I spent my lunch hour catching up on some technology reading and have three distinctly unique and thought-provoking articles to share with you all.

The first is a piece by Maxwell Wessel of the Harvard Business Review. Wessel writes that despite all the worshiping of Steve Jobs, it is really Bill Gates who we should be idolizing. The core of Wessel’s argument is Jobs should be lauded for creating live-altering gadgets for those with resources, but Gates should be held in higher esteem for tackling global issues for those without resources. This is not an Apple v. Microsoft article, but rather a short “be the change you want to see in the world” essay.

The second article breaks down “Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By“. In this Harvard Business Review piece, the four myths are:

1. Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand.
2. A little bit of anxiety helps us perform better.
3. Creativity is genetically inherited, and it’s impossible to teach.
4. The best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.

I’ll let you read the fantastic analysis to learn why each is a myth and destructive to an effective workplace.

The final piece, by Business Insider, examines today’s mobile marketplace and provides a graph that illustrates the growth and decline of mobile providers, as well as the vast ocean still available for conquest. Will a new provider fill the gap, or will Android or Apple seize the day?

I highly recommend spending 10 minutes and reading these articles. You will sound infinitely smarter around the water cooler and will impress your significant other at the dinner table this evening. Happy reading!

In honor of Steve Jobs, we present some of our favorite links from the past couple days remembering his fantastic life.

The 15 Best Steve Jobs Quotes – my personal favorite is what he said to Pepsi Executive John Sculley, when wooing him to Apple: “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”

Little did Jobs know when he brought Sculley into Apple in 1983, that Sculley would fire him two years later after failing to reign in the “creative chaos.” In 2010, John Sculley discussed the feud, his regrets and how they could have made it work.

Not only was Steve Jobs a technology genius, he also played an incredible role in creating fantastic marketing campaigns. The Daily Beast takes a look some of Apple’s most memorable advertisements.

If you really want to get to know the Apple founder, The Daily Beast picked their 7 favorite reads on Steve Jobs’ life. From a 1985 interview in Playboy, to a 1995 sit-down with the Smithsonian, these articles dig deep into what made Steve Jobs one of the most important men in our lifetime.

Finally, a cartoon by Dave Fitzsimmons:

With the passing of Steve Jobs, the world has lost a true visionary and innovator. What Apple has become under Jobs’ guidance is almost uncanny. The Apple II and Mac computers, the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone and the iPad all have the Steve Jobs stamp on them. Creating just one of those life-altering products would be a phenomenal accomplishment, but Jobs played an integral role in ALL of them. Apple is one of the most important companies in the world right now because they employed the most creative genius the earth had to offer. No one has shaped our future quite like him and he will be greatly missed.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences, email rememberingsteve@apple.com

Six weeks ago, I wrote about the possibility of Steve Jobs resigning in the imminent future… a story I hoped I was dead wrong on. Unfortunately, the warning signs  – Jobs’ deteriorating health and the surprising departures of VP of Software Engineering, Bertrand Serlet and Retail Chief, Ron Johnson – were key indicators that something was indeed in the works.

As Michael Rosenwald of the Washington Post appropriately said, “the announcement ends one of the most extraordinary runs in business history.” When Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, he took a company that was in complete disarray and orchestrated arguably the most impressive corporate turn-around ever.

The numbers speak for themselves:
1996: $7 billion revenue
2011: $100 billion projected revenue

The big question now is: Can Apple continue its domination with Tim Cook at the helm? Only time will tell, but history (Microsoft and Bill Gates being an obvious example) would probably say, ‘no.’

Tim Cook certainly appears to be an appropriate choice for the time being. The 50-year-old and 13 year veteran of Apple is a meticulous, no-nonsense workaholic who is considered an “operational genius.” As the Daily Beast reports, Cook “was responsible for crafting Apple’s current supply-chain system and helping to transform the company into one of the most efficient electronics manufacturers today.”

With Apple’s current line of products and short-term business plan in place, Cook will certainly be able to keep Apple on course. I can’t imagine their stock dipping terribly in the next 24 months. But what is Apple’s outlook in 36 – 48 months? Is Cook the product visionary to keep the Apple machine humming along? Here’s what Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw LLC, had to say in a recent Bloomberg interview:

“Tim Cook is very well regarded internally at the company. However, his forte is on the operations. He does not have the skill set to match Steve’s visionary capabilities, as well as ability to define products in unique times in history. So I think that shoe cannot be filled either by an individual or a group of individuals, and I think that chasm will exist as Steve Jobs moves on.”

