Business Is All About the Team

When looking at business opportunities, investors nearly always put their money on a team, not an individual or an idea. It's true that when you think of great businesses, it's usually a charismatic leader that stands out. Think of GE GE and you think of Jack Welch; think of Microsoft MSFT and Bill Gates probably comes to mind; and think of Apple AAPL and it's surely Steve Jobs that pops up, pacing the stage in a black turtleneck. But these leaders don't work alone, because they can't do everything themselves. They lead. "Steve Jobs surrounds himself with the best people, obviously those people that will continue to work with Apple even after Steve Jobs moves on," says Carmine Gallo, author of The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, giving an example in a TheStreet.com interview on techniques he learned from the turnaround genius during years of intensive research: "A lot of people forget that the principle person behind the iPod is the head of design, Jonathan Ive. He was working for Apple when Steve Jobs was absent during that time in the late 1980s and 1990s," Gallo says. "When Steve Jobs returned he recognized his talents ... I think Steve Jobs chooses the people around him who share his philosophy." To many people, Jobs is Apple, but savvy investors know better. Even when Jobs was off the job for five months with health problems, shareholders stuck around. "I would not walk away from the stock if he didn't return, because I don't think Apple's future will be derailed by the absence of one person," Apple investor Scott Grannis wrote. "If I thought Jobs was the major factor determining the company's ability to succeed, I would have sold some of my holdings many months ago." To read the rest, head over to TheStreet.com