The Value of Ballmer

James Allworth, Max Wessel, and Rob Wheeler for the Harvard Business Review:

Now, the culture has coalesced to such a point that every time someone at Apple makes a decision — from the color of metal panelling in the retail stores to the animations on the iPhone’s interface — that Apple employee has one overriding thought:

What would Steve do?

(Emphasis theirs, not mine.)

They conclude that this question will only be more pervasive as Jobs’ role is lessened. I agree.