史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)卸任首席执行官后，苹果公司(Apple)的命运将会如何？围绕这个问题，人们无疑将辩论一段时间。该公司是否将保住其在科技行业非同寻常的领导地位？凭借这种地位，该公司已接近成为全球市值最高的上市公司。
乔布斯对企业的全神贯注，以及他所取得的成功，几乎没有一个老板（甚至创始人）比得上。他不只是一位首席执行官，他一直像是一个舞台监督——运筹帷幄，带领苹果公司发展壮大。
以往的事实证明，有他在，苹果的命运就看好，没有他在，公司就会走向衰落。就创造力而言，所有的“高产期”肯定都是在乔布斯的领导之下——从上世纪80年代具有偶像级地位的Macintosh电脑，到近年迸发的iPod媒体播放器、iPhone智能手机和iPad平板电脑。他不在的时期，苹果未能推出任何令人难忘的产品。苹果的业绩也呈现出同样的规律。如今该公司赚得盆满钵满，与上世纪90年代几乎陷入破产的窘境形成了鲜明反差。
在某种程度上，聚焦于乔布斯带有误导性。近几年，他打造了一支世界级的管理团队。接班过程早已进行了精心规划，这也许是因为乔布斯曾经患病，导致他在2004年和2009年长时间病假。在他这两次病假期间，都是由他如今的继任者蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)执掌公司，并赢得了人们的敬佩。
不过，对任何继任者来说，挑战在于接替乔布斯的特殊才能：他善于凝聚技术愿景与审美情趣，并藉此引领苹果的业务活动。关于他对细节的关注，坊间有很多的传闻。据说，有一次他要求对iPhone作出改进，因为他觉得在这款智能手机的屏幕上，谷歌(Google)标识中第二个黄色的“o”的色度不对。
乔布斯的威望，使他能够把苹果的资源押注于相对较少的几种产品，而这些产品往往是实验性的。投资者对他的判断力的信心，可被视为苹果“秘密武器”之一。相比之下，惠普(Hewlett-Packard)最近公布的激进战略却导致股东一片哗然。
虽然乔布斯的辞职信带有永别的语调，但苹果还没到在没有乔布斯的情况下面对生活的地步。只要董事会同意（这当然不会有问题），乔布斯将留任董事长。但是，当乔布斯与苹果的缘分走到尽头时，苹果将需要替换他给公司带来的关键“火花”。历史似乎表明，这只能来自另一个天才，而不是一支管理团队，无论这个团队多么富有才华。
译者/和风
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001040351
The debate will no doubt rage for some time about how Apple will fare now Steve Jobs has stepped down as chief executive. Will the group retain its extraordinary leadership in the technology sphere – one that has carried it to the brink of becoming the world’s most valuable listed company?
Few bosses – even founders – have defined their companies with quite the intensity that Mr Jobs brought to the task, nor enjoyed the same success. More than a chief executive, he has been a sort of impresario – the presiding intelligence behind Apple’s growth.
The company’s fortunes have waxed with his presence and waned without him. Creatively, all of the fecund periods have certainly been under Mr Jobs’ leadership – from the development of the iconic Macintosh in the 1980s to the recent flowering of iPod, iPhone and iPad. It is hard to think of anything memorable in his absence. And it has been the same with Apple’s finances. Contrast its current prosperity with the position in the 1990s, when it nearly collapsed into bankruptcy.
To some extent, the focus on Mr Jobs is deceptive. In recent years, he has built a world-beating management team. The succession process has been well planned – perhaps due to Mr Jobs’ past illnesses, which led to him taking extended leave of absence in 2004 and 2009. His replacement, Tim Cook, ran the company on both occasions and is well regarded.
The challenge for any successor though is to replace Mr Jobs’ special talent; his ability to bring a technological vision and aesthetic sensibility to bear on Apple’s activities. Stories abound about his attention to detail. He once demanded changes to the iPhone because he felt the second “o” in Google’s logo was the wrong shade of yellow on the screen.
Mr Jobs’ authority allowed him to bet Apple’s resources on a relatively small number of often experimental products. Investors’ confidence in his judgment can be seen as one of Apple’s secret weapons. Compare it with Hewlett-Packard, where a radical strategy has led to shareholder uproar.
Apple does not yet have to confront life without Mr Jobs, in spite of the elegiac tone of his resignation letter. He will stay on as chairman as long as the board consents, which it surely will. But when the link is finally broken, Apple will need to replace the vital spark that he has brought to its affairs. And history suggests that this can only come from another individual, not a management team, however talented.
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