Comments on: Jobs hid cancer diagnosis for 9 months

The thorny question of executive health and requirements for disclosure is raised in a Fortune article on Apple CEO Steve Jobs' decisions following a diagnosis of cancer in 2003.

[rhsc]

the real secret revealed here

Steve Jobs has been dead for 5 years and what's left is a robotic meat-puppet. Prove me wrong.

[jonroach13]

wow

you sir, are an idiot. Prove me wrong.

[ewelch]

You're wrong...

...because there's no such things as meat puppets. Prove me wrong
about you being wrong.

[mrconservative]

Robotic meat puppet

You are one sick dude!

[bigbwai2000]

Fortune couldn't deliver the story

Valleywag wrote that this story started as an options witch hunt,
and when the writer "couldn't get the goods" it turned into this
cancer story. Lame.

http://valleywag.com/363816/fortunes-cover-story-steve-jobs-
hid-cancer-for-nine-months

[Groucho6]

It's nobody's business

A person's medical condition is their own affair and nobody
else's business, whether they're the CEO of a major corporation
or your next door neighbor. Just because you are the boss of a
public company doesn't mean your private affairs need to be
paraded before the public. No amount of prurient interest
painted over with lame excuses can change that. One day Steve
Jobs will no longer be running Apple. The day that happens, for
whatever reason, the Board has the duty to inform Apple
shareholders who the new boss will be. That is the extent of
their obligation and of the public's so-called right to know.

[drfrost]

I agree

We all have a right to privacy. We don't give that right up to become successful.

[mrketchfish]

Absolutely

Until/unless it affects his ability to do his job, it's nobody's business but his own. Same as anybody else.

[mrketchfish]

Put comment in the wrong spot

This was meant to be a reply to ralfthedog and the other folks that believe in the individual's right to privacy.

[mrconservative]

No one knows exactly what to do

When a situation such as this develops in a listed corporation no
one really knows exactly what to do. The CEO and the board of
directors all want to do the "right thing" for their shareholders,
employees and customers. But as in this case they know that
regardless of the outcome, they will be criticized for their
decision.

I know because 28 years ago I was COO of a listed corporation
when the CEO had to undergo a heart valve replacement. We
decided not to announce the surgery in advance. Five days later
he died in the post-op ICU. I was already on the board and was
immediately elevated to CEO. The company did not suffer in any
material way. However, the entire board, including me, were
severely criticized by outsiders.

We thought we were doing the "right thing" - but were we?

Know one ever knows exactly what is right in this circumstance.

[Dr_b_]

Any time for any reason....

A CEO, or anyone else key to the success of a company, can drop dead at any time for any reason. Should this therefore be in the company's prospectus? Absurd I say.

If job's was incapacitated as so many people have irreverently stated (shame on you for being so blatantly crass and insensitive) maybe the company wouldn't have gone down but in a new and better direction? Like for example, maybe we would see iPod's with FM Tuners or mid-range macs, and MacOSX run on non apple branded PC's.

The real story here is, what is such a company's line of succession, how does it plan on dealing with a world post-Jobs, and the man doesn't have to die, what if he retires, you morbid cretins. The article should be more about how they are going to deal with transition as any company should regardless of the stature of their CEO.

[BSinton]

Mr. Jobs

The thing being discussed is whether Mr.Jobs health should be a public matter.
Unfortunately , some of you have rapidly descended to abusing and insulting others who vary from your view.
My view is that I am not a Lawyer and would not know what I was talking about. However it seems from the article , that it was not a legal requirement (they did take legal advice) then people should mind their own business.