“Apple’s success can be boiled down to five simple rules that apply not just to Apple but to other companies as well. The rules aren’t foolproof (for one thing, they tend to work better when Steve Jobs is running the company), but they may be useful to other CEOs who want to place their companies outside the mainstream—and out of the range of critics. Of course, your products had better be as good as Apple’s too,” Harris Collingwood writes for Forrester Magazine.
Collingwood’s five rules:
1. Excellence trumps everything
2. Decide on your story, then stick to it
3. Choose your friends well
4. Choose your enemies better
5. Let your allies play bad cop
Full article, an excellent read, here.
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It’s OSX and the iPod that makes Apple rich, why would anybody pay for $2500 (for a pretty case) for a laptop when they can buy now a DELL Inspiron 6000 for $1178.16 or build their own PC for $1500.
…and hire Jonathan Ive
You just answered your own question Mr. Dell.
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“It’s OSX”.
They forgot rule No.6:
6. Superb marketing department able to sell snow to the eskimos and stretch the bounds of truth further than your competitors
1. Excellence trumps everything
—
uh, in the article, an ancillary note about ‘oh you better have the best products out there’
yea.. sure.. get right on that.. thanks for the advice.. best products in the world? got it..
6. Superb marketing department able to sell snow to the eskimos and stretch the bounds of truth further than your competitors
—
they can’t even sell a $500 rock-solid virus free mac.. let alone snow to an eskimo.. please.
There is something which directly affects all of those “Rules” mentioned. The reason Apple is and how why etc, is because Steve Jobs, “loves” his job, position life etc… his main directive, motivator in life is based on love. He loves to create, effect, change think etc… but all these wondrous things that are Apple, are because of Steve Jobs love
I love Steve, and that he knows how to love
Are you saying Apple has too much marketing? Or too little marketing?
The article is marred by the security by obscurity myth in the sidebar, otherwise it’s a self-gratifying, perceptive piece a bit on the light-weight side. It ignores the undocumented relationship of Jobs and Gates, or the philosophical differences when it comes to bloat. A more interesting perspective would relate Apple’s benign image to a reaction against Microsoft’s extreme Machiavellian antics: what’s bad for Microsoft’s image (and there’s much there) is good for Apple’s – almost by default – and is as much a reason for the existence of Mac Marines as other reasons spanning from esthetics (in a big sense) on the one hand, to the threatened minority syndrome, to the carefully tailored market positioning.
Reality Check, what marketing? Apple doesn’t try to market their Mac, only put millions of posters of iPods all over the place. I have yet to see 1 mac-mini commercial. I’ve seen the G5 commercial 3 years ago and the powerbook with that China basketball player. That’s it. And Apple is so tight liped about futher products, who knows what’s comming in January. So my question again, is what Marketing?
I’m so good, I can sell your a motherboard for $2000 dollars and put the rest from off the shelf parts from Fry’s and convince people it’s made my Apple.
Agree with Forrester that what really makes Apple great is that they have a good story to tell. The underdog, almost down and out, coming good is always a seller. But the underdog taking over as number one against Goliath (or rather Micropen1s) is the the story we Macolytes expect to see roll out…
BTW: Bit too much lovey-dovey in that post up there Veronica.. Not the kind you want to re-read the next morning!
>>Reality Check, what marketing? Apple doesn’t try to market their Mac, only put millions of posters of iPods all over the place. I have yet to see 1 mac-mini commercial. I’ve seen the G5 commercial 3 years ago and the powerbook with that China basketball player. That’s it. And Apple is so tight liped about futher products, who knows what’s comming in January. So my question again, is what Marketing?
Sure Apple does marketing. There’s more to marketing than TV ads – Apple is far more subtle. You could consider the iPod as the marketing device which attracts people into Apple’s website and stores, at which point they are exposed to masses of highly sophisticated marketing devices for Apple computers – ranging from sexy images through to dubious and exaggerated performance claims. Apple know precisely what they’re doing and they do it very well. Apple are selling a lifestyle, and you don’t do that through small ads in the newspaper.
