Would Kindle Survive Without Jeff Bezos?
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If you have been following the news, you have probably heard all the discussions and rumors about the future of Steve Jobs. The guy has been golden for Apple, but now there are rumors going around that he is ill to a point that he may have to step down as the CEO of Apple. He has claimed that his illness is nothing too serious, and he will continue to remain as the CEO of Apple. This whole issue made me think about Amazon without its golden boy, Jeff Bezos. You don’t want to wish folks anything ill, but you never know. What would happen to Amazon if Jeff were to step down?
Jeff Bezos is very young, and he may stay as the CEO for the next 10 or 20 years. But if he were to step down next year, one has to wonder whether Kindle would survive without him. There is no question that Jeff has been one of the main reasons we are holding Kindle in our hands. The strategy makes complete sense, but it does help when your CEO is a firm supporter of you top gadget. I would argue that Jeff is as important to Amazon as Steve is to Apple. He has been the visionary for Amazon since the very start, and he has built Amazon from a small entity to a giant online superstore.
So what happens if Jeff decides to step down next year? Will Kindle survive? After the strong sales numbers this past year, I fully expect Kindle to be around for quite some time. The ebook market war has just been reignited by Amazon, and you can expect Sony and Amazon to go at it in the next few months. Amazon has the upper hand against Sony these days, which means the device will be around for the foreseeable future. But I am not sure if Amazon can resist the temptation of overreaching and stepping on iPod/iPhone’s toes without Jeff Bezoes. Kindle is his baby, and he has a clear vision for it. Without him, it’s easy to imagine Amazon’s next CEO taking Kindle to a whole different direction. The competition with Apple may be inevitable as some rumors have suggested in the past. But the clash of titans could happen sooner than expected without Jeff Bezoes.
Amazon Kindle has been a successful project for the company so far, but Kindle is no iPod. Not yet anyway. Kindle has a lot going for it. It has the backing of Amazon Kindle store, and it is superior to other products on the market. But Apple has a way of beating market leaders in their own games. So it’d be intriguing to see whether the Amazon vs. Apple clash happens in the near future. One thing is for sure though. Kindle will survive, now that it has proven to be a success for Amazon, but I can’t claim that Kindle would’ve been here had it not been for the vision and support from Jeff Bezos. Who knows what would happen to Kindle if Jeff decides to go away?
Your take: Who’s more valuable to their company, Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs?
