Change is hard; the more successful you are, the more difficult it is. Disney’s Choice Cable TV created a world where differentiated content could profit from everyone; that is why it will be hard for Disney to make the choices streaming will force on them. Oracle’s Cloudy Future Larry Ellison has declared that Oracle is […]
Strengths=Weaknesses
Successful companies optimize themselves from one approach; to do something different is often impossible. Google’s Go-to-Market Gap 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. Apple’s Strengths and Weaknesses Both Apple’s strengths and weaknesses were […]
Company Structure
What a company makes — and how it makes it — in indelibly tied up into how the company is structured. Intel Problems Intel is in much more danger than its profits suggest; the problems are a long time in the making, and the solution is to split up the company. Disney and Integrators Versus […]
Strategy Taxes and Credits
Strategy Credit Facebook’s Motivations See All
Company Culture
Culture is the product of successful decisions, and it allows a company to scale. When it is time to change, though, it is a straitjacket. Microsoft’s Monopoly Hangover There are striking similarities between Microsoft today and IBM in the Lou Gerstner era, but today’s IBM should be a warning to Redmond. The Curse of Culture […]
Making Money
Business models are the surest way to understand a company’s motivations. Apple’s Middle Age For Apple, hitting middle age means a strategy primarily focused on monetizing its existing customers. It makes sense, but one wonders what happens next. Facebook’s Motivations The impact of Facebook’s News Feed changes on the media is far less interesting than […]