AI and the Big Five

Given the success of existing companies with new epochs, the most obvious place to start when thinking about the impact of AI is with the big five: Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

The State of Technology at the End of 2016

The annual Stratechery review of the state of technology, and call to build products that unlock human potential

Tesla and Beyond Disruption, As Yahoo Turns

A follow-up on Beyond Disruption and why it doesn’t apply to Tesla. Then, what in the world is going on with Yahoo?

Beyond Disruption

Clayton Christensen claims that Uber is not disruptive, and he’s exactly right. In fact, disruption theory often doesn’t make sense when it comes to understanding how companies succeed in the age of the Internet.

Apple Retail and the Innovator’s Dilemma

Angela Ahrendts officially took over as head of Apple Retail last week, and just in time. Same store sales were down five percent last quarter, and have been hovering around zero for several quarters prior. To be fair, that decline is mostly due to Apple’s slowed growth; more concerning is the declining rate of store […]

If Steve Ballmer Ran Apple

Bear with me, I know my premise is ridiculous. Imagine Steve Ballmer was right now the CEO of Apple, with the same set of products and opportunities. Suspend disbelief about cultural clashes, or organizational structure. Presume Ballmer could set the strategy, and that Apple would execute it accordingly. In this scenario Apple would make more […]