Skip to content
apple-investor

Apple Investor

Investing News and Strategies

Primary Menu
  • Analysts
  • Apple Products
  • News
  • Trading
  • Home
  • 2013
  • April
  • Where’s the Vision?
  • News

Where’s the Vision?

Frances Henderson April 26, 2013 3 min read
wheres-the-vision-2

Are people losing faith in Apple because there’s no visionary spark at the helm? I think that’s a significant part of Apple’s stock performance of late. There was a grace period after Steve’s passing, but as time passed, the absence of a true, charismatic visionary at the top has hurt Apple.

There’s no problem from an operational aspect, things are running like a top, yet there is a huge deficit in the passion the iMaker once exuded. Maybe it’s just perception, but it is clear that the reality distortion field has dimmed and people that were once devotees of the Apple aura, are now being swayed by number of features rather than the balance between form and function.

Apple didn’t ascend from the ashes because it engaged in a feature war! No! In fact Apple did exactly the opposite, they bucked the trend, rejected the status quo, and reduced features, reduced choice, made things simple, elegant, you felt like the products were made for you. The philosophy that brought Apple back from obscurity, was simplicity.

Part of that vision, Steve’s vision, was that Apple would not cow tow to focus groups and broad market appeal. No, instead they would simply create insanely great products, and if you were someone that was willing to pay the price for a premium product, then all was good, if not, then Apple (Steve) didn’t want you as a customer.

All this talk about Apple releasing a cheaper iPhone, so they can broaden the consumer base, is antithetical to this vision. It’s doubtful that Apple, with Tim Cook at the helm, is likely to go down that path. Unless of course, Tim Cook has lost the spirit of his mentor. I feel Steve’s impression will last for quite some time.

Tim Cook is a smart man, a highly effective operations executive, perhaps history will prove him to be the best, and I think he knows not to upset what works. The problem is that he may not know what to do when the landscape changes, and he’s forced to innovate. If he’s truly inherited the vision thing, and if Steve did his job well enough to surround Tim with people that can collectively carry on in a Steve-like way, then all is good.

But we need a sign. We need to feel Steve’s vision lives on, that it is embodied in the key executives, and that it’s strong. The problem is, neither Johnny Ive or Phil Schiller, the two most likely to show a modicum of charisma, have yet to connect with the public. Apple needs a charismatic leader.

Will someone rise to that need? Who is the most likely candidate, and how will they learn to be that charismatic leader? It can certainly be done, and perhaps all it will take is some hard work and training.

It sounds simplistic, but think back when Steve was very young. He was awkward, with few social graces, and no one ever labeled him as charismatic. But he learned, he studied, he practiced. Perhaps it took the humility of leaving Apple and starting Next from the ground up, to mature; perhaps he just did it because he recognized it was the simplest path to selling his vision.

I think Johnny Ive can do it. He’s already has mastered the simple stick, and certainly has the aesthetic eye, a master of balancing form and function, and he has the temperament and likability factor. Johnny just needs a good dose of charisma. Who do you think can lift Apple?

Continue Reading

Previous: Carolina Milanesi – Cheap China Tablets Provide Stiff Apple Competition?
Next: Is Wall Street Anti-Apple?

Related Stories

Only 38 Days to Apple’s WWDC15 only-38-days-to-apples-wwdc15-2
2 min read
  • News

Only 38 Days to Apple’s WWDC15

June 11, 2016
Apple Confirms October 16 It’s Been Way Too Long Event apple-confirms-october-16-its-been-way-too-long-event-2
1 min read
  • News

Apple Confirms October 16 It’s Been Way Too Long Event

June 11, 2016
Apple Takes the Lead in Supplier Responsibility, Accountability apple-takes-the-lead-in-supplier-responsibility-accountability-2
5 min read
  • News

Apple Takes the Lead in Supplier Responsibility, Accountability

June 11, 2016

Recent Posts

  • Alligator Indicator by Bill Williams
  • Best Stocks To Invest In
  • Blue Chip Stocks
  • How do I go about Investing My Money?
  • How to Evaluate Your Investments in 6 Easy Steps

News

Only 38 Days to Apple’s WWDC15 only-38-days-to-apples-wwdc15-2
2 min read
  • News

Only 38 Days to Apple’s WWDC15

Frances Henderson June 11, 2016
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference starts on Monday June 8th and ends on the following Friday, June...
Read More
Apple Confirms October 16 It’s Been Way Too Long Event apple-confirms-october-16-its-been-way-too-long-event-2
1 min read
  • News

Apple Confirms October 16 It’s Been Way Too Long Event

Frances Henderson June 11, 2016
Apple confirmed yesterday that it would be hosting an event on Thursday October 16th. Sure, that much...
Read More
Apple Takes the Lead in Supplier Responsibility, Accountability apple-takes-the-lead-in-supplier-responsibility-accountability-2
5 min read
  • News

Apple Takes the Lead in Supplier Responsibility, Accountability

Frances Henderson June 11, 2016
It’s old news, yet Apple haters still argue with me, that Apple runs sweatshops in China, where...
Read More
Apple Volatility is on the Plate for 2015 apple-volatility-is-on-the-plate-for-2015-2
3 min read
  • News

Apple Volatility is on the Plate for 2015

Frances Henderson June 11, 2016
Happy New Year, and What a great year 2014 was for the Apple Auto Trader! This past...
Read More
How Did Apple’s Post Earnings Crash Affect You? how-did-apples-post-earnings-crash-affect-you-2
3 min read
  • News

How Did Apple’s Post Earnings Crash Affect You?

Frances Henderson June 11, 2016
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Be honest, I won’t tell. Did your brokerage account suffer a serious ding from that surprise...
Read More

You may have missed

Alligator Indicator by Bill Williams Alligator Indicator
7 min read
  • Apple Products
  • Trading

Alligator Indicator by Bill Williams

August 2, 2021
Best Stocks To Invest In stocks
4 min read
  • Investing
  • Trading

Best Stocks To Invest In

July 26, 2021
Blue Chip Stocks blue-chip-stocks
4 min read
  • Investing
  • Trading

Blue Chip Stocks

July 20, 2021
How do I go about Investing My Money? moneymoney
4 min read
  • Investing
  • Trading

How do I go about Investing My Money?

July 12, 2021
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclaimer
  • Strategy
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Testimonials
  • What You Get
Copyright © Apple-Investor. All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.