Sharpe's Opinion

What a Difference a Week Makes

Steve Jobs is taking a six month leave of absence from Apple because, he says, his health issues are ‘more complex than I originally thought’. This article from CNBC’s Jim Goldman seems to be the most informative of the bunch, and makes for difficult reading for those of us who admire and respect the visionary genius at the heart of Apple’s success:

For what it’s worth, I believe that Jobs’ health issues are a moving target, indeed hard to pin down, and that it is very likely that its status has changed and evolved since his initial diagnosis in 2004. When Jobs said he didn’t know what was wrong, I think he believed it; that it was based on fact. I believe him when he says that up until recently, and only after those sophisticated tests, did doctors really understand what was wrong with him. I believed, and continue to believe, my sources who told me that Jobs was still in charge, no matter his health status.

What I’m having deep difficulty with is what has transpired this past week. Last week’s note may have been true, but I’m having enormous issues believing his note this week. There’s more than an air of dishonesty about it. Maybe it’s because I believe he released it only after realizing there was a media missile pointed directly at Cupertino and he was trying to get out ahead of the story rather than mopping up after it. Apple’s strategy about all this has been curious from the get-go. Not such a surprise when everything centers around such a mercurial guy.

Much like John Gruber (whose post on this subject is also essential reading) I simply wish Jobs well and hope he has a speedy recovery. A world without him – through retirement or worse – would be a poorer place, more so than almost anybody else in the technological world.