The Web has been inundated with posts about Steve Jobs and his stepping down from Apple. This all comes with good reason as his influence over the company and multiple industries has literally shaped how we work and even given some of us new careers. I've been doing some thinking as I've been reading a lot related to this topic and I think what has become evident to me is that Apple has become an incredible product in and of itself. It is much larger than Steve Jobs.

Without Steve Apple would not exist in it's current capacity. There's no question about that. Apple has become a cultural entity. They have literally shaped industries and altered how we do things. They are more than just a company that sells electronic devices. Apple has a particular way of doing things and great products are merely a byproduct.

I don't think Apple will falter one bit in Steve's absence. Tim Cook has been a genius in his own right as the company has grown and I don't think what he's done on the operations side of the business is anything short of impressive. I would expect to see the industry shaping, bold decisions continuing to be made by Cook and the Apple team. That said, I really hope Steve's health improves and he's able to join the business community again. His impact has been so significant I have a hard time letting that go. I think there's a lot more we can learn from Mr. Jobs.