The thing is though, that Jobs have also successfully expanded the company in to new markets while still growing in the previous ones. He saved the Mac. He brought in the iPod. And with perfect timing he has brought in the iPhone and iPad. At least there is no signs what so ever that he is hurting them now - the fact that 50 percent of their revenue now comes from products that didnt exist three years ago is IMO a clear sign that he is still pushing the company in the right direction at the right time. Any other opinion is simply subjective and speculative, because if you look at the numbers, they're ****ing awesome right now.
I don't disagree, but I wonder how long that can last. The "i" series was certainly well timed and it earned them a major place in the tech sphere but Apple is big enough now that they they are targeted by competition. Thats a new thing for Apple.
The iPhone was a true Apple-esque revolution but what has changed since it was released? Sure, there are new features here and there but the phone itself isn't all that different. Meanwhile, you have consumers beginning to look to the competition, which has improved by leaps and bounds in those years. Don't forget that Android, for all its faults, is a major competitor now an has been moving up on Apple's strong market push.
Lets also not forget that users are asking for a lot of things that Apple isn't giving. Regardless of your opinions on the features themselves, there are users asking for Flash, for bluray on Macs, for the a mid price machine, etc. Apple did well in the past by following its own path but as their market share increased and competition heats up its going to get harder and harder to keep high growth without listening to what people want
I won't ever say that Jobs isn't an amazing leader - he is. He did amazing things that are almost unequaled in the tech industry. My only point was that he was the leader Apple needed to get them where they are but I don't know if hes the leader to take them where they are going...