Apple are also infamouse for their exaggerated marketing claims – see http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/06/11.9.shtml for example. However, from a marketing perspective this is all good stuff – there’s no such thing as bad publicity & people remember the slogan even if it is technically incorrect.
Hey Reality Check, the general public don’t give a shit about speed and all that bollox. The Mac MAY not be the fastest machine, but so what? It works, has no security problems (viruses, worms, adware, spyware etc.) and is FAST ENOUGH FOR MOST PEOPLE.
I so sick of people like you saying “yeh, but my PC is faster”. So what? What does that mean, in the grand scheme of operating your computer? Does that mean your virus checker runs faster? Does that mean you can find adware quicker? Does it mean you can defrag your drive faster? Does that mean you can update Windows quicker?
It’s not about the top speed of the computer, it’s about what the computer does with the speed it has. And in that area, Apple clearly win hands down. No stupid background processes running, only ones that NEED to be run. With a PC you have so much crap choking the CPU, by the time you start working up to 30% of your CPU is being used by adware removers, virus monitors etc.
So Reality Check, up yours. My Mac is OVERALL faster than your PieceofShit.
Place design at a high level of priorities and don’t let marketing designer wanna bees fsck it up. Good design and funcionatlity trumps that extra half cent you can squeeze out of a product.
In a word, it’s called ‘vision’. Most don’t have it, and you can’t give them a formula to follow it. Especially those that are far off to begin with.
For instance. One list of suggestions for one CEO would read like this:
1. Wear anti-perspirant.
2. Stop running around in circles screaming in an attempt to drum up false enthusiasm
3. Focus on ONE product execution plan
4. Stop being greedy and focus on quality
5. Stop saying you want to ‘fsking kill’ everyone.
way
I’ve been a web-browsing Apple zealot for over a decade now, and I have never heard the term “Mac Marines.” Have any of you…?
To Micheal Dell
Why don’t I buy your products?
Lack of innovation and design.
Poor materials.
Poor workmanship.
Crappy operating system that enslaves instead of empowers.
Just about all things being about equal between a Mac and a PC, a Mac is cheaper to use, lasts longer, results in less loss productivity, is more reliable and a hell of a lot more fun to use
Sure there is more games for a PC, but there is also more headaches. Mac users have tons of games, more than enough to keep most busy, except the real hardcore competitior gamer, which quite frankly won’t get far in life sitting in front of a computer all day.
Since games are all going to devices like the Playstation 3, PC games are on the decline ayway as being too expensive.
With a Mac, as it always has been, the machine works for you. A PC, as it always has been, is designed to be enslaved to.
Visit this guys site and compare Mac’s and PC’s equally.
http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html
“Hey Reality Check, the general public don’t give a shit about speed and all that bollox…I so sick of people like you saying “yeh, but my PC is faster”…It’s not about the top speed of the computer…So Reality Check, up yours. My Mac is OVERALL faster than your PieceofShit.”
irony compliments of Jamie
I’m glad irony isn’t lost on EVERYONE
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As far as “exaggerated marketing claims” go, have you ever read that link you supplied, RealityCheck?
Three claims against the G5 advertisement were filed:
1. the world’s fastest personal computer. this was only upheld because, even though the G5 is overall faster than its competitors, it’s not faster is every application under every circumstance.
2. The first 64-bit personal computer. This complaint was thrown out as the advertising is correct. Other 64-bit proccessors were around, but not in machines designed as personal computers.
3. Breaks through the 4 GB memory barrier that limits other PCs. Also thrown out because the advertising is correct.
“Reality Check” trolled: “They forgot rule No.6:
6. Superb marketing department able to sell snow to the eskimos and stretch the bounds of truth further than your competitors”
Actually, they didn’t “forget” your “rule No. 6”: FUD and bullshit hasn’t worked for M$, Real, Creative, Dell, etc. So there is no “rule No. 6”.
