“What’s Under Your Umbrella?”

Strategic Planning, Market Research and Product Development are each essential elements that drive market innovation leaders and enduring company performance. Almost without exception as well however, are leadership and the mission critical culture that leadership is able to have permeated their entire organizations.

On the subject of leadership, Steve Jobs the Apple Inc CEO probably invented the word Leadership. Jobs, co-founder along with Steve Wozniak of Apple Inc. is the idiosyncratic, individualistic Silicone Valley entrepreneur with a deep understanding the role aesthetics plays public appeal product applications and possibly a deeper understanding of Business Process Management and the dynamics of Horizontal Market product integration. Under Jobs in the late 1970′s Apple took on the likes of IBM with the commercially successful Apple II and Macintosh personal computers and more widespread use of mouse-driven GUI applications. In 1985, Board questions involving his leadership prompted his resignation. He immediately founded NeXT, a computer platform development company and also acquired the spun off computer graphics division of Lucas Films which he renamed Pixar Animation Studios which in 1997 Jobs then sold to Apple Inc., and returned as Apple Inc. CEO. In 2006 Pixar was sold to the Walt Disney Company. First, with a strong background in graphical user interface and computer platform development technology, then add in computer animation and the leadership stage was set for Steve Jobs and Apple to move past IBM, HP and Dell to take on Sony DiscMan in the portable music business with Apple iPod/iTunes and then into cell phones against Nokia, Palm and Blackberry with Apple iPhone. Apple next went head to head with Blockbuster and Rogers in the video download wars, to Apple’s recent launch of iPad, which targets Amazon, Chapters, Indigo and Borders.

With storm clouds looming the horizon, Amazon, with either an offensive or defensive strategic marketing initiative, probably a bit of both, recently entered the eBook space with the launch of its Kindle or Kindle DX that weighs 10.5oz. and is 1/3″thin with a 6″ diagonal screen, manufactured for Amazon by Foxcomm. 60 second downloads give Kindle access to 1500 books or Kindle DX access to 3500 books and print media. Pretty exciting stuff – right? Well, not exactly. Amazon, a heavyweight in the business of selling hard copy books but a veritable newcomer to the cut-throat electronic sound/text communication industry realized very quickly that with limited e-application functionality, they were extremely vulnerable. Their only alternative was open architecture. (Google: Wikinomics) Through open software architecture access, Amazon has invited software developers to bring forward expanded usage functionality. Pricing is under 0 for the Kindle and under 0 for the Kindle DX Model. From a Strategic Planning perspective and based on Amazon’s Market Research, it no doubt appeared to make all good sense against some of their traditional competitors like Chapters, Borders, Indigo and Barnes & Noble. But when the name became electronic the game suddenly changed, or maybe more correctly Steve Jobs and Apple changed the game to ‘what’s under your umbrella?’

When Steve Jobs and Apple announced the WiFi Apple iPad addition to their iFamily of Apple iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes, with the iPad 3G Model right on its heals, the game had most definitely changed. To begin with, the huge advantage that Apple seems to hold over the competition is the Steve Jobs/Apple combination is synonymous with media hype to the extent that Jobs/Apple depend on media hype as a key component of their new product launch strategy…a strategy that is also well earned.  Complete with very sexy, with a very intuitive, any angle touch screen or flick screen functionality access to a ‘bazillion’ applications that will become be a major factor in altering print in all forms, books included. The suite of applications under the umbrella include email, photo, video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, Apple Store, iBooks, maps, notes, calendar, contacts etc, all accessed through the Home Screen.

The Apple iPad has a 9.7″ LED Backlit IPS display, hold anyway viewing screen that weighs 1.5lbs, is ½” thin, a 10 hour rechargeable battery life and 30 pin docking station for camera, keyboard and audio headphone jack access as well. . The docking station is also compatible with AppleTV, their digital media receiver for HD video downloads from the Apple Store. AppleTV was initially their small form device for HD TV and HD home theatre downloads. From a competitive perspective the decision drivers of marketplace buyer decisions suddenly came down to Apple iPad’s broad based functionality versus single purpose functionality products like Kindle DX , Sony PRS 505 Readers or the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader with price points a somewhat distant consideration.

The Apple iPad, even with a very broad based suite of applications, is not targeted at the 4.6 billion cell phone user market or the likes of Blackberry, Palm Pre, Samsung and so forth in the smart phone market. This market is predominantly phone/text/photo messaging functionality in very pocket portable devices with some expanded free peer-to-peer user friendly PIN application and GPS. With the recent introduction by Samsung Electronics of their Wave Smartphone there is no question that touch screen/flick screen technology along with Web Browser speed is the way forward in the Smartphone marketplace. When iPad becomes Skype friendly it truly will be a cross over device. Meanwhile, the jury is still out on Amazon’s strategic move but in the absence of a more broadly based suite of applications, Kindle’s shelf life is very limited. Single use? That is just not the game anymore. Chose your markets wisely. Be sure there is a market and understand the competition. Understand the dynamics of market segmentation and where the price/application entry points are, as well as the size of each market segment. There will always be winners and there most definitely always be losers.

The Apple strategy to take proven platform technology into what appear to be unrelated industries with more broadly based business and consumer applications in each case usually takes the competition almost completely by surprise. To other Corporations, are these lessons transferable into their respective businesses? Most definitely. If your company is comfortable with the status quo and linear strategic planning, a quick read of the Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. story would be time well spent.

Video from the October 17th opening of the Manhasset, NY Apple store.
Video Rating: 4 / 5