They are actually telling

 

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Google dixit

 

Google dixit, indeed, though we would say they fall short.

Probably Marissa Meyer went further and elaborated more, or eventually was cut short because of timing reasons and she was only allowed a tagline that she tried to summarize as much as she could.

Not only what the guy has done, but as well whatever is yet to come, as it is unthinkable to figure Apple out without him, not thinkable it is to imagine him without Apple. Not cancer nor a liver transplant have been enough to cut the link between the two, and cut was the link voluntarily, under much more favorable circumstances, between Microsoft and Billy Gates.

There is a fantastic recognition Google, by the way, already made to Steve Jobs, which is tempting him to serve as their CEO.

However, the best recognition is not told, yet obvious to those who have further vision: Google de facto tries to copy Apple. Just look at Android…

We stand up and applaud, first to Google for their comments, then to Steve Jobs, for though we compared him already to Sun-Tzu and Clausewitz, after thinking it twice, we should say he went even further. The formers were great theoreticians on strategy. Jobs moved beyond, and executed his strategy too.

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There’s a “cap” for that

 

A few days ago we went with some friends to a shopping mall for a walk and buy a few things here and there.

In a certain moment, we walked by a Starbucks coffee shop, and one of us suggested making a break and stopping a short while for a coffee. It was a great idea, and many of us already headed into the shop.

No wonder, Starbucks is indeed a nice place to have coffee. Fresh environment, cool style, lots of variations and flavors of different coffee styles indeed. You can even have some extras, like assorted pastries, cupcakes, muffins or cookies… or alternative chocolate beverages. Fantastic service, quite personalized, young waiters and waitresses will call you by name to give you your drinks in hand. Fancy people here and there, from youngsters having a chocolate shake to senior people peacefully enjoying a cappuccino. There is all you could ask from a coffee shop…

However, one of us hesitated. He was not really sure about stepping into Starbucks. So he took his smartphone, and with a couple of gestures, he checked into something, and called all of us.

He suggested we went to his place, which was not really far from there, about a 5 minutes drive, so he would offer us what he said was really good coffee, the style we preferred. He only asked us allow him a 2 minutes stop on our way.

Shortly after we were comfortably sitting in his living room, and he asked us what sort of coffee we wanted. One of us asked for a strong long black coffee, another two wanted espressos, and there were requests for cappuccinos and even café au lait too. Strong and mild coffees were asked for within the group.

A minute later, our host came with a nice coffee service, and a special tray with different capsules so we could choose ourselves the actual coffee we would have. Can’t remember all the names, but there were red, green, purple, blue, black, brownish, yellow capsules, and each one of us could see in the cover what was the coffee like in each cap.

Clean and neatly, a few minutes after everybody had chosen his or her cap, we were enjoying a nice friendly conversation, fostered by the pleasant atmosphere, and one of us asked our host: “Hey, so are these all the different flavors you can have with Nespresso?”, pointing to the tray with all the remaining caps.

“Not at all”, he answered. “There are plenty more available, I just have at home my favorites”.

“But how do you manage when you run out of caps?”, another one asked.

“Well, know what? There’s an app for that”.

No kidding, he produced his smartphone from his pocket, and there it was: A nice Nespresso App from the iTunes online store, where his customer profile was predefined, and after keying his password in, a predefined order was ready for his to confirm, the ready to deliver in less than 24 hours.

In the meantime, we were really enjoying our coffees, the company and the conversation that was going on.

Another question popped up: “There are quite a lot of your favorites there in the tray, and yet there are many more available. Why do you prefer these ones?”

Our host smiled and promptly came with an answer: “Make an educated guess”, said he. “In fact, the coffee I might have in a given moment depends on many things. It depends on who you are with, the time of the day, the sort of conversation you are having… It is not the same to have coffee for breakfast than to enjoy a warm decaf after a lovely dinner with your sweetheart, is it?”

“Ah, so you have different choice for each different moment, don’t you?”

“Indeed… when I feel like having a coffee, unconsciously I think of the particular situation I have, and for each of them I know there’s a cap for that”.

What else? A touch of class indeed… Smiling, he sipped what was left from his coffee, and confirmed his caps order with a gentle touch on his iPhone while a long queue of people looking and behaving like androids was forming at different Starbucks shops all over the country, where customers did not find any more seats available, conversations were getting louder, and nervous waiters starting yelling customer names instead of politely addressing them with their orders.

what else?

