Why is it that no other company can make a phone as desirable as the iPhone ?
Why is it that no other company can make an electric car like the Tesla ?
Why is it that no other company can make that fast a search engine as Google ?
Its not that other companies do not have smart people. It is not that other companies do not have a ‘vision’ (or even a vision statement). It is not that the other companies do not have deep pockets.
Then why ?
I believe that the reason is the culture of the company. The ‘culture’ or ‘dna’ is a much bandied about word — but rather not much understood , even by the people throwing it around. Each company has a different culture. That culture defines the product.
Apple has a culture of finesse. They concentrate on the user experience. From the top management to the bottom. The product becomes one about user experience.
Google has a culture of speed. They concentrate on the speed of the products with everything else taking a backseat. The product becomes one about how fast can the user get access to the information.
Tesla has a culture of futurism. They concentrate on the next thing in the car industry. Be it making an electric vehicle when everyone has killed their own products of a similar nature. Or it be about autonomous driving.
And the culture is defined by the person at the helm. Once he moves away, his successor needs to carry on the culture. Sometimes this transfer works, but many a times, this doesn’t. Because the person at the helm defines a different culture than the one before it. And that culture seeps into the product. And that product is no longer what it used to be.
No amount of Product Development workshops will get over this hump. Getting the correct person at the top is much more important than just achieving the next quarters numbers.
If you want to make a product different from the culture of the company, you need to change the culture of the company.
Why is it that no other company can make an electric car like the Tesla ?
Why is it that no other company can make that fast a search engine as Google ?
Its not that other companies do not have smart people. It is not that other companies do not have a ‘vision’ (or even a vision statement). It is not that the other companies do not have deep pockets.
Then why ?
I believe that the reason is the culture of the company. The ‘culture’ or ‘dna’ is a much bandied about word — but rather not much understood , even by the people throwing it around. Each company has a different culture. That culture defines the product.
Apple has a culture of finesse. They concentrate on the user experience. From the top management to the bottom. The product becomes one about user experience.
Google has a culture of speed. They concentrate on the speed of the products with everything else taking a backseat. The product becomes one about how fast can the user get access to the information.
Tesla has a culture of futurism. They concentrate on the next thing in the car industry. Be it making an electric vehicle when everyone has killed their own products of a similar nature. Or it be about autonomous driving.
And the culture is defined by the person at the helm. Once he moves away, his successor needs to carry on the culture. Sometimes this transfer works, but many a times, this doesn’t. Because the person at the helm defines a different culture than the one before it. And that culture seeps into the product. And that product is no longer what it used to be.
No amount of Product Development workshops will get over this hump. Getting the correct person at the top is much more important than just achieving the next quarters numbers.
If you want to make a product different from the culture of the company, you need to change the culture of the company.
No comments:
Post a Comment