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If Steve Jobs died tomorrow, Apple's stock would fall a gigantic amount and anyone who owns it would be totally screwed, at least in the short term. It is in St

by dcurtis 18y ago

If Steve Jobs died tomorrow, Apple's stock would fall a gigantic amount and anyone who owns it would be totally screwed, at least in the short term. It is in Steve's best interest to at least give people a small idea of what is going on with him, so they can gauge risk. I personally think that's a sacrifice a person has to make to be a CEO.

mikeyur 18y ago
And if he disclosed that he was dying to the public, that would help the stock? When Steve dies Apple's stock is going to drop no matter what and it may not recover. Whether this info is given out months before or immediately after it makes no difference. Slow and painful or quick and painful, take your pick.
notaddicted 18y ago
Trying to control stocks in the short term is for suckers and idiots, and also it is not possible. Steve Jobs will die. Any sentient being buying the stock knows that; factor it in to your purchasing decisions.
- jonknee 18y ago
  The point being if he was secretly sick and about ready to die, Apple not saying anything would amount to fraud. Of course he'll die, but there's a difference between randomly being hit by a bus and knowing about a deadly disease for a year without any disclosure. There's room for improvement for the regulation in this space, but it's a sad reality. Luckily this doesn't appear to be the case.
sanj 18y ago
It is in Steve's best interest Really? Why?
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- nailer 18y ago
  The justification is contained at the end of the sentence you're quoting.
  - sanj 18y ago
    I disagree: to at least give people a small idea of what is going on with him, so they can gauge risk That's not in his best interest. It is in the stockholder's best interest, the company's best interest and (perhaps) that market's best interest. I fail to see how it is in Jobs's best interest.
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
    - nailer 18y ago
      It in Job's interest to serve his shareholder's interest.
- ericb 18y ago
  As Steve is a shareholder, if the stock price has uncertainty about his health factored in, and Steve announces his health is ok, the share price will likely rise and perform better going forward. If he is selling shares periodically to generate cash and diversify, he will get a better price.
unalone 18y ago
Emphasis on the short term. Look at Apple's top team. The people at the top are all incredible. I'd guess some of them are just as anal and headstrong as Jobs himself is. If Jobs dies, Apple goes on, probably more-or-less the same as it did before. It'll just find a new evangelist, and Apple absolutely has them to offer. This wasn't about sacrifice for the company. This isn't Jobs working a week without sleeping to get a product launched, or his leaving his own company because he thought it was going downhill. This was rumormongering. Jobs had a history of cancer, so people thought the worst; while that's partly understandable, the people who accused him needed to assume that Jobs was enough of a dick to just not tell people about a life-threatening disease for short-term growth. This continued after Jobs called that one reporter, insulted him, and then promised to tell him about his health condition off the book. As such, it's pretty shameful that Jobs had to come out and tell everybody about the state of his health. Media types, even tech media types, care more about a dramatic narrative than they do about accurate reporting, and that showed itself here.
- mixmax 18y ago
  I'm not so sure. Last time he was ousted from the company it dodn't go well at all...
  - unalone 18y ago
    Not well for him or for Apple? Jobs will go to extremes for his sense of justice. He could have stayed at Apple the first time, but he quit instead to make a new company that did what he felt he ought to do.
    - mixmax 18y ago
      for apple
    - chollida1 18y ago
      > He could have stayed at Apple the first time Really? In John Scully's biography he made it clear that Steve was told he would have to leave in no uncertain terms, by both the board and John Scully. They wouldn't even allow him to stay as the janitor because John couldn't trust that Steve wouldn't go around undermining him.
cstejerean 18y ago
He can die tomorrow of any one of many causes, one of which could be cancer. But unless every stockholder is also in the life insurance business they have no way to properly gauge the risk of Jobs dying on any given day.

by dcurtis 18y ago

mikeyur 18y ago

And if he disclosed that he was dying to the public, that would help the stock? When Steve dies Apple's stock is going to drop no matter what and it may not recover. Whether this info is given out months before or immediately after it makes no difference. Slow and painful or quick and painful, take your pick.

notaddicted 18y ago

Trying to control stocks in the short term is for suckers and idiots, and also it is not possible. Steve Jobs will die. Any sentient being buying the stock knows that; factor it in to your purchasing decisions.

jonknee 18y ago
The point being if he was secretly sick and about ready to die, Apple not saying anything would amount to fraud. Of course he'll die, but there's a difference between randomly being hit by a bus and knowing about a deadly disease for a year without any disclosure. There's room for improvement for the regulation in this space, but it's a sad reality. Luckily this doesn't appear to be the case.

sanj 18y ago

It is in Steve's best interest Really? Why?

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
nailer 18y ago
The justification is contained at the end of the sentence you're quoting.
- sanj 18y ago
  I disagree: to at least give people a small idea of what is going on with him, so they can gauge risk That's not in his best interest. It is in the stockholder's best interest, the company's best interest and (perhaps) that market's best interest. I fail to see how it is in Jobs's best interest.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - nailer 18y ago
    It in Job's interest to serve his shareholder's interest.
ericb 18y ago
As Steve is a shareholder, if the stock price has uncertainty about his health factored in, and Steve announces his health is ok, the share price will likely rise and perform better going forward. If he is selling shares periodically to generate cash and diversify, he will get a better price.

unalone 18y ago

Emphasis on the short term. Look at Apple's top team. The people at the top are all incredible. I'd guess some of them are just as anal and headstrong as Jobs himself is. If Jobs dies, Apple goes on, probably more-or-less the same as it did before. It'll just find a new evangelist, and Apple absolutely has them to offer. This wasn't about sacrifice for the company. This isn't Jobs working a week without sleeping to get a product launched, or his leaving his own company because he thought it was going downhill. This was rumormongering. Jobs had a history of cancer, so people thought the worst; while that's partly understandable, the people who accused him needed to assume that Jobs was enough of a dick to just not tell people about a life-threatening disease for short-term growth. This continued after Jobs called that one reporter, insulted him, and then promised to tell him about his health condition off the book. As such, it's pretty shameful that Jobs had to come out and tell everybody about the state of his health. Media types, even tech media types, care more about a dramatic narrative than they do about accurate reporting, and that showed itself here.

mixmax 18y ago
I'm not so sure. Last time he was ousted from the company it dodn't go well at all...
- unalone 18y ago
  Not well for him or for Apple? Jobs will go to extremes for his sense of justice. He could have stayed at Apple the first time, but he quit instead to make a new company that did what he felt he ought to do.
  - mixmax 18y ago
    for apple
  - chollida1 18y ago
    > He could have stayed at Apple the first time Really? In John Scully's biography he made it clear that Steve was told he would have to leave in no uncertain terms, by both the board and John Scully. They wouldn't even allow him to stay as the janitor because John couldn't trust that Steve wouldn't go around undermining him.

cstejerean 18y ago

He can die tomorrow of any one of many causes, one of which could be cancer. But unless every stockholder is also in the life insurance business they have no way to properly gauge the risk of Jobs dying on any given day.