Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Falling Far From the Tree

So once again, there's shuffling and speculation about the health of Apple's Steve Jobs.  He's taking his second medical leave of absence in two years, and the high tech world is abuzz with questions.  Will he come back?  Who could be his successor?  Who can give Apple the kind of creative vision that Lady Gaga will undoubtedly bring to Polaroid?  Is the world ready for a digital camera made of meat?

Since Polaroid, an imaging company, has signed Lady Gaga, at least nominally a musician, perhaps Apple, now partly a music company, should try to attract a visual artist.  Steve Jobs, as the largest shareholder in Disney, should be able to pull this off.  Might John Lasseter, writer of the Toy Story movies and director of  2/3 of them, be a good fit?  Or Spider-man mogul Stan Lee?  Or even Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson?  It's about time we heard from him again.

Of course, the next head of Apple should be someone who's very creative, perhaps someone whose background includes both art and theater.  Someone who understands technology, who holds an advanced technology degree and has worked for both hardware and software companies.  Maybe an Apple outsider, who can bring a fresh perspective.  Someone who can provide the maturity of experience, but who still thinks like a kid.  Mainly, someone who has vision, and can communicate that vision.

I'll be by the phone.

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