(Note: Originally posted on August, 25th, 2011)
CEOs and managers may respire. Their hardship is finally over. After Steve's resignation death on Wednesday, Oct., 5th, (added Oct., 7th) nobody - they hope - will compare them to Steve again.
They all hated to be compared to a phenomenon. They all hated to be confronted with expectations only a Steve Jobs could live up to.
And they had a great excuse: he was the only one, there was no other coming near to his achievements. Yes, he was a phenomenon, and they themselves were great managers. They could live with that.
I must disenthrall them all, it's even worse: they all could become a Steve Jobs, they all could innovate, they all could transcend markets, they all could build Informal Markets (as I call them), they all could introduce revolutionary business models, and realize them successfully. No excuses apply.