 

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(Do not) play it again, Steve

 

Who could not remember the famous quote by Rick to Sam, the piano player, in Rick’s café in Casablanca?

“Play it again, Sam”, as Rick was willing to remember good old times in Paris with Ilsa.

And Big Ape Steve keeps playing his worn out tune once and again, still under the spell of his unreal world where Microsoft reigns all over the marketplace.

As they have launched precisely Windows 7 Marketplace exactly the same way they launch everything: An incomplete product with less functionality than promised, and just under the stress of claiming they were on time to market.

Again, they follow the other Steve (Jobs by name) that already has had an AppStore up and running for years.

Again, they engage their partners and developers into a potential nightmare of upgrades and patches.

Again they promise first and deliver later: They won’t honor any payouts before 2011.

The same old tune once an again, like a scratched vinyl record in the times of mp3, video streaming and online connectivity.

In short, again late and short to expectations.

Still anybody surprised Forbes believes for the first time the good Steve is more powerful than the Big Ape Steve?

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The Chosen One is coming…

 

Well, well, well… The Chosen One will come, stand up and eventually fight.

Oh, yes… The One chosen by the Pontifex Maximus at the oracle, Big Mouth Larry, will finally step in and face the challenge from the Oracle.

Now, it is not yet known if The guy will appear personally, honoring the well known advertising campaign by HP, “Personal Again”, or if he will leverage new technologies and appear through video playback.

Accepting the challenge from the Pontifex Maximus is already a good step forward, and we sincerely hope he will appear personally. This would add to his credibility, and certainly impress jurors positively. As well, he would have the chance to answer any evidence against him the Pontifex has announced everywhere he has.

He has been personally attacked, and his appearance would give him an opportunity to turn the trial on his benefit.

Coming up in video screen, on the contrary, would give a poor impression, and would eventually look as if he just wanted to prove he is not a crook (with the permission of Richard Nixon) but ultimately refuses further defense. He would not be able to stand to any questioning, and the oracle’s lawyers would be in a strong position to eventually use the tape against him. They will, should they be given the slightest chance. Video would weaken his position, and strengthen the oracle’s claim for his cowardice. All the benefit of stepping up would be offset by the video.

We will see.

Still, Apotheker, the Pharmacist, the Potion-Maker, the Sorcerer whose reputation and credibility are at the stake, should have additional interest in going to Court. So far, it appears the SAP lawyers have not really made a good start, and like the other Sorcerer we all have seen in Fantasia (Disney), will have to clean up all the mess his theoretical defendants have made. These guys, full of good intentions like Apprentice Mickey Mouse, may have really lost control of the situation from the beginning, we are afraid.

 

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A matter of faith

 

We have just been aware of the first commercial delivered by Microsoft to promote its Windows Phone 7 smartphone.

Really: The new advertising campaign by MS, on behalf of its WP7 operating system for smartphones.

When we watched it, the first impression we got was that it could not be a better match for Microsoft’s image. They have taken a lot of money to produce a technically correct ad, and have compressed to many things to try to deliver a simple message.

Typical from Microsoft: Too much complication to express something simple, too many taglines to deliver a theoretical breakthrough.

The message was much simpler: In theory, WP7 will deliver a user experience that will avoid situations like the ones depicted in the commercial.

The communication: Complicated, difficult to understand, and really needs time and many replays to get the message through.

The tagline: As in every Microsoft product, 90% of it is redundant and/or useless, 5% could be useful or valid, and the remaining 5% is to pay for the campaigns that will try to justify the previous two. Take a look to any Apple commercial: Simple, concise, and to the point. See samples here, and here, and here.

Now, having said this, the next thing that pops in our minds is: If WP7 is going to be so different that it will fade away other already proven and well established alternatives, why and how is it going to make that shift in the market happen?

The communication miserably fails to achieve this. It is a matter of faith in them what this add is asking customers to make, just because it is Microsoft.

We have all seen situations like the ones describes in the add. And many of us have even starred them, we must admit. It is not, however, because of the phone itself. It’s not because of its operating system. Curiously enough, the add targets mainly Blackberries for some reason, and we’ll come back to this later. It is the contents what matters, it is about all the things we now can do or access to just by having a smartphone. And from a content perspective, and from a features point of view that Microsoft pathetically challenges the faith they are demanding from their fans, if there are any left. Too late, too featureless for a bride in a wedding, we said a few days ago.