If you really want a “rule No. 6” try, “make a cheap, dysfunctional copy of Apple’s products, and mass market the shit out of it, ala Windblows x.xx”
Rock on SJ!
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I love the irony of rule No.1 because about 5 years ago I remember seeing a Discovery Channel program that was all about how – “…haveing a better product was not a guarantee of success.” The program then went on to demonstrate this by contrasting and comparing Apple and MS.
Do we know who’s won yet?
Cheers.
” I have never heard the term “Mac Marines.” Have any of you…?”
Yeah I have. It goes back at least 5 years. Dont know much about em though
I hope this isnt the same Reality Check who turned the Mac Observer boards into a ridiculous hate-fest. If it is, im switching sites again.
I dont need some half baked armchair quarterback who thinks it’s his duty to ‘set us all straight’.
Veronica, you are spot on! This is the real power, and this is why I consider Steve Jobs one of my heroes, along with Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes), and many others who cook with love. It’s nice to see someone else who “gets it”.
Marketing, Schmarketing.
Produce excellence, and regardless of cost, there will be those who are willing to pay the premium for it. It doesn’t make sense to market to the average consumers, unless you WANT to be Dell, Microsoft, or Walmart.
I’m perfectly happy with Apple right now, and actually don’t wish them any more success than they can handle in Apple style.
Steve knows this, which is why there’s so little marketing, and so little reduction in Apple’s prices. And there won’t be much in the future, either, as long as he’s in charge.
I know it’s beating a dead horse (heck, that horse is already hamburger), but it goes back to the old BMW/Chevy analogy, too.
MW: I’m perfectly happy with Apple’s LACK of advertising and lower prices.
>>So Reality Check, up yours. My Mac is OVERALL faster than your PieceofShit.
?? Don’t get your point Jamie. I own two Macs.
Keep taking the medicine.
>> As far as “exaggerated marketing claims” go, have you ever read that link you supplied, RealityCheck
Sure did Jim, thanks. My point (if you’d read and understood my posts) was how close Apple marketing push their point. In this example the point is that a) the Apple *wasn’t* the fastest computer, period; and b) it was technically the first 64-bit *personal* computer – but not if you considered workstations, or if you considered home-made personal computers (go check the PC enthusiast sites – people were building AMD64 based machines before the Powermac G5 was out). I’ll grant Apple marketing the memory claim, for what it’s worth.
>.I hope this isnt the same Reality Check who turned the Mac Observer boards into a ridiculous hate-fest. If it is, im switching sites again.
No, don’t worry hammer. Must be a different Reality Check. You can hang around a bit longer. And convenient as it is for you to label and file me as a troll, I can assure you I own two Macs (PB 1.5GHz G4 and iMac G5 1.8GHz) and have recently order two Quad-G5’s for work. I just enjoy injecting a little reality into the blind devotion exhibited here. There actually is a world outside of Apple, believe or not. All systems have there pros and cons, not that you’d realise it from reading this site.
>.I hope this isnt the same Reality Check who turned the Mac Observer boards into a ridiculous hate-fest. If it is, im switching sites again.
No, don’t worry hammer. Must be a different Reality Check. You can hang around a bit longer. And convenient as it is for you to lable and file me as a troll, I can assure you I own two Macs (PB 1.5GHz G4 and iMac G5 1.8GHz) and have recently ordered two Quad-G5’s for work. I just enjoy injecting a little reality into the blind devotion exhibited here. There actually is a world outside of Apple, believe or not. All systems have their pros and cons, not that you’d realise it from reading this site.
Anyway, just be happy that I give you guys something to argue about. Wouldn’t these boards be dull if we all agreed with each other?
I disagree. I think. With everything. OK? Sometimes. For the hell of it.
Check Yourself Reality Check
As long as people think “marketing” is Apple’s secret sauce, they won’t get it. Apple’s secret sauce is functionality. The iPod/iTMS/iTunes triumvirate provide better functionality than any other combination.
Remember, if Apple’s marketing was so good, would it have less than 3% of the global PC market?