On Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced he is taking a medical leave considering his illness has become more complex. That news sent Apple’s stock down seven percent.

It wasn’t the first date the stock market worried about Jobs’ health. Apple’s stock plus tumbled in December when Apple announced that a gaunt Jobs would not give the keynote at Macworld. Earlier that month, Jobs disclosed that he suffered from a hormone imbalance, but said he would continue leading Apple.

The impact on Apple’s stock “was inevitable considering the perception in the market is that Steve drives everything at Apple and, as goes Steve, so goes Apple,” said Van Baker, a Gartner analyst. “This is not an accurate perception, as the executive team at Apple is very competent and capable of running the business very well.”

A rigid Call

So what does a company built around the iconic Jobs do? Does it […]

Orginal post by dhiram