TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Dan Moren wrote this after Jobs’s last leave of absence:

But while Steve as the one-man prophet, priest, and king may be irreplaceable—and I brook no argument over the fact that he’s a Great Man—that doesn’t mean that he can’t be replaced at all. Over the years, Apple’s developed a solid roster of senior talent in a myriad of fields, all of them players brought to the majors with the approval of Jobs himself. As CEO, he’s built a team that subscribes to his ideology, who can ably steer the ship in his absence, whether it be temporary or permanent.

That’s right. Jobs didn’t build Apple to orbit around him; he built it as an organization that embodies his values—small, start-up teams; relentlessly making something as good as it possibly can be; focus on the company’s competencies; and only enter new markets that provide an opportunity for Apple to define them.

Whether this is when Jobs will retire or not, Apple will go on, and we’ll see what I think is his greatest achievement: building an organization that can succeed without one man.