George Colony on Forrester Blogs:

When Steve Jobs departed, he took three things with him: 1) singular charismatic leadership that bound the company together and elicited extraordinary performance from its people; 2) the ability to take big risks, and 3) an unparalleled ability to envision and design products. Apple’s momentum will carry it for 24-48 months. But without the arrival of a new charismatic leader it will move from being a great company to being a good company, with a commensurate step down in revenue growth and product innovation. Like Sony (post Morita), Polaroid (post Land), Apple circa 1985 (post Jobs), and Disney (in the 20 years post Walt Disney), Apple will coast, and then decelerate.

Didn’t we hear this same crap when Jobs retired last year, and again after he died?

Does anyone really think that Cook et al are just riding Jobs’ coattails still, as they’re setting records for growth and profitability?

I look forward to 2014-2016, when Forrester CEO George Colony will be lauded as a visionary – the only one who really understood that beleaguered Apple was doomed from the start!

No, wait a minute, no he won’t. He’ll be ignored. Unlike people with a plan and the ability to execute it. Like, say, Tim Cook.