It's been a wild ride on "Mr-Jobs-Stock-Coaster" during the last 24 hours. With earnings announcements yesterday being well beyond expectations, and the subsequent after market trading flurry that had AAPL up to $99/share. Then things settled down, even deflated a bit. And as is customary, we had a company wide communications meeting today, to gather, review the company achievements and drink heavily from the Kool-aid fountains. And there was much rejoicing, and much to rejoice about. This was a record year, and the iPhone and AppleTV products take us into a whole new realm of products.
'hic'
Steve's still the master of casual, and discusses the state of affairs with confidence and ease, from a simple stool on a simple stage in the campus auditorium. Those of us not arriving early enough have the opportunity to view it live watch the meeting from one of many campus locations. I opt'd for the larger 'Macs Cafe' setting, where sitting in rows and rows of chairs while a large screen projection of Steve speaking brought oddly ironic visions of the 1984 commercial to mind.
Ultimately, and especially within the company, we're all proud of our accomplishments and successes, and the opportunity to innovate and change the world. Nobody's walking around zombie-like following communications meetings, nobody follows blindly without challenging and questioning decisions, and we're not all gravitating towards worn jeans, black mock-turtlenecks and 2-day stubble. That said, those of us that were there recognize and respect the leadership and vision that has turned this company around from the tail-spinning fiasco it was pre-'97.