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Former Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs is famous for the great products he's introduced and for his "reality distortion field." These twin forces are getting Apple into trouble now that some doctors speculate that Jobs may need an operation to remove his pancreas -- requiring massive insulin injections to keep him from getting severe diabetes.
If Jobs did not come up with so many great products, then his health would not be of such a concern to Apple shareholders. And if he was not so intent on forcing those around him to repeat his version of reality to the rest of the world, Apple would not be in trouble with regard to its less than forthright disclosures about Jobs's health. In August 2004 Jobs had surgery to remove a pancreatic cancer tumor that wouldn't require chemotherapy or radiation. Jobs told Apple's board about his cancer and directors decided to say nothing. Perhaps they should have disclosed this to shareholders.
But since Jobs is both a creative genius, which makes him central to Apple's future, and a reality distorter, investors may have a basis to sue Apple's board for failing to disclose what they knew about Jobs's health -- both in 2004 when he had surgery for pancreatic cancer and over the last year -- during which rumors of health problems have repeatedly surfaced.
With Apple stock down 7.7% in pre-market, it is likely that there will be some angry shareholders who will try to recover their lost wealth by suing Apple's board.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and his latest book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-15-2009 @ 10:32AM
jeff said...
whoever would be this petty deserves pancreatic cancer themselves.
1-15-2009 @ 2:05PM
Beltway Greg said...
Aaron Task and Henry Blodgett are at it again over there on Yahoo's Tech Ticker. This time the gruesome twosome are conducting a threesome with the notorious grey lady himself Mr. Joe Nocera of the New York Times and rehashing the day's action on Steve's pancreas all the while ignoring everything and anything to do with the fundamentals of the company. Remember no story is too big for these boys to cover and cover it they will from every angle. Henry is the pivot man in the middle and does most of the talking; Aaron is probably awestruck at simply having such a large member of the mainstream media in his midst. Tune in next week when the boys ignore the balance sheet once again and the $1.71/share earnings and deliver another soft-focus picture of all the market action and attempt to probe another part of Steve's body.
Remember I support civil unions not civil wars.
1-16-2009 @ 10:42AM
Connie said...
I for one am tired of being lied to by washington & companies! Lots of shareholders lost money because of the bold face lies that were told about Jobs health! I say sue sue sue! I'm in! Now with that said, I wish Jobs the best of luck and will keep him in my prayers!