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Peggy Noonan On Steve Jobs And Why Big Companies Die - Forbes

The article from Forbes that I have linked to below is so good it is worth reading twice - maybe even three times. I am thinking of subscribing just to read the leadership column.

Peggy Noonan On Steve Jobs And Why Big Companies Die

The salesmen who led the companies were smart and eloquent, but “they didn’t know anything about the product.” In the end this can doom a great company, because what consumers want is good products.

via www.forbes.com

I don't know how many places I have been over the years where the sales people do not know anything about the product they are selling, or at best very little. Sales training today does not include product knowledge. 

Everyday we pick up the paper or read the stock market report and we see companies being killed, or being put to sleep, by leadership interested only in cutting costs, increasing sales, and their investors. There is an overall lack of drive to produce the best product or service as well as know their customers. They talk a good game but the results are always the same - a lack of excitement for their products by the consumer. Advertising tries to create excitement but all I get is that their advertising is very trying. Some don't even advertise or promote. 

Business today is all about the money, its how the players measure their success. We suffer with less than good (definitely not great) products and services.

Then a Steve Jobs and an company like Apple appears. It succeeds because someone cares about the product and about excellence and demands that of everyone involved. In Walter Isaacson's book Steve often says "It's not about the money". It was about excellence and the consumer experience. 

While you are at Forbes you might also want to read the following. Steve Jobs and the One Trait All Innovative Leaders Share. It is also very good and interesting. I also strongly recommend the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - great reading (even on the Kindle). 

Congress Can Read The Newspaper - Or Do They?

We know they don't get the web or any of the latest technologies so let's try the newspaper while we can. Google, Facebook, and Zynga know the inabilities of those who purport to serve the people of this country. Some have been in office so long they do not know what is going on in the "real world". 

On the other hand they, our representatives in Washington, do get where their money comes from. Their salary is guaranteed however it is the 'other' funds they have to watch out for. Instead of serving the public they prefer to serve the special interests - I mean, how will they get the funds to get re-elected? 

American Censorship Day sees old media ads about new media restrictions | ITworld

New media giants Google, Facebook, Zynga, and more put a full page ad in the New York Times today to lobby against the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) bill going through Congress. A newspaper ad to protect the Web? Interesting.

via www.itworld.com

Related articles

• SOPA and PIPA: A giant step in the wrong direction for the internet (foursquare.com)
• All About SOPA, the Bill That Wants to Cripple Your Internet [Video] (gizmodo.com)
• New Piracy Bill Could Lead to National Censorship Nightmare (abovethelaw.com)
• Google, Facebook, Twitter and others speak out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (engadget.com)

Why I Won’t Switch To Google Music

If there is one thing I have learned over the years about Google is that it is never complete. Google is in Beta. For some things that is OK however don’t mess with my music.

Look at Gmail. I have lived through many changes in Google Gmail and for the most part they have been great up until this last change. This last change appears to be change for change sake. It does not make any sense to me why we switch to icons, open up space and whatever else. Completely confusing – and that from someone who is open to change.

Actually the recent planned changes to Google Gmail sent me back to be sure my AOL account was still active and that Outlook was working.

As for other Google tools along the way; I thought that WAVE was shuttered way too soon and Buzz may not have been well thought out from the beginning. I have to admit to using (and liking) both Buzz as well as WAVE. I was totally blown away when WAVE was shutdown as I thought it would make a great collaboration tool and made sense.

Now Google+ comes on the scene and I jump onboard however it is like riding the ever changing wave (no pun intended). Will Google do that to my music?

Some of the recent changes to Google+ look like they may incorporate features from WAVE. My thinking is that when Google+ grows up I may use it more.

This change feature of Google is what I fear most with Google Music.

One of them ‘youngins’ in Mountain View will get a burr in their saddle and the next change will only allow me to only play my music on an Android device.

“See what I mean Vern?” Don’t mess with my music!

On the other hand I happen to be one of those Windows users that is very happy with iTunes. Apple did it right. iTunes works and works well. I have been using it for a number of years and I do not think there is any reason to change away from it. Yes iTunes updates on a regular basis however the updates make sense and add “pleasantly” to the experience.

I like my music and my podcasts on my iPod and my computer’s and do not need them on my phone. I purchased a couple of tunes from Amazon for my HTC Thunderbolt but I never play them, or I should say, I only play them to show off the phone.

I will say one thing about Apple and that is they have a higher ratio of getting it right before shipping. Apple has a reputation of being concerned with the “user experience” and not the technological experience. On top of that their changes (for me) make sense.

I am staying with Apple iTunes and lovin’ it!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Unwiring the Enterprise: Are You Ready to Lose Control? - Knowledge@Wharton

Armed with powerful mobile devices, consumers and employees have become the force behind a wireless wave of change. Whether they are seeking discounted prices or looking to coordinate a sales campaign, these mobile end-users are growing impatient with companies that are still trying to control behavior and the sharing of information. Enterprises that fail to learn how to give up some of that control and innovate to meet the evolving needs of their constituents could soon find themselves in the back of the pack. There are five ways to ride this Wireless Wave, write the authors of this opinion piece, Todd Hewlin, managing director of TCG Advisors, a boutique consulting firm in Silicon Valley, and Scott Snyder, a senior fellow at Wharton, author of The New World of Wireless: How to Compete in the 4G Revolution and president and chief strategy officer of Mobiquity, a mobile strategy and applications development firm. 

via knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Good reading and worth time and attention. When an article like this makes it into print from a source like Knowledge@Wharton you can bet the revolution is already underway. Corporate America will be trying to catch up for a long time. I also suspect the Wizard's of Wall Street won't understand for at least another decade since their prime interest is the current rate of return ($money) and not the future.