A lesson from Bill Gates."One thing that I like about the Microsoft culture is that we wake up every day thinking about companies like Wang or Digital Equipment or Compaq, that were huge companies that did very well and they literally have disappeared. Got bought up, you know went into a direction that was a dead end for them. So we have that lesson and we are always saying to ourselves: We have to innovate. We've got to come up with that breakthrough."--Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, speaking with Peter Jennings of ABC News (www.abcnews.com), February 16, 2005 And so I wonder ... like him or not, isn't the approach that Bill Gates (person) Bill Gates - William Henry Gates III, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, which he co-founded in 1975 with Paul Allen. In 1994 Gates is a billionaire, worth $9.35b and Microsoft is worth about $27b. describes--one where you always keep in mind that there were plenty of companies that have gone by the wayside because they were enamored en·am·or tr.v. en·am·ored, en·am·or·ing, en·am·ors To inspire with love; captivate: was enamored of the beautiful dancer; were enamored with the charming island. with what they were doing but the market disagreed--something that we should all keep in mind, no matter what we do in business? Whether you're at a supplier or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and , there is always someone who wants to take away the business. Hell, they don't merely want to: They are actively working toward getting it. This competitor may be a company you know. Or a company you've never heard of. It may be a company down the street. Or one on the other side of the world. Whether you're aware of them or not doesn't matter all that much. They're there. Always. Some people seemingly say, "Aw, I work for one of the biggest __________ companies. I don't have anything to worry about." That's what they think. For now. How many Wang or Digital Equipment or Compaq designers, engineers, manufacturers, managers, executives, suppliers, etc. had the same notion? Those companies weren't trivial in their arenas. They were true players, often at the top of their game. Now they're but stats in the annals of things past "Things Past" is an episode of , the eighth episode of the fifth season. Plot Sisko, Odo, Dax and Garak find themselves on Terok Nor during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. Odo admits letting 3 Bajorans be executed despite knowing they were innocent of their crimes. . Say what you will about Bill Gates, but here's a billionaire who probably stays up late at night figuring how his company is going to come up with new, better or different products in order for him to make more money. Not that he needs it. But if he isn't always trying to stay a step ahead, it is far too easy to get two steps behind. And then more so. Until irrelevance ir·rel·e·vance n. 1. The quality or state of being unrelated to a matter being considered. 2. Something unrelated to a matter being considered. Noun 1. sets in. And so I wonder ... how many executives at the OEMs and supplier companies are truly of the same mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. as Bill Gates? How many are truly saying to themselves "We have to innovate. We've got to come up with that breakthrough"? And how many of them are simply thinking about keeping the status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. to their best of their abilities, working not to advance but working to stay in place? Treading water. For the present. How many of them exhibit the kind of relentless zeal that is necessary to truly compete in what has got to be one of the most demanding of industries? You know them. Or have seen them. Or have read about them. In how many of them do you detect that undeniable drive? How many of them are waking up every day ... and sleepwalking sleepwalking /sleep·walk·ing/ (slep´wawk?ing) somnambulism. sleep·walk·ing n. The act of walking or performing another activity associated with wakefulness while asleep or in a sleeplike state. through the rest of it? But let's not Let's Not is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in Boston University Graduate Journal in December 1954. It was written for no payment as a favour to the journal, and later appeared in the collection Buy Jupiter. just think about the top guy. Let's think about all of the people at the lower levels. All the way to you. (Unless, of course, you're at the top.) What is your attitude toward what you do? Are you trying to think of the ways and means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. to improve things--not just incrementally improve, but actually come up with a breakthrough? A breakthrough isn't limited to just big things (e.g., a new vehicle) but can be improved customer service or a better way for there to be cross-departmental communications or a new technique for getting a task completed in less time (or the task completely made irrelevant). Or are you part of a culture that is willing to let the other guy do it? That other guy wants your job. And unless you do something about it, he or she is going to get it. By Gary S. Vasilash, Editor-In-Chief, gsv@autofieldguide.com |
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