What happened to Dell & Microsoft??

One would think in this economy that the Windows/PC products would be king(s) and Dell products would be queen(s). In fact, one would almost consider it obscene that Apple has been gaining market share in this economy. Although I am a long time follower of Steve Jobs, I am definitely not an ‘Apple guy’ only. After reading this article today http://www.wral.com/business/story/6156112/ and then other recent articles about how the PC/Windows market continues to tank...... I ask myself, “Which is the better value, quality or quantity?”

Why are people choosing Apple and running from Windows? Why would Dell, who one time could not build manufacturing plants fast enough, be closing house in some States? I contend that if Windows does not hit a home run (with the bases loaded) with this Windows 7 release………they are done.........as are some of these ‘quantity’ PC generators.

Ironically, even in a sour economy (maybe more so in a sour economy) quality and service are still king. Would you have thought the more expensive product (with much higher profit margin) could do it in the “Great Recession” of the 2000’s?

What happened to Dell and Microsoft?

Your thoughts?

kml

2009

Are you too ‘old’ to think ‘young’?

I know there are lots of different opinions regarding Brett Favre (2009 Vikings quarterback). I’m not a huge NFL fan but I do occasionally like to follow a particular team or person if they are illustrating signs of innovation. Brett Favre is one of those old guys (old for the sport) that seek to maintain mental youth. I love it!! Age should simply add experience to our mental youth…….not replace it with ‘old thoughts’.

I have a friend that learned to play the trumpet while in his mid 60’s. My grandmother even decided to take up a nursing career well after her 4 children had careers of their own.

What makes the difference? The difference is thinking young. One of my favorite things to watch in business is an older person applying years of wisdom to a young progressive thought. Who in the world would have thought that a group of old guys (by the standard of kids) could come up with an iphone or the revolutionary ipod?

Successful business leaders envision the future and design into the future not the past or present. Designing a computer or machine that works today will fail when brought to the marketplace. We must be progressive and think like the Steve Jobs types in the world. We must ask ourselves, “How will the world function 10 or 100 years from now and can I be a part of it?”

Are you a ‘young’ thinker?

kml

2009

Do you really 'know' your customers??

What do you know about your customers? How many contacts do you have inside of your customer facility? The ‘salesman’ ‘buyer’ relationship is as old as the process of bartering for goods and services. One guy rides through town and hooks up with a potential buyer. The guy selling looks over his shoulder……..making sure another seller is not riding into town with a better gadget for less money.

I remain convinced that we all collectively underutilize the resources at our disposal. We live in an age in which we could know anything we choose to know about our customers. We could interact with them socially online. We could not only know the buyer but we could know the end user and everyone in between.

We could let our customer tell us exactly what his need is and then simply produce according to the desire? What prohibits us? It is so easy to see the companies that truly know their customers. As a matter of fact, in the current economy the folks that really understand and know their customers shine even more so than in times of prosperity.

Do your really know your customer better than your competitor does? If not, what prohibits you from doing so?

kml

2009

What I've Learned In 37 Years.

Ironically, a day before (today) my birthday (tomorrow) this year I have enjoyed another "Langdon Family Reunion". I listened to some of the stories about my family during the very early 1900's. It helped me as I reflected on my thoughts for this blog going into the weekend.

In my short 37 years I have learned that I can never be successful unless I surround myself with good people. I owe my success, in part, to them.

I have learned that good leaders are rare. Good followers are even more rare.

I have learned that those who hesitate too long are often overtaken by the innovative thoughts of another.

I have learned to keep my friends close but my enemies much closer.

I have learned that I have to stop the movement of my lips to truly listen and hear the thoughts of others.

I have learned the value of the ability to reason. To simply have a 'mind' is not enough without the ability of that mind to reason .......it is but useless flesh.

I have learned that I have already lived longer than I deserve. Each day is a gift and I pray that I will treat it as such.

