Ok, replace the word Apple in the title with any company’s name and
the answer if often "Yes." Many times a company – after the type of
success that Apple has enjoyed with the iPod and iPhone – finds itself
at a strange place. Runaway success breeds expectation for more
success – with customers, partners and investors all anticipating
accelerating growth. So the company pushes harder, takes bigger
chances, aims further…often times with less than stellar results.
Much has been written about Apple’s failures in the iPhone 3G,
iTunes App Store, and MobileMe rollout. There are cracks and poor
reception in the iPhone 3G, application failures and long sync times in
iTunes and just plain pain in MobileMe. But under the surface there is
even more turmoil. All around Apple’s campus there are planners
working on the next big thing. The stakes are higher. The risks
greater. But can the rewards be just a huge? Difficult to predict.
One thing is for sure. For Apple to continue to surprise and
delight us, for Apple to continue to lead revolutions in telephony,
music, web applications, and computers, for Apple to single-hanndedly
drive innovation in formerly stagnant industries they must keep taking
risks. They will succeed with some and fail with others. Marketers
have much to learn by watching this unfold and following the feedback
of Apple’s customers. Do you appreciate Apple’s efforts or are you
disappointed that they haven’t been able to maintain their own status
quo?
Sure, some products succeed while others fail. Some people love certain products, but are indifferent about others. That is the nature of the beast. However, the problem with MobileMe seems to be that it just doesn’t work. It is not like the Cube which worked, but was a commercial failure. This is a technical failure. It is just plain broken.
To me, it just becomes clearer by the day how important Steve Jobs is for the company. When Apple is expanding its range of products and Steve happens to be somewhat ill for a while, things start to go wrong.
To me, this is a question of putting the right systems, processes and people in place so that this doesn’t happen.
Since Steve can’t clone himself, I guess he needs to grow a team of product guys around him who can do (at least in part) what he does.
It is okay to produce a Cube every now and then, if you can come up with the iPod. But MobileMe equivalents are not excusable. This is not a question of expectations.