Incentives
-
Apple and the Long Run, How Satya Nadella Killed Windows Phone
My recent pieces about Apple actually don’t have anything to do with Google I/O or WWDC; they are about structural challenges going forward. Then, Windows Phone is well and truly dead, and how Satya Nadella killed it shows how structural changes can be effective.
-
The Curse of Culture
It is very fair to say that Apple is threatened by the potential rise of AI. Google, though, is also threatened by its inability to own customers’ attention. The solution for both companies may entail changing their culture, a very tall order indeed.
-
Trouble at Lending Club, Lending Club and Aggregation Theory, What Went Wrong
FinTech seems like the perfect application of Aggregation Theory, but over this past week it has blown up in the face of serious issues at Lending Club. The mistakes that were made in do to a degree validate why I haven’t covered the space to date.
-
Apple, Didi, and Occam’s Razor; Uber in China
Apple investing $1 billion in Didi could signify all kinds of things, but only one explanation makes sense. The big loser, though, is Uber.
-
The Full TSLA Experience, Twitter vs LinkedIn, Nintendo vs Sony
Elon Musk may be a lot of things, but he’s not exactly straight with investors, and now he’s making his biggest bet yet. Plus, the differences between Twitter and LinkedIn, and Nintendo and Sony
-
Amazon Earnings, Amazon’s Cloud War
Amazon’s earnings were even better than reported: it looks like the retail business is gaining real economies of scale, and AWS was even stronger than it appeared.
-
Apple’s Run, Apple Earnings and the iPhone Upgrade Cycle, The iPhone in China
Apple had an amazing run, but now there are very real questions about the iPhone, in no small part because Apple itself doesn’t seem sure what is going on.
-
Prince, Bowie, and Beyoncé; Google’s Margin Squeeze; Microsoft’s Miss
Prince and David Bowie both understood the Internet, but took drastically different approaches. Then, Google’s business is fine, but it has almost certainly peaked, and the company could learn something from Microsoft about managing expectations.
-
Services and Apple’s Strategy, The Power of a P&L, Intel Restructures
First, a follow-up on Apple’s Organizational Crossroads including why a focus on services could make more strategic sense than one might think, and why P&L responsibility can be a powerful tool. Then, Intel is restructuring in the face of increased margin pressure and in pursuit of a vision that is, from the company’s perspective, more radical…