Apple’s stock hasn’t been doing too well lately. While many analysts think the problem is that Apple hasn’t released any new products in months, Microsoft’s former COO thinks it’s more of a leadership problem.

In a recent article, former Microsoft COO, Bob Herbold claimed the problem with Apple is that it doesn’t have a visionary leader who is paranoid with details, so Apple’s totally going to start sucking like Microsoft pretty soon.

Talking about Apple’s stock price, Herbold says that good financials aren’t the only piece of the puzzle.

The critical ingredient, besides great financials, is a genuine belief that there is visionary leadership that will lead to a continuing flow of leading edge products and services.

Herbold then goes on to say Apple needs a visionary leader who gets personally involved in the company and leads with guts, while Tim Cook is more like an administrator.

I think the stock market is telling us that the public is beginning to believe that Apple really doesn’t have strong visionary leadership. Apple will be a solid technology company but the Apple era may be on its way out.

Basically, Herbold thinks Apple is screwed without someone like Steve Jobs, and who knows, maybe he’s right. Or maybe in a couple of years his statement will look as silly as those Surface RT tablets Microsoft put out.

As COO of Microsoft from 1994 to 2011, Herbold helped Microsoft atrophy from the world’s most powerful tech company to a perennial underachiever, so he might know what it looks like when a company is facing a long downward slide. Tim Cook took over as Apple’s CEO in 2011, so he’s still working to put his stamp on the company, but so far we think he’s done a pretty decent job.

What do you think? Are Tim Cook’s leadership skills to blame for Apple’s stock problems? Or is something else to blame? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Forbes