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It's true that the first time Steve Jobs left Apple, it didn't take long for things to go badly for the company, but I feel that this time around (that is, since 1997 when he came back as CEO), Steve Jobs surrounded himself with a great team, making sure that this wouldn't happen again. The fact that Tim Cook is taking over is a good example of that: someone from inside Apple who has been around and key to Apple's su…
Things were going downhill before Steve left the first time. This is a very different scenario where they're at the top of their game.
But my main point is that I feel that it was an important lesson for Steve Jobs. In the 80s, he had picked an experienced CEO that didn't know anything about Apple. The current team is all about Apple and I would think Steve Jobs learned that it's more beneficial to groom internal people to take the helm.