If Kumar is correct, perhaps Cook is just a place holder while one of Apple’s many young talents proves themselves capable of being the next product development magician.

Pardon me, but I’ll also take the cautious approach. As a sports fan, let me use football as a way to illustrate my “show me and I’ll believe” attitude.

The quarterback is commonly acknowledged as the most important and most difficult to replace position in any team sport. He must be highly intelligent and quick on his feet. He must assess a rapidly changing landscape and react swiftly and decisively. And most importantly, he must captain a diverse team of individuals with unique talents to greatness. Steve Jobs was the Joe Montana or John Elway of quarterbacks – a perennial winner and a once-in-a-generation leader.

With Tim Cook now given the reigns to the offense, will he be Joe Montana’s replacement Steve Young, or John Elway’s replacement Brian Griese? For every team who gets lucky with a smooth transition to greatness (Steve Young won a Super Bowl just 3 years after replacing Joe Cool), there are dozens upon dozens of other teams who have reached the pinnacle of greatness only to stall and rebuild (Griese guided the Broncos to just 6 wins after Elway’s Super Bowl victory a year before).

Here’s hoping Tim Cook is the next Steve Young. The odds are stacked against him.

From industry insight to product tips, our monthly e-newsletter keeps you up-to-date with RJS news. In this edition, we investigate Steve Jobs’ health and what it means to Apple’s future, offer tips on free vulnerability assessments you can do at home and highlight several job opportunities available at RJS.

Check out our calendar of upcoming webinars and tradeshows.

View our August E-Newsletter.

I’d challenge you to find a more valuable CEO to a company’s future growth than Steve Jobs. Since his return to Apple in 1996, Jobs has seen profits skyrocket with the introduction of such game-changers as iTunes and the iPad… and those two products are just the tip of the iceberg. Jobs is a once-in-a-generation technological visionary and leader who has carefully molded his talented employees into catalysts of innovation for an entire industry.

With Apple now serving as the most dominant force in the computing industry, what could possibly stop them now?

The unfortunate answer is that the man who navigated arguably the most impressive turn-around in corporate history just might have to call it a career soon. As most of you know, Steve Jobs has been fighting significant health issues since 2004. In fact, he is currently on his third medical leave of absence within that 7-year period. Although he made a recent June appearance to introduce the iCloud, the audience was completely taken aback by how sickly and gaunt he appeared. As soon as Jobs left the stage, Apple’s stock even dipped with investors worried about his long-term health and its effect on the future of the company.

The fact is, if Jobs were to leave Apple entirely, this would be a crushing blow to a company that has quickly become the agent of change for evolving technology.

Of course an impending retirement is purely speculative at this point, but there are signs it may happen sooner than later. As I mentioned above, Jobs has surrounded himself with a phenomenal cast of supporting stars, whom are fiercely loyal. In today’s tumultuous economy, it can be difficult to find executive teams that stick together for a couple of years, let alone a decade. But with Jobs, this was not the case. Since his return, his brilliant ensemble has basically remained the same throughout Apple’s rise. However, two top lieutenants have recently left the ranks.

In March, Bertrand Serlet, the VP of Software Engineering, left. Serlet oversaw the development of Apple’s three most recent operating system releases – Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard, and is revered in the software development community. Just last month, Retail Chief Ron Johnson, mastermind behind the now iconic Apple stores, bolted for J.C. Penney. Johnson was widely respected and thought of as a future front-runner to become CEO.  

Now it certainly isn’t uncommon to see executives leave for better job opportunities, but you have to be concerned when two loyal talents leave when Jobs is “out of the loop.” In perhaps a telling statement, Newsweek’s Dan Lyons reported:

Interestingly enough, a J.C. Penney spokeswoman says the company first approached Johnson several years ago but that Johnson felt “it was not the right time then.”

But now the timing is right.

In Jobs’ absence, Tim Cook is once again acting CEO. From what I’ve read, Cook is likeable and a good leader, but lacks “the charisma and personal magnetism that can keep top talent around.” Besides his innovative personality, those two qualities are what makes Jobs such an impressive leader. There are a lot of smart people in the world, but it takes a truly incredible individual to motivate and guide a collection of minds to create life-altering technology. Jobs is that individual.

If and when Jobs finally leaves Apple, Cook will most likely fill his shoes. And who’s to say Cook can’t have a similar impact? If the past tells us anything, however, leaders like Jobs are nearly impossible to replace. Look no further than Apple’s biggest competitor, Microsoft. When Bill Gates worked his last full-time day in June of 2008, the computer giant was never the same. For Apple’s sake, let’s hope that Steve still has a lot of guidance and innovation left in the tank.