Haute 100 Update: How Steve Jobs’ Medical Leave is Actually Benefiting Apple

After treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009, Steve Jobs of Apple has been on a medical leave of absence for nearly six months now. Jobs remains the mega-company’s CEO and is still involved deeply in its major strategic decisions, but perhaps his medical leave has a plus side for the famous micromanager.

During his leave, Jobs has had little choice but to tone down his managerial style and focus more on the big picture, with more responsibility going to Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook and their carefully selected upper management. Jobs was somewhat infamously known for his focus on every little detail. On one hand, his micromanaging allowed for him to be personally involved in a number of Apple’s projects but he was also known to meddle with issues involving things like the company’s cafeteria.

Bottom line, Apple’s stock price has risen over 20 percent in the time the Jobs has been on his medical leave, and his focus more on the big picture seems to be doing quite well. Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies, got the inside scoop, “They tell me he calls in regularly. He talks to Tim, he talks to the top guys, he talks about the Apple stores.”

He adds, “But while he used to micromanage everything in ways that most CEOs would not, right down to issues with the company cafeteria, the big change with his latest leave is that there’s less micromanagement and more management of his executive team and the big-picture issues.”

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