{"id":24296,"date":"2011-10-06T08:50:32","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T12:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/fx\/2011\/10\/05\/steve-jobs-american-capitalist\/"},"modified":"2011-10-06T08:50:32","modified_gmt":"2011-10-06T12:50:32","slug":"steve-jobs-american-capitalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/fx\/2011\/10\/06\/steve-jobs-american-capitalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Jobs, American Capitalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

By The Sizemore Letter<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple (Nasdaq: $<\/span>AAPL<\/a>) loses its iconic founder, the tech world loses a true visionary, and all of us lose a hero of American capitalism.\u00a0 Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs.<\/p>\n

The press is full of eulogies that describe in detail the man\u2019s remarkable accomplishments in revolutionizing the technology world.\u00a0 But rather than think of Jobs as a tech<\/em> revolutionary, I prefer to think of him as a capitalist<\/em> revolutionary.\u00a0\u00a0 In his passing, he joins the pantheon of great American capitalists who revolutionized their industries, such as John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton.\u00a0 All of these men were giants in their own time whose sheer force of will propelled the creative destruction of human progress forward.<\/p>\n

Of all of these great men, Henry Ford is probably the best comparison.\u00a0 Ford didn’t invent<\/em> the automobile, but he made it available to the masses.\u00a0 And he created a consumer culture where one had never existed before.\u00a0 As a young man, Jobs did the same with the personal computer.\u00a0 And in middle age, he did it again with digital music, smart phones, and tablet computers.<\/p>\n

In a 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, Jobs offered advice that bears repeating today: \u201cYour time is limited, so don\u2019t waste it living someone else\u2019s life.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be trapped by dogma \u2014 which is living with the results of other people\u2019s thinking. Don\u2019t let the noise of others\u2019 opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Words of wisdom by a man who lived them himself.<\/p>\n

Jobs\u2019 passing does raise questions for the future of Apple.\u00a0 When Jobs retired from his post as CEO in August, I suggested that his absence would leave a void that would be difficult to fill.\u00a0 In August, I wrote<\/p>\n

\n

History is full of stories of successful companies that have prospered after the departure of an iconic founder. Wal-Mart (NYSE: $<\/span>WMT<\/a>), for example, has done just fine since the passing of Sam Walton. Going further back in time, John D. Rockefeller\u2019s oil companies survived his death and thrived to the point of trust-busting, living on today as ExxonMobil (NYSE: $<\/span>XOM<\/a>), Chevron (NYSE: $<\/span>CVX<\/a>), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: $<\/span>COP<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The difference, of course, is that innovation is far more important in a modern technology company than in a discount retailer or oil company. Jobs\u2019 successors will no doubt do a fine job of selling iPods, iPhone, and iPads. The question is \u201cwhat next?\u201d Without Jobs to think of the next great idea, is the rest of the Apple management team up to the task? Again, I don\u2019t have a satisfactory answer to this question.<\/p>\n

See The Steve Jobs Retirement: What it Means for Apple<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It may be somewhat counterintuitive, but I expect to see Apple\u2019s stock price enjoy a healthy short-term sympathy bounce.\u00a0 Markets, in the short term, are driven by emotions.\u00a0 And though it might not make any economic sense, I can see sentimentality taking the stock higher.<\/p>\n

Over the medium term, Apple should have enough Jobs-era products in the pipeline to keep things interesting, the recent disappointment concerning the iPhone update notwithstanding.\u00a0 But over the longer term, I don\u2019t see Apple maintaining its edge.<\/p>\n

Jobs\u2019 prot\u00e9g\u00e9s are capable managers, and I don\u2019t see Apple going out of business any time soon.\u00a0 I see the company being a worthy competitor for years to come.\u00a0 But I also don\u2019t see the company continuing to be the<\/em> hotbed of technological innovation.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what happens at Apple in the coming years, Jobs\u2019 legacy will survive because his legacy goes far beyond the company he led.\u00a0 Jobs will be remembered as the man who brought personal computers, legal music downloads, robust smart phones, and tablet computers to the masses.\u00a0 And he made technology \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By The Sizemore Letter Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple (Nasdaq: $AAPL) loses its iconic founder, the tech world loses a true visionary, and all of us lose a hero of American capitalism.\u00a0 Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs. The press is full of eulogies that describe in detail the man\u2019s remarkable … <\/p>\n

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