Will Apple's Brand Become Its Downfall?

Wired Magazine's April issue featured a very interesting article on Apple and how it (and Steve Jobs) has built its success by breaking all of the rules. By fiercely guarding its product development, not cooperating with collaborators, not listening to customers, and generally acting as a tyrant to employees, Apple has created a juggernaut in the tech world. This persona is now fully intertwined with its design and lifestyle-heavy brand. My question is, how long can they keep this up?

It is pretty clear to an outside observer that Apple's brand stems from figurehead and chief idea-man Steve Jobs. The man single-handedly steered the Apple ship away from an iceberg and transformed it into the slick powerhouse that it is today. With so much of Apple flowing from Steve, what happens when its time for him to leave? Is Apple grooming a replacement? Do they even have a plan? Since no information escapes the black hole of 1 Infinite Loop (Apple's Cupertino HQ address), not even stockholders know for sure.

And what of Apple's insistence on the archaic engineering/marketing method of "create the product and they will come?" This, combined with a "management by tyranny" philosophy, truly makes me wonder if Apple is poised to last or if it is going to burn out. I'm sure I will be racked for saying this, but I think Apple has made some risky moves, combined with a lot of luck, and that has been a significant source of their success. I'm not saying that they are doomed to fail, I just hope that Steve has a plan.