Transformation Continues: August 2011
My subject was going to be a rather simple illustration on approaching the IT director – but then HP did what she did. I was on the “how to approach the IT director” theme when Steve Jobs sent out his letter. And I was still pushing cold-calling the IT dude when news of Warren Buffet injecting $5 billion into Bank of America hit the Twitter stream.
Just then, the two-by-four of reality smacked me in the forehead.
The world is as much about selling to the CIO as it is about change – more specifically, transformation. The continued economic uncertainty, political unrest, global social upheaval and general craziness isn’t just a rough patch; it is transforming each and every one of us in distinct and unseen ways.
So as you smile into your desk mirror and spin up 100 dials, just remember, every “No” not only gets you closer to a “Yes,” it transforms you; so did Steve Jobs, HP, Warren Buffet and Google.
Ours is a unique industry; the powerhouse OEMs typically are not considered “drivers” of the financial, manufacturing, Internet or technology industries – except in technology with the Xerox of old and today’s HP. So it is that we, the individuals, are a reactionary force – at times like a ping-pong ball in a shaking shoebox. We respond to what the OEMs throw down from on high; they respond to their perception of the marketplace.
Like it or not (and I do not), our destinies have been heavily influenced, if not dictated, by the Big Boys – the OEMs. Our personal transformation has been by design – engineered, in a sense. Like “replicants,” we hit the streets with manufactured memories, predestined functionality and expiration dates. As events beyond our control spin into and out of our realm, their gravitational force tugs and pushes at our unique, personal transformation.
Well, hang on: It was one heck of a month for events beyond our control, for transformation. Consider these five milestones in August:
Bank of America – Warren Buffet injects 5.5 million.
Why is this important to you and all of us in the industry? How’s all that open credit working for you? Another bubble is going to hit, and this time, banking has nowhere to hide; they will transform.
HP – The largest PC company in the world is getting out of PCs.
And that’s not the best of it. HP killed off their tablet after only 49 days in the market, euthanized their smart phones, then spent $10 billion on the cloud. HP sneezes; we all get Zombie Flu.
Since the Hurd exit, HP has lost 40 percent of its value. Mother Blue is in dire straits and lacks the leadership/vision to transform.
And as I write these words, rumors of resurrection – not much more than three days later – are popping up on the Twitter stream. Too late.
Apple – Change is guaranteed; time moves.
Talk about a transformative force. Love him or hate him, Steve Jobs and Apple transformed everything. From the presentation of content to music and magazines, Jobs put forward technology with a human touch. How this void is addressed will ripple across all ecosystems for years to come.
Google buys Motorola’s Mobility – Is nothing sacred? The answer is no.
A “search engine” company, Google wasn’t even an application company, let alone a mobility concern. Google is buying defunct paper mills all over the globe – excellent physical platforms for significant data centers for the cloud. Convergence is a term of yesteryear; transformation is the new convergence and the new collaboration.
Everything changes.
August was a hell of a month – one for the record books. Unlike transformative phases of the past, the current shift affects all of us individually.
Technology and society are converging faster than thought. The old imaging-world power structure is caving in upon itself, condensing.
The time is now. Take a look at your position – your personal position – and get ready.
Posted on 09/02/2011