Indispensable? No one is, we’re told. Times change, people move on and the notion of the irreplaceable individual is a myth. That is irrefutable, at least in the cosmic sense of Charles de Gaulle’s grim reminder: “The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.”
Yet there are moments in history, or institutions, that are so shaped by the extraordinary contributions of a single person that it is hard to imagine one without the other. So the indispensable-man debate was fueled anew last week when Steven P. Jobs said he was taking a leave of absence from Apple until July because his health problems were “more complicated” than he first thought.
Since he returned to Apple in late 1996, Mr. Jobs has been the product team leader, taste arbiter and public face of a company that has been a stylish breath of fresh air in the personal computer business. With the introduction of the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone, Apple has shaken up the music and cellphone industries as well.
Read the full NY Times article by Steve Lohr here
Blog of Intellectual Capital 
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