Steve Jobs’ enduring legacy

With the largest single day product launch ever in Apple history – multiple iPhones, Watch, Mobile pays – Tim Cook will likely quiet a number of his critics who have been harping Apple has forgotten how to innovate. The Watch in particular breaks the mold with the wide range of configurations of size, alloys, straps and other components. In some ways, it reflects the wide number of SKUs Cook has seen Nike introduce as a member of their board and what Angela Ahrendts has brought from her Burberry’s fashion industry background.

Nothing against Cook, but some of the credit still goes to Steve Jobs. His biggest single contribution was building a dream team as I have blogged before

“To me, Steve Jobs created a petri dish and threw in all kinds of rare elements – Tim Cook’s operational excellence, Jony Ive’s design aesthetic, Ron Johnson’s retail experience, Scott Forstall’s ecosystem vision, Phil Schiller’s marketing chops, and many others including Terry Gou, CEO of Foxconn, the contract manufacturer. It took a while to gell, and likely required all kinds of ego and conflict management, but his enduring legacy is having created and managed that dream team which even with a few changes continues to do well.”