Working in a marketing agency has given me rare and valuable perspective on decision making. Particularly for brands. The insight into our clients decision processes, priority assignment, and level of self-awareness would be valuable for any organization. Outsider perspective always has a way of revealing strengths and weaknesses that aren’t seen up close. What interests me the most is the correlation between how busy an organization seems and the time it takes for decisions to be made.
The Law of Mediocrity
In the 37th chapter of Steve Jobs’ Biography there is a story about his hospitalization to undergo a much needed liver transplant. He is heavily sedated and barely conscious as the nurse reaches over to put an oxygen mask on his face. After a couple seconds, Jobs pulls it off angrily and mumbles that the design of the mask conflicts with the shape of his face. He then demands that 5 different masks are brought to him so he can create one that fits best. The bewildered nurse stands in shock as Jobs’ wife tries to distract him with some other topic while motioning the nurse to put it back on. Jobs distracted, looses interest in the mask and falls to sleep. Continue Reading
In considering topics for this article I circled around the rise of mobile, information accessibility, and some predictions about Apple’s post-Steve Jobs era. Then I looked at my Facebook wall. To my surprise, Bell Canada had posted a new link. I had forgotten that I’d liked the page to write my previous article on Bell, of how Social Media can work against a brand. While I don’t mean to harp on Bell, they honestly step on every rake in the yard. So while I wanted to write something about Apple and the inevitable shift in vision post-Steve Jobs, Bell has dug itself even deeper into the Worst Use of Social Media category. Continue Reading
The world wakes up today without a hero. Steve Jobs was to many a mentor…an inspiration…a showman, with one more trick up his sleeve every time. From Rockstar’s and Politicians to artists and tech-nerds like me, Steve represented innovation embodied. A visible challenge to make things better and easier, with mad style. From the first Apple II in Grade 3 where I learned how to type, to my first G4 where I learned how to edit Betamax, every chance I got to use a Mac I felt like I was innovating. That was what made Apple so desirable to me. Continue Reading
In case-based MBA programs, students are shown a real world example of a particular business misstep and are asked to identify the elements that lead to the misstep. In many cases, they are not hard to spot. They usually stem from simple, yet critical, factors being discarded or underestimated. Some of these decisions are made with the best intentions and may in fact be the best decision for the profitability of the company, at the time; however, when looking at the long term evolution of technology, consumer spending, demographics, etc they were indeed, short-sighted decisions that lead to the companies demise. Continue Reading
