Many of the decisions made by Jobs in the latter half of the 2000s, and even some that predate his diagnosis, seem in retrospect to have been attempts to position the company for long-term success. From stripping the name "Computer" from the company's name to pursuing new businesses outside of Apple's traditional comfort zone, Jobs spent much of his second stint looking toward the future. And it's a quality he seemingly impressed upon his successor.

"Another thing Steve taught us all was not to focus on the past. Be future focused," Cook told D10 attendees. "If you've done something great or terrible in the past, forget it and go on and create the next thing."

The question some asked--customers, enthusiasts, investors--after Jobs's passing was whether the company he build could continue to achieve the kind of success to which it had become accustomed, without him at the helm.

Unfairly, every Apple misstep over the past year has caused that question to be rephrased more confrontationally: "What would Steve Jobs have done?" Apple may have misstepped with iOS 6's built-in Maps functionality, for example, about which Tim Cook eventually published a public letter of apology.