Strengths=Weaknesses
Successful companies optimize themselves from one approach; to do something different is often impossible.
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Both Apple’s strengths and weaknesses were on full display at its annual WWDC keynote; the HomePod is a perfect example.
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Google is unique in that their business was built on being the best. The company, though, benefited from the open web. That is not the case in mobile.
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By winning on the web, PayPal was actually disadvantaged when it came to competing in mobile, because its incentives were already shaped by a different problem.
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Alexa: Amazon’s Operating System
Money is made at chokepoints, and the most valuable chokepoints are operating systems; Amazon is building exactly that with Alexa.
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Netflix Earnings, The Apple Car Reset
Netflix had a good quarter, but even more important is that the company continues to exemplify aggregation theory. Then, the Apple Car is getting a reset; this may be the beginning of the end.
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Google and the Limits of Strategy
Google went wrong in the past by abandoning their horizontal business model; are they repeating their mistake, or does the future give them no choice?
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Didi Acquires Uber China, Why Uber China Was Doomed, Was Uber China Worth It?
Didi has acquired Uber China. This Update goes through the history of ride-sharing in China, why Uber China was doomed, and evaluates whether Uber China was worth the investment.
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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.
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Apple’s Organizational Crossroads
A core part of what makes Apple Apple is its organization structure; Tim Cook has said it will never change. However, if Apple is serious about being a services company, change it must.
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From Products to Platforms
Apple was at its best in its most recent keynote: unveiling the sorts of products the company is uniquely capable of creating. The question, though, is whether the company has the vision and capability of making those products into platforms.
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Intel and the Delay in Moore’s Law, Another Android Vulnerability
Moore’s Law has officially hit a slow-down. The more important question is why — and it is necessarily as bad a thing as we expected? Plus, the latest Android vulnerability points to a big Apple advantage and the implications of tradeoffs.