I wasn’t surprised by this article, it definitely feels like time has passed since the new “it” product rolled out. With the exception of the Ipad, (which isn’t necessarily a completely new concept, similar to smart phones and portable media players, Apple just took touch tablets to the next level) there has not been any really disruptive consumer goods, perhaps Blu-Ray players or 3D TVs. Everything just seems to be an upgrade from the last model year, instead of 3g now there’s 4g, instead of 4 razor blades, now there’s a 5 blade razor. It appears that companies rather be a strong second mover instead of an innovator. Computer technology has slowed down; the netbook was the last big thing in that industry that comes to my mind. Everyday items such as kitchen appliances haven’t made a big splash (what is the next George Foremen grill?), in the automotive industry nothing worthy of mention since the Prius a while back. The article mentioned 3 major reasons why this is.
Information gaps that undercut new product investments
CGM apparently are losing touch with consumers, it is becoming similar to the music industry, very few original acts, but a lot of production and sampling from the past. Companies are focused on making money on what is proven and popular now instead of setting the trend for the future.
Inhibitors of effective product portfolio management:
Product Portfolio Management, this was one of the genius traits of Steve Jobs, when Jobs started his second round with Apple, if I recall correctly they were way over extend trying to compete in hundreds of different product lines. He narrowed it down to less than a handful, and focused all their energy on making the best 3 or 4 products on the market. HP is still all over the place, IBM left the industry all together, they don’t make PCs anymore! It’s like a saying my old music director once told me “Jack of all trades, master of none!”
Deficiencies in post-launch performance measurement practices:
I’m not really sure what they mean by this, I understand the phrase, but not how it corresponds with a deficiency in product innovation. Perhaps some companies pull the plug on a new innovative product without really knowing how well it is being received?
Either way I am curious as where is Apple going to go next, especially now that Jobs is gone, what will be the next innovation?
Yes, Jobs came back and killed all but a few core Mac lines and put all the company's effort into the consumer area. Boy, did it pay off.
ReplyDeleteBtw, the iPad is simply the successful implementation of the Apple Newton that came out a loooong time ago...and failed.