As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Apple has now officially entered the Tim Cook era. That was assured when Scott Forstall, who had a very close relationship with Steve Jobs, was shown the door. The company's leadership team has now been remade to fit with Tim's vision of the company.

In the short term, I like the new structure. I can't see any way that having Jony Ive involved in software UI design won't be an improvement. His sense of style and design is unmatched. I'm excited for the future. The other executives with new roles seem like good fits as well and have proven histories of doing good work. My big worry in all cases is that these talented people will be spread too thin. Having quality people underneath them will be critically important going forward. How does the bench look?

Tim has proven for more than a decade at Apple that he's unmatched as an operations guy. I also feel like he understands what has propelled Apple to these lofty heights. My concerns for the future of Apple are composed of two things:

Who heads up the whole vision thing in the absence of Steve Jobs?
Can Tim manage personnel at Apple?

The answer to the first will take a long time to be answered. It's a complex question and time will tell if Apple has anyone capable of a vision for finding the next big thing.

The answer to the second question concerns me. Nobody who's ever had to identify talent and manage capable people has ever said it's an easy job. Does Tim have the skills to get the job done? Some early signs are distressing.

The first major position Tim needed to fill was the departure of Ron Johnson, the head of retail who lead the Apple Stores to such lofty heights. When Tim announced the hiring of John Browett in January, he had this to say;

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Whoops! That didn’t work out too well and he's gone in less than seven months. What allowed Tim to make such a poor assessment?

Other personnel matters also offer some potential cause for concern. The retirement, un-retirement and subsequent promotion of Bob Mansfield smacks of indecision. The decision to dismiss Scott Forstall is also interesting. Scott made significant contributions to creating both OS X and iOS. He worked closely with Steve Jobs at both NeXT Computer and Apple. Steve didn’t suffer fools and saw value in having Scott involved on his team. His role as the head of iOS in particular is noteworthy. Apple’s revenue is now primarily driven by the two products running iOS. How will that software evolve now in his absence? Is Scott’s dismissal a reflection in any way of Tim’s lack of managerial talents? If so, where else may that manifest itself?

It’s an interesting time for Apple. I firmly believe their current products are the best they’ve ever made. There’s no question they’re poised for tremendous growth over the course of the next couple years. I’m also doubting, for the first time in the Tim Cook era, if the new CEO has all the skills required to keep Apple operating as it has in the past. I really hope I’m worrying about nothing.