Have a great weekend my friends. Back to business on Monday.

kml

2009

Interacting with the New American Customer

If you are 20 years old or younger as of this writing, you are the generation that refuses to accept poor service. You will go to the grocery store and if the product is terrible or the service is rude you simply snap a quick pic or a short video on your iphone 3gs and within moments 1,000 potential people will also know your experience and share it with you via Youtube.

I fear the death of modern business will be the refusal of those over 25-ish to embrace this new age of communication. I know many people in their late 30’s that are still terrified to generate any kind of financial transaction online. Businesses that succeed in the future will embrace the ‘up and coming’ socially networked generation or they will fail and fail miserably. I continue to watch certain companies spend literally millions of dollars marketing a product when they could get more exposure for free. That’s right, free. The ‘old school of thought’ is nothing good is free. I say to them, “If paying a premium makes you feel superior, have at it.” It is a real shame though because there are over 500,000 hits on Youtube of video feed of a young kid playing guitar. Imagine that and to be quite honest with you the video is marginal at best. We must think differently today.

Much the way e-mail changed our lives so will online social networking change our lives. I read a recent study stating that Apple recently hired some kids out of college that have never (I repeat) never sent an e-mail. “E-mail” he says, “Wow that’s so taboo, who sends e-mail anymore when I can be linked real time to my entire community of friends?”

If my generation plans to succeed we better embrace socialnomics. (Socialnomics - the term is borrowed from a book written with the same title by Erik Qualman) We will ignore at our own peril.

Your thoughts?

To walk away from your job?? When would you??

During this economy fewer people seem to get ‘fed up’ with their jobs and simply walk away. I have been watching very closely over the past year during our Great Recession and have seen the tightening of the corporate belts across America and across the world. Some companies have trimmed the folks they feel were marginal at best. This leaves the few and the proud. The folks that are left often become very stressed wondering if they are next. Often times they work many hours for less pay fearful to say anything at all. Many companies have reverted to mandatory 4 day weeks asking their employees to work 10 hours days. Some companies have also cancelled the corporate contribution to the employee’s healthcare plan. Lastly, many companies have trimmed holidays and also stopped corporate retirement plan contributions.

I have seen many people ride out the first wave. The first wave is generally a mass lay-off. Some hang around after the reduced work week. A few more hang around after healthcare benefits are cut.

When would you leave or maybe the question is should you leave? In most economies it would be a ‘no brainer’……..in this economy it’s tricky. I have seen folks do it both ways.

I’d urge caution. Are you in a company that has a great likelihood of rebounding within the next year? If not, maybe it’s time for a career change anyway. Remember, although the times can be very difficult, some of the greatest companies ever built in America were built during the Great Depression of the 1920’s – 1930’s.

Your thoughts?

Just because you move it online doesn't make it more efficient!

My generation learned to compute on Apple IIc's. We wrote tiny programs using Basic computer language. It was so cool to write a line or two of code and then watch on the screen as a line was drawn. At that time, I'm sure Al Gore had already invented the internet.....it's just that we did not know much about it yet. We watched as dial-up slowly rolled out where we lived. I still hear that noise in my head that modems make when they connect.........for us, we'd finally connect and check a few e-mails and then you'd hear that dreaded noise again and know immediately that you have been booted and are having to reconnect.

Over time we have collectively watched as the internet has grown into a huge information monster. Most of our jobs would slowly grind to a halt in the absence of internet access. The question I have repeatedly asked of myself is, "Does moving your information into an electronic format make you or your company more efficient?" Is the act of 'moving the information' the thing that generates efficiency?

I contend, that yes having information in an electronic (or maybe even an online format) is a part of the puzzle but many times we simply drag already 'burdened & lame' processes into the electronic world and wonder why we did not see immediate efficiency jumps. We must also consider the process. I encourage business leaders to consider your processes. Before transferring any information into electronic formats be sure that the process itself is currently operating in an efficient manner.

Feel free to add your thoughts or comments here on the blog. Just click the comments tab.

kl

2009