Re: Another one bites the dust

On 12/12/06, Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Jones, John (US)
>
> In other words, while vendors say they're in the business of selling
> solutions, what they mean is they're trying to solve their revenue
> problems v. our business problems.
>
> We all hate the car analogy, but Toyota has become both huge and hugely
> profitable by making cars that are more reliable than average and
> selling them at a moderate price premium over the competition.  They
> don't seem too concerned about parts profit after-the-sale or on
> marketing customers to death to move to new cars every couple of years;
> they're growing and profiting by delivering a very good product at a
> reasonable price.  Their reputation is basically bulletproof cars that
> don't need replacing as often as other brands.  Now, if you replace
> "cars" with "systems" and "parts profit" with "IT services", what would
> you replace "Toyota" with?

Ah, but John now you strike at the heart of the entire global economy, which
is the 90-day cycle of American stock-market-driven corporations and the
ten-year plans used by the Japanese.  American firms no longer care about
ANYTHING other than the next 90 days,

Cisco, Google, Dell, Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Pfizer, Wal-Mart, Exxon,
GE, Warren Buffet, Inc, HP ...  these are all high performing
companies with great products and long term investment strategies.   I
think it is IBM, GM and Ford that are the exception to the rule.    If
the i5 was a division of Intel or HP, whoever it is that is in charge
in Rochester would have been dismissed long ago.

and the stock market reinforces this
as do our own idiot, er, I mean INDUSTRY pundits who consistently wave
90-day sales figures in everybody's faces as if they meant something.  How
often do you read screaming doom and gloom when an iSeries quarter doesn't
meet expectations?  Even if the previous one was a banner quarter?

By measuring success purely through 90-day profits, you lose sight of
everything other than what gets you the most profit in the shortest time
frame, as opposed to building a market base that will last for years.  Board
members don't even care about ten years from now; they care about how much
their stock options will appreciate this year, and whether they can get that
villa in Nice.  The iSeries is a strategic behemoth, but unfortunately the
90-day cycle only cares about the tactical gains.

and those companies fail. Just like IBM will. Companies like Boeing
and Microsoft invest long term, fire bad managers and thrive.

-Steve