Back to Blackberries… what is Microsoft’s fixation with these guys? No iPhones, no Symbians, no Androids. Just Blackberries. But all of them are really blocking the door to the WP7s. It could be that Steve Ballmer does not want to be like George Bernard Shaw inviting Winston Churchill to one of his grand openings once. Mr. Shaw sent two tickets to sir Winston with a note that said “I am presenting a new play, and I would be very glad to have your attendance. I am sending two tickets so you may come with a friend, should you have any.” To what sir Winton elegantly replied: “I appreciate the honor, but state matter make it impossible for me to attend,. I shall gladly attend a second performance, in case there is any.”

 

We could imagine Apple, Google or Nokia execs receiving notes from Steve Ballmer with sample units of WP7 and notes saying something like “We would appreciate your feedback and opinion about the new operating system WP7, as this is going to make people forget about their current phones. We send several units in case you would like to request a friend to help you using them, in case you have any.” To what Jobs, Elop and Eric Schmidt could easily reply: “Too busy counting revenue and profits from our smartphone divisions; impossible to care for WP7 right now, but we will gladly review version 2.0 should it ever exist.”

 

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Clausewitz, Sun-Tzu and…

It has recently been published in the press that Germany has just finished paying World War I reparations.

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles, which ended that war, left Germany into actual bankruptcy, its mainland violently severed, virtually no Armed Forces, no colonies, no heavy industry. About 20 years later, Germany was able to defeat France, the greatest of the victors, in just four weeks, turning continental France is basically a virtual colony for Germany until it was liberated by Anglo-American forces in 1944.

In May 1940, France had the mightiest Army in the world. It was apparently safe behind the Maginot Line (a masterpiece of military technology of the time) set along the border with Germany, from Switzerland to Belgium. Still, the German Flag was unfurled on top of the Eiffel Tower before the end of the month, and stayed there for four long years.

What had happened in a devastated and ruined Germany that made it possible for she to dominate Europe from France to Poland, from the Mediterranean coast to Cape North in Norway?

First: Overall general feeling of having been unfairly treated. That was a common feeling in the German peoples after World War I, who felt betrayed.

Second: A determinant change of leadership with a clear plan to be strictly followed in the years to come. In 1933, Adolf Hitler became Reichskanzler, and in 1934, after the death of General Hindenburg, he became Head of State too.

Third: Focus on niche strengths. Since 1933, Germany’s industrial and economic potential was fully concentrated in rearming the nation towards the ultimate objective of conquering Europe: Ultramodern and powerful tanks, vessels and, especially aircraft. Germany reached levels of product excellence almost unknown to the rest of the world.

Fourth: Selective cooperation from former enemy powers. Since 1933, Western World financers and Soviet military were swiftly used by Germany to structure its preparations for war in the coming years.

Fifth: A carefully planned set of small degree conquests, annexations and political alliances with two targets: To position Germany strategically in the best way to develop its war plans and to add technological and industrial capacity to support future war. The Rhineland, Austria, the Czech republic were invaded and integrated into Germany’s Empire; Balkans and Italy were political allies. Even the Soviet Union initially cooperated with Germany when Poland was invaded.

Sixth: An overall passiveness and appeasement policy played by the old victorious powers of World War I, who basically left the filed unopposed to Germany.

Seventh: A revolutionary set of tactics that changed the military rules of warfare as it was known until then. It was the Blitzkrieg, the super-innovative way of fighting war, based in cooperation between tanks and aviation to be followed by traditional infantry.

Eighth: Surprise effect. Germany always attacked in the most unimaginable place and time, following careful plans that had been designed from scratch specifically for the situation of the moment.

Ninth: Complete autonomy and freedom to act to leading generals and strategists. Many of them are well known in the military circles for their military achievements.

Tenth: Absolute faith in themselves, in their ability to execute their plans, and absolute convincement of what they were doing.

We have recently read about what has been described as The Greatest Comeback Story of all Time, and we are amazed.

First:The dramatic situation of Apple in the 1990s generated the feeling of unfair treatment in the current and former employees of Apple, including Steve Jobs himself.

Second: In 1997, after several years of exile outside of Apple, Steve Jobs was elected interim CEO of Apple, just a few years from being elected absolute CEO (2000). He, too, had a precise plan to be executed systematically in the years to come.

