I've been following Apple since there was an Apple Computer. I used some of the earliest Apple II's while I was in college, bought one of the first Macs, and was a loyal Mac User up through the early nineties when it became a necessity for me to change to Windows (where I have been ever since...) I've seen the company with Steve Jobs, and without it, and "with" is better.

So I'm more than a little dubious about assurances that Jobs can take a six month (or longer) leave and everything will be just fine.

That's not the history, nor is it common experience.

If you want to see the impact a leader has, watch a new one come in to replace the old one. Its simply amazing to consider how the change of one person can have such a dramatic effect on a company. I have found myself working at the same desk but in an entirely different company after only three weeks with a new boss.

My personal experience with this have driven home the absolutely critical nature of "culture". You can go from success to failure as well as the reverse almost instantaneously with just a different outlook and philosophy, which arises out of the dynamic of having a new superior to perform for and please. Unfortunately for me, all my experiences have been bad, but I concede the theoretically possibility of a good outcome.

Steve Job's imprint on the culture of Apple can't be understated, in fact one recent article pointed out that he was breaking all the unwritten rules of the Silicon Valley. Where valley companies are supposed to be open and collaborative, Apple is secretive and proprietary. Where valley companies motivate their employees with perks, Apple prefers terror. You and I both know that this is simply a reflection of Steve Jobs' personality and that's the real problem with his absence. His lieutenants have been marching to his tune for years, but when the sit in the big chair, its their personalities that drive the corporate culture.

I'll just remind you how similar all this "don't worry, be happy" rhetoric is to Jack Welch's succession at GE.

(P)eople familiar with the company say Cook has had a very strong voice on the design and development table because of his responsibility for manufacturing the products. "Steve didn't make up the iPod, iPhone or iTunes all by himself," says Janes. "To get the manufacturing right you have to get the design details right and Tim has been there through the whole development process."

For nervous Apple investors, that should help soothe their worries about the transition.

Immelt was no Jack Welch, as Jack was only too happy to point out.

The ineffable quality of leadership is part of the reason CEOs command such fabulous compensation--shareholders have mistakenly believed that you could simply buy this kind of leadership, but this only emphasizes again how unique Steve Jobs is--quick--how many people have built more than one billion dollar company from the ground up?

Yeah--that many.

Six months is OK. Apple won't implode in six months, especially if they know the boss is coming back, but if this is more serious--and that seems likely considering Jobs' penchant for secrecy, then the ride may be soon over.
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MARK here. I've just discovered that I can tamper with Mick's post (heh heh) and I'll use it as as a hook to refer to Jobs' fascinating Stanford commencement speech, 2005, when he reflected on his cancer:

I saw Jobs give a NeXT presentation at the Savoy Hotel in London in about 1992 and was blown away. Get well, Steve.