i-solation
It is no longer news that Apple has announced the 'ipad' its latest product offering. But what may come as news to some is the fact that Apple Inc. as an entity is managed like a cult-in translation, its management aint that different from the chinese government in style.
Now before you conclude about this article, this is not a bashing of Apple Inc. management style, but an analysis of how Apple Inc. led by Steve Jobs has used the concept of isoloation to better its lot.
The use of excessive divide and conquer techniques, oaths of secrecy by staff, isolation (of the industrial design team) has partly been responsible for the revolutionary success of Apple.
Following the announcement of the apple ipad this wednesday, mixed reviews have greeted the product but one that has caught my eye is the fact that 3 other brands are laying claim to the trademark 'ipad' claiming apple had no right to use their registered trademark. This i blame on isolation. A company that is very much in the system would know what the industry pulse reads.
Now here's the issue. A few years ago some dedicated BMW customers protested to the management of BMW that they up their industrial designers such that the newer models of the brand would be more sleek and very intune with the times, In responding the management announced that their brand was not for the masses and that if the protesters didnt like their cars they shouldn't buy them. Which as far as concerned was a BIG slap to customers. Finally when reality of dwindling sales hit years ago the latest specs of BMW cars would attest to the fact that they had to cave in to the pressure from customers.
For a very long time the process of bringing new products to the market which include market research, sampling and testing have been grossly ignored by Apple, and they have gotten away with this so much because for some reason they have a genuis as the VP of Industrial Design who keeps coming up with irrestable designs that work.
its been said that The Industrial Designers @ Apple led by Jonathan Ive work out of a secluded cove with in the Apple Inc. campus and they report directly to the CEO Steve Jobs directly who also is the only one that has direct access to the work enviroment of the designers. These designers are made to sign NDA's to ensure non of their desings are ever leaked. Apple does not do public BETA testings-PERIOD!
This strategy helps drive all sorts of rumors and industry speculations about expected apple product. Th online tech media fabricates all sorts which in turn transcends to good hype and PR for the potential product. This is how it worked with th iphone. And this in my conclusion is about the cheapest way to market Apple products: WORD OF MOUTH.
In summary my ramblings are simple: the concept of isolation is a two edged sword as much as it works best for brands like Apple that have been strategically placed which causes them to force products on its customers without asking customer opinion, it could also backfire just like it would soon become apparent.
The 'ipad' was over hyped and expectations became very high... but in the end Uncle Steve would learn again that the CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. plus how long will it take Apple to realise that the day they lift the AT&T caveat off iphones they would see maximised global sales. Well i guess they better have a good reason...
It is no longer news that Apple has announced the 'ipad' its latest product offering. But what may come as news to some is the fact that Apple Inc. as an entity is managed like a cult-in translation, its management aint that different from the chinese government in style.
Now before you conclude about this article, this is not a bashing of Apple Inc. management style, but an analysis of how Apple Inc. led by Steve Jobs has used the concept of isoloation to better its lot.
The use of excessive divide and conquer techniques, oaths of secrecy by staff, isolation (of the industrial design team) has partly been responsible for the revolutionary success of Apple.
Following the announcement of the apple ipad this wednesday, mixed reviews have greeted the product but one that has caught my eye is the fact that 3 other brands are laying claim to the trademark 'ipad' claiming apple had no right to use their registered trademark. This i blame on isolation. A company that is very much in the system would know what the industry pulse reads.
Now here's the issue. A few years ago some dedicated BMW customers protested to the management of BMW that they up their industrial designers such that the newer models of the brand would be more sleek and very intune with the times, In responding the management announced that their brand was not for the masses and that if the protesters didnt like their cars they shouldn't buy them. Which as far as concerned was a BIG slap to customers. Finally when reality of dwindling sales hit years ago the latest specs of BMW cars would attest to the fact that they had to cave in to the pressure from customers.
For a very long time the process of bringing new products to the market which include market research, sampling and testing have been grossly ignored by Apple, and they have gotten away with this so much because for some reason they have a genuis as the VP of Industrial Design who keeps coming up with irrestable designs that work.
its been said that The Industrial Designers @ Apple led by Jonathan Ive work out of a secluded cove with in the Apple Inc. campus and they report directly to the CEO Steve Jobs directly who also is the only one that has direct access to the work enviroment of the designers. These designers are made to sign NDA's to ensure non of their desings are ever leaked. Apple does not do public BETA testings-PERIOD!
This strategy helps drive all sorts of rumors and industry speculations about expected apple product. Th online tech media fabricates all sorts which in turn transcends to good hype and PR for the potential product. This is how it worked with th iphone. And this in my conclusion is about the cheapest way to market Apple products: WORD OF MOUTH.
In summary my ramblings are simple: the concept of isolation is a two edged sword as much as it works best for brands like Apple that have been strategically placed which causes them to force products on its customers without asking customer opinion, it could also backfire just like it would soon become apparent.
The 'ipad' was over hyped and expectations became very high... but in the end Uncle Steve would learn again that the CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. plus how long will it take Apple to realise that the day they lift the AT&T caveat off iphones they would see maximised global sales. Well i guess they better have a good reason...
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