[chris (OP)]

What does everyone here think about the announcement that Steve Jobs is stepping down from Apple?

[Geezer]

That's impossible to predict without inside knowledge, but my guess is that, over time, it will become less of a market leader.

[JP]

Jobs is stepping down as CEO, but he'll stay on as chairman, apparently, so he won't be gone entirely.  From what I've read about Apple, in addition to his personal decisions, Jobs also put a lot of very bright, creative people in upper management, so the company is probably going to stay strong in the near-term due to having a lot of talent.  They also have a huge lead already in the smartphone, mp3 player and tablet markets.

I think they're going to do fine in the short term, but in the long term, it depends if they have the same kind of talent that Jobs had for figuring out what the "next big gadget" is.

I say this, by the way, as someone who doesn't particularly like or use apple products.  I find them overpriced and gimmicky, personally. 

[Geezer]

I agree JP. The problem is that when you have a lot of bright and talented people, you need someone who can provide the sort of leadership that will keep them focused on the task at hand rather than trying to kill each other. Jobs was doing that as CEO, but it takes a large amount of effort. As chairman, he'll be much less "hands on".

[CliffordK]

My guess is that over the last 2 years or so, Steve Jobs has been less and less active as a day to day company leader, and other managers have already been taking a greater role in the company leadership.  I presume the transition will be smooth.  For the time being, as chairman of the board, Steve Jobs will likely continue with some new product development, but undoubtedly he will quietly retire in the next couple of years.

I think the biggest risk is that in the future, the company will choose to promote a CFO (chief financial officer) to the CEO position.  Someone who is good with numbers, and looks pretty on paper, but isn't a true leader. 

In fact, the resume summaries for Tim Cook look somewhat less like a visionary leader, and more of a "bottom dollar" leader for the business. 

Cook is credited with pulling Apple out of manufacturing by closing factories and warehouses around the world. This helped the company reduce inventory levels and streamline its supply chain, dramatically increasing margins. In January 2007, Cook was promoted to COO.