TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

The Five Tasks of Apple's Steve Jobs

Eric Lundquist | Date: 06-29-09 | Comments

Back from major surgery, Jobs has the opportunity to make a difference.

Steve Jobs is one tough character. Amid much speculation about his health, he avoided all the bloggers trying to follow his every move, got himself a new liver and is now back at work.

Let's give Steve his due: Of all the tech execs who have come and gone or come and remained, Jobs has done the very best job of melding design, vision, marketing and innovation to create a true American icon. And he's done it with enough regularity to almost be boring in his pursuit of all things Apple. So now that he is back from the cliff's edge, what should he do? Here are my five suggestions.

1. Something big. Apple's role in the blossoming world of cloud computing is small compared with Amazon, Google, IBM and all the other cloud wannabes. How about creating the Apple service cloud that is as elegant as its laptops? I'm talking about something better than iPhone apps or iTunes downloads. Maybe it will be Apple that finally ties all the social networks into a manageable cloud offering.

2. Something small. Can it get smaller than the iPhone? Maybe not, but despite all the elegance of the iPhone, the device is only as good as the network that carries the signal. Maybe Steve needs to build out his own Apple network. There was talk about Google doing that a few years ago. Steve has never been troubled about steamrolling over vendor partners when he sees an opportunity that the partners are slow to accept. Just ask IBM.

3. Something green. I'm thinking that maybe your house's electrical, heating and air conditioning system should be controlled by an Apple device.

4. Something green. As in money. I still haven't seen a digital payment system�micro or otherwise�that's ready for general adoption. Maybe Steve should show his more mercenary side and create a bank that people can actually trust.

5. Something good. The best thing Bill Gates did was to know when to leave the show to someone else and go out and try to save the world.

Steve's been through some trying times; he might as well try to save the world while he is still part of this mortal coil.