Makai's Blog

There are a multitude of reasons why Apple has done so well over the past decade, but one cause that other companies eschew is making trade offs. Most corporate cultures trend towards a politically correct, compromised system that prevent strong views from taking hold. Instead, watered-down products and services trickle out after being run through a corporate filter.

Apple does well because they are extreme. They take hard stances on oft controversial issues such as user interface design. Simple is better even at the expense of some smaller market segments that want options. Another example is sound quality of the IPod: it’s good enough for at least 95% of people, but audiophiles loathe it. Apple does well because it makes hard choices and sticks with them despite giving up some smaller percentage of the market. Other companies would do well to take note (although most won’t because that’s their ingrained culture).

A fascinating article by Andy Grove on our current difficulties in creating new jobs in the private sector.