Are we falling or flying … and will we ever know?

Life, the universe, technology, project management, and why change management is so incredibly hard.

Posts Tagged ‘apple computer’

The View From Here is Recursive.

September 7th, 2009

A friend recently drew my attention to the differences between strategic and analytical thinking.

I realized while I haven’t normally attach those traits to other people; I have recognized and planned for project impacts from those stakeholder characteristics.

We each view the world slightly differently, and through our personal filters, which are the sum total of experiences, training, culture, and, maybe even in part our genetic imprint. I’ve always viewed the world as a dynamic system – where even small changes to one system component can and will often influence the system as a whole, sometimes for good, sometimes not.

While Peter Senge has long championed Systems Thinking as the Fifth Discipline, this exertise/ability is not yet widely embraced in business, or in the world as a whole. Apple Computer’s brand is built in part upon their “Think Different” campaigns; yet Apple’s share of the pc/laptop market still hovers around 10%.

The primary differences between the two impact the outputs:

tacticalvstrategic

Analytical thinking identifies and breaks down the larger system into components, then subcomponents; and when diagrammed, resembles a linear silo whose point of origin is at the bottom, and the output/result on top of the column.

Systems thinking identifies a systems components, subcomponents, inputs/outputs, and possible outcomes, all of which are interconnected and dynamic – and diagrammed as a circle, or as repeating loop.

I’m lucky to inherently view the world as a whole, and the opportunities and challenges which come with every day life as components of dynamic systems. While it’s hard to have real impact from a silo, implementing small changes to interconnected system components is achievable – and because of that, often fun :)

Customer Experience, Part II

July 1st, 2009

A t-shirt popular within the Apple Computer team building v.1 of Quicktime read “Apple: 80 hours a week, and loving it!”

So much for work | life balance.

At the same time, I think Steve Jobs gets a lot of things right – including not making decisions for the short term without fully understanding the long term implications of those choices.

Jobs also knows loyalty is a two way street; customers and employees will forgive an occasional misstep or two if they feel a product and company are worthy and relevant for the long term:

The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.
Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.
You hire good people who will challenge each other every day to make the best products possible.
When I got back, Apple had forgotten who we were. Remember that “Think Different” ad campaign we ran? It was certainly for customers, but it was even more for Apple. That ad was to remind us of who our heroes are and who we are. Companies sometimes do forget. Fortunately, we woke up.

I’m not yet ready to move Cupertino, especially since I think the Northwest can – and should – do better. After all -we’re also

“…the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Or – innovate or die.