, he still calls in regularly and is still very much in charge.
The report, which comes to us from the San Jose Mercury News, continues to suggest that Steve Jobs has relaxed considerably – he no longer micro-manages every minute detail at Apple, but still calls in regularly, keeps in touch with Tim Cook, and shares his ideas and input.
This marks a significant change from Steve’s previous behavior as CEO. According to analyst Tim Barjarin at Creative Strategies, “…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.”
It’s unclear what has marked the change in Steve’s corporate attitude, going from a notorious micro-manager to a more subdued “team leader,” but his obsessively detail-oriented focus, which has formed and cemented the ideas that so many have had about Steve Jobs, appears to be no more.
Personally, I believe this is the beginning stages of Steve Jobs backing down from his role at Apple. Rather than putting his effort into ruling Apple with an iron fist, he seems to be carefully transitioning the company into its new management role, slowly removing himself from the picture as he does so.
So, what will Apple be like without the ever-present influence of Steve Jobs? According to Apple’s stock numbers, it’ll be pretty much as awesome and successful as it is now.
