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Years left in the Jobs era?

Years before Steve Jobs retires?

  • Total voters
    82
TheMonarch

TheMonarch

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 6, 2005
1,467
1
Bay Area
Well, now that Bill Gates has decided to leave Microsoft...

How many years do you think Steve Jobs has left in him before he steps down at Apple?
 
I've thought about that very question. I don't know. :confused:

It seems in recent years he hasn't been looking that great and I can't help but think we haven't had any special events with product releases lately because he hasn't been up to it (...or maybe it's just Apple's new marketing strategy. Who Knows?).
 
Knowing Apple, they'll keep Steve Jobs as CEO long after he stops contributing to the company. ...or for all we know, that's already happened! :eek:
 
EricNau said:
Knowing Apple, they'll keep Steve Jobs as CEO long after he stops contributing to the company. ...or for all we know, that's already happened! :eek:
Click to expand...

Very true. Removing Steve from the Apple appeal would remove some of the great values that Apple as a company has. His effect on the company and other people views of the company is huge.

And perhaps what you say has already happened. But even if it has, as long as he is there as the 'frontman' of the company, success is certain.

EDIT: BTW, I voted 5 years.
 
I truly believe Apple is in Steve's blood. He did not leave willingly last time, nor will he this time. I think he's in for life, unless by some turn of events he starts leading Apple down.
 
Steve Jobs will live forever. He will never leave Apple. The Cult of Steve will spread throughout the Universe as the immortal god lives on.
 
Steve Jobs seems like he could be on the short list of people to take the helm of Disney/Pixar and we would all benefit.
 
He's only 50/51 isn't he?? if his health stands up... I'd say another decade.

Retirements a crap excuse for people that don't like what they do... I'll never retire from designing for example. ;)
 
zelmo said:
I truly believe Apple is in Steve's blood. He did not leave willingly last time, nor will he this time. I think he's in for life, unless by some turn of events he starts leading Apple down.
Click to expand...

I agree... Apple is Steve's baby. As long as things continue to go well with the Macintosh/iPod/iTunes brands, he'll be quite content to remain at the helm for another decade if not more.

Gates was a greedy bum... he got his cash and now he wants out. Steve, on the other hand, is not in it for the money. He's in it for the experience of leading a company to create great products.
 
1. Steve loves Apple, and I can't imagine him wanting to leave any time soon

2. Apple has a lot of momentum right now, but I think they would instantly lose much of that momentum if Steve were to leave right now. I'm not saying the company would instantly go to hell in a hand basket, but the company would have less of a cult following, and without Steve's keynotes there wouldn't be as much press coverage of Apple.

3. I don't think Steve is out of ideas just yet.

If I were to guess, I would say in roughly 8 years Apple will introduce the next gen operating system (OS11, though i'm sure that's not what it will be called), and that's when Steve will start to transition his way out of Apple, much the way Bill Gates is doing now with Vista about to come out.
 
I honestly don't think he'll be there for much longer. Over the last six months, he's been looking steadily less healthy, which really isn't a good sign. He's lost a lot of weight recently, which makes me wonder whether his cancer has returned. American posters may be able to answer this. Is it an SEC requirement to announce if your CEO is suffering from a major illness?

Not pleasant to think about, but the evidence seems to point to it.
 
I give him 4-5 years. of course Jobs loves his job- he's filthy rich! Until I personally meet him, I can't say how he fills about his job. I think a change could bring in some excitment though. I have no loyalty to Steve haha :)
 
His last name is "Jobs" how is he supposed to be able to retire.:rolleyes: He will work for eternity. But I give him 5 more years at Apple.

Plus I see Steve on the Apple BOD long after he retires.
 
Five seems to be the favorite number, and it's mine too, but for somewhat different reasons. In 2011, he'll be able to say it's been 35 years since he started Apple, and it's time to move on and step down as CEO. This also gives him time to select and groom a successor and to secure his legacy. I doubt he'll ever use the "r" word, though. That would be very un-Steve-like.

All assuming his health holds out, of course. That's a major question.
 
zelmo said:
I truly believe Apple is in Steve's blood. He did not leave willingly last time, nor will he this time. I think he's in for life, unless by some turn of events he starts leading Apple down.
Click to expand...
I would tend to agree with this.

Apple is Steve's passion. Passions don't die easily.

I doubt he would be around without active participation. Steve is too type A for that to happen. Either he will be at the helm or not.

I would not be surprised if he stayed on for another 10 years based on his passion. He makes critical decisions all the time. Significant ones such as the transition from PPC to Intel. And that was done at the very last minute.

Health and family are more of a concern as one grows older. One of these days he will change his priorities and go down another path in life. I just hope that it is a long ways away since the current ride is so much fun.
 
I voted 7.. because I feel like 5 more years is too short a time, and 10 years.. well eventually he's going to want to retire (from the Limelight). There's already been changes in Apple's hierarchy that signal the old guard moving onto retirement. It's been theorized on who some of the replacements might be fore SJ. Will it happen soon? No. The transition from PPC to Intel will be LONG over and a memory before SJ starts thinking about moving on.. assuming his health stays up.
 
yellow said:
I voted 7.. because I feel like 5 more years is too short a time, and 10 years.. well eventually he's going to want to retire (from the Limelight). There's already been changes in Apple's hierarchy that signal the old guard moving onto retirement. It's been theorized on who some of the replacements might be fore SJ. Will it happen soon? No. The transition from PPC to Intel will be LONG over and a memory before SJ starts thinking about moving on.. assuming his health stays up.
Click to expand...

I agree, I think that 5 is too short and 10 is too long. So 7 seems like it should be a good fit. I think he will leave shortly (1-2 years) after we see the next-gen OS from Apple (OS XI). After that transition is complete, I believe he will step down as CEO and take a more advisory position in the company.
 
I say 7 years.

Five years will go by like *that*. I think Steve will want to make sure that there is an established, sustained rise in the Mac's market share, that the Mac and iTMS become a full-fledged media system, and that OS 11 (or whatever the successor will be called) is firmly in place...and I think those things may take a little more than five years to come to fruition.
 
scene this evening from the Jobs home...

"hon- look what those crazy mac-rumors guys have said now"
"what on earth?"
"ha! they expect me to retire! -- those guys... just so funny"
 
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