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October 2011 was a month of historic milestones for Apple. At the end of the prior month, on Tuesday, September 27, Apple sent media invitations for a press event to be held October 4, 2011 at 10:00 am at the Cupertino Headquarters for a major announcement. Several prominent industry analysts proclaimed with hopeful optimism that the firm would announce the return of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Sadly, Steve Jobs did not appear for what turned out to be a product announcement of the iPhone 4S. In fact, Jobs had stepped down as CEO on January 17, 2011, a year and a half after returning from medical leave. He stated that Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Operating Officer, would run day-to-day operations as he had previously done during Jobs' 2009 medical leave.
The analysts' wishful thinking had some basis in more than cult like denial of Steve Jobs' mortality. In fact, despite that medical leave, Jobs had returned for the iPad 2 launch on March 2 and the iCloud introduction on June 6. The analysts were among many constituents around the world who were to be tragically disappointed. Jobs actually had resigned as CEO on August 22, 2011 saying, "1 have always said if there ever came a day when 1 could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, 1 would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come" (Isaacson, 2011). Six weeks later, a day after the new iPhone press conference, he died (Isaacson, 2011).
The grief within Apple's ranks across the globe was profound, but enthusiasm for his product legacy soared. In the first 24 hours after its October release, 1 million 4S models were sold. A key Jobs goal was reached posthumously as Apple became the largest mobile handset vendor in the world by revenue in 2011, surpassing Nokia, then the long-time leader. That quarter, Apple reported historic high earnings with 53 percent of its revenue derived from sales of 37 million iPhones.
In the life stage of monarchies, the palace crier proclaimed, "Long Live the King" followed by, "The King is dead," and then "Long Live the King." As Apple rallied around the leadership team which survived the death of founder Steve Jobs, customers,...