Third: Focus on niche strengths, such as Mac OS, iTunes, iPod. Apple led in those product segments, almost unknown to the rest of the world.

Fourth: Selective cooperation from former enemy powers. The cooperation from rival Microsoft was determinant to support Apples recovery in the late 1990s. Both from a financial and infrastructural perspective.

Fifth: A careful planned set of apparently smaller degree conquests: NeXT, Pixar are just the best known of a series of many, which, apparently look somewhat innocent, but have been strengthening Apple once and again.

Sixth: Dominant brands in all the market segments Apple has stepped into have underestimated them. In PCs, in Operating Systems, in music player devices, as well disregarded have been Apple’s inventions or creations, like iTunes, who now everybody tries to copy, as they have set market models and standards.

Seventh: Apple’s own blitzkrieg, developed through tools like iTunes or AppStores, have revolutionized the market rules, and were based in cooperation of all the aspects of product life cycle, from product specifications to packaging, delivery and support.

Eighth: Surprise effect. Apple strikes when and where they want, turn the market upside down, and maximize results during all the time it takes for competition to catch up.

Ninth: All management levels were given autonomy for operational decisions on the spot. Similar to Sun-Tzu’s third maxim, if you want, “the commander in the field is not always bound to his sovereign’s orders”. 

Tenth: Absolute faith in themselves, in their ability to execute their plans, and absolute convincement about what they were doing. No wonder Steve Jobs detractors even say from him that he lives in a reality distortion field…

The German War Flag stood in the heart of Paris for four years. Apple’s Flag is in the heart of Paris too… and will stay for longer, we believe. Apple Store at Opéra, Paris.

Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz are known for having been military theoreticians and strategists whose works, still in print, have influenced many world leaders in politics, philosophy, history and ultimately business and economics. Their texts are thoroughly read, studied and ultimately learnt in all business schools around the world.

We think the third philosopher, the third strategist, the third theoretician, whose job and works match the level of the formers, is, precisely, Jobs.

 

Footnote: This post is dedicated to one of our best friends, who patiently enough cared to take us to our first visit to the Eiffel Tower, and showed us how beautiful Paris can be, and not only in springtime, as the song said… 

 

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You can’t hurry love

 

Michael Dell belongs to a generation where many admirers of Phil Collins come from. So probably he will recall Phil’s remake of a classic theme first sung by The Supremes, “You can’t hurry love”.

Indeed he should have taken this into account when launching his new advertising campaign, following the announcement of spending a lot of money in revamping their products.

judge by yourself…

We are not going to judge the little sample we have seen, but we certainly applaud Dell’s effort to look at themselves through the eyes of consumers. In fact, the sort of product they are putting there is more likely to be accepted in the market via the consumer segment. Following this communication approach, it looks clear they are following the steps from the master, Steve Jobs at Apple.

Now, we hope these guys realize it is not just a matter of doing nice ads. It takes more than a 30 seconds clip to win customers hearts. “Love don’t come easy”, the song said. “It’s a game of give and take”, and for the moment, Dell’s perception in the consumer market has been much more of a take than a give.

“You’ll just have to wait”, and in the meantime, make sure your message goes through, and is backed by superior customer experience and even better service and support. and these has not been your best.

So take it easy, and don’t give up. Otherwise, you will not be having “Another day in Paradise”…

timeless classic…

 

You will tell

It appears the guys from Dell are going to to their own version of HP’s “Personal Again” stuff.

Well, it seems that HP’s results from that campaign paid off, and have not passed unnoticed to them.

For the moment, the level of investment is similar to HP’s, though they might have had more should they had not screwed up with their financials, according to a bunch of dollars’ fines recently awarded to them.

Anyway, we will se how it goes, and how far it reaches. We might say these guys are running similar risks to HP’s when it comes to advertising. Moreover, they even have further limitations, the main one not lacking a basic ingredient for today’s market needs if you really want to become personal as HP does, like an operating system to work on (WebOS).

We will certainly be able to tell it is going to be a Dell…as this former topper in the personal systems market will claim.

Given the company’s recent trajectory, its prospects and the market environment, not mentioning their internal leadership issue, those people that fall under their marketing spell will certainly tell when it comes to support, customer experience, quality issues that even reach court...

For Dell itself they might accept the suggestion of adding a little tag to their motto: “You can tell we are Dell, because it is just like Hell” (even if it only were because of Windows®)…