People Wit

Rangkaian Artikel yang saya posting secara berseri ini saya kutip dari Buku The Apple Way : 12 Management Lessons from the World’s Most Innovative Company karya Jeffrey L. Cruikshank. Banyak Point dan pelajaran tentang management yang bisa kita ambil dari Perusahaan paling inovatif di Dunia ini. Mari kita belajar dari Keberhasilan dan Kegagalannya. Selamat Menikmati.

So what can we learn from this story, which begins with a pain in the neck and ends with a brain transplant? At least nine things:

■ “Simple” may be incredibly complicated.

Going for simplicity isn’t easy. And, at least in the OS field, it may foreclose future options. It’s the trade-off that’s key.

■ Make a product that forces change but protects continuity.

Here’s a neat trick: Build enough planned obsolescence into your product so that people will keep coming back for more, which in

part means bringing along all their old files and folders.

Don’t wait for the other guy to surrender, especially if it’s Microsoft.

What can you do—even if you’re terminally outgunned—to hold your turf? How fast can you innovate, and in which direction?

■ Is today’s solution God-given, or simply force of habit?

It’s human nature: We think that what is, is what’s meant to be. But in many cases, it’s not.

■ Sometimes the tried-and-true is better than all the known alternatives. But keep looking.

Obviously, this is the flip side of  the previous point. OK, so Rover isn’t an acceptable alternative. What is?

■ When your archrival offers a strategic suggestion, listen carefully.

I don’t know about you, but if I ran a computer hardware company and Bill Gates wrote me a thoughtful memo, I’d memorize it.

■ If you can’t unveil, dribble.

A bad image, to be sure. But if you have only half the dinner ready and your guests are hungry, start serving.

■ If you bring Captain Kirk onto the bridge, keep an eye on your seat.

You always saw that trait in Captain Kirk—that naked aggression—so you can’t say you were surprised.

■ Again, better to dribble than to postpone indefinitely.

The diner who is hungry too long loses faith. Bring on the appetizers, as you talk about how great those entrées are going to be.

Source : The Apple Way. 12 Management Lessons from the World’s Most Innovative Company. Jeffrey L. Cruikshank.McGraw-Hill. 2006