蘋果與庫克船長接下來怎么走
????本周二,蘋果公司(Apple)發(fā)布收益報告,顯示公司業(yè)績超出市場預期。隨后,很多人都對蘋果的股票另眼相看。然而,重新審視蘋果還有一個更重要的原因。那就是蒂姆?庫克懂得了謙遜,并再次引入了蘋果公司原本賴以盈利的要素:顛覆性創(chuàng)新。 ????庫克在企業(yè)運營方面一直是位聰明的領導者。他打造了一條可靠的全球供應鏈,以較低的成本向全世界的消費者交付數(shù)以百萬計的產(chǎn)品,并因此聲名鵲起。他還懂得什么時候該結盟【比如與宏達電(HTC)】,什么時候該選戰(zhàn)【比如與三星(Samsung)】,什么時候該道歉【比如他曾分別就蘋果地圖以及售后服務向中國消費者道歉】。 ????庫克掌舵后,蘋果公司推出了蘋果地圖、新款(更厚、更重的)iPad以及迷你iPad,同時還進行了各種較小的產(chǎn)品改進。但這家公司在3月份沒有推出任何新品。蘋果能否扭轉這個趨勢? ????我們相信蘋果公司可以做到這一點,我們也相信蒂姆?庫克就是最佳人選。因為同許多從具有小聰明變成擁有大智慧的領袖一樣,有證據(jù)顯示,蒂姆?庫克正在改變自己的領導藝術。 ????有傳言稱,蘋果將在今年夏天推出三種規(guī)格的iPhone。遵循蘋果其它產(chǎn)品大、中、小尺寸一應俱全的傳統(tǒng),iPhone或許終于將打破單一尺寸,以滿足各個市場不同消費者的不同需求。這個變化或許將有助于蘋果同三星等占據(jù)了智能手機與平板電腦間市場空白的廠商在價格方面展開競爭。一個類似的例子是迷你版iPad,蘋果推出該產(chǎn)品,旨在回應該尺寸Android平板電腦獲得的成功。 ????蘋果持續(xù)了十多年的顛覆性設計創(chuàng)新與魅力何在?它們的源泉來自于蒂姆?庫克愿意給蘋果負責工業(yè)設計的高級副總裁喬納森?伊夫更大的自由空間,后者是蘋果許多主打產(chǎn)品背后的天才人物。 ????低價、謙虛、顛覆性,這三點將成為蘋果賴以成功的基石。隨著多位高管近期離開蘋果,伊夫的權力和影響力如日中天。只有具有大智慧的領導者,才容得下他人地位攀升,而庫克正是這樣的智者。 ????正如行業(yè)分析師賀拉斯?德迪烏所言,顛覆“在字面上意味著不適、取代乃至破壞。但任何經(jīng)濟體要想健康發(fā)展都離不開顛覆。假如用生物學做比喻,那就是,死亡是生命中最重要的事情?!?/p> ????蘋果如何能東山再起?它可能在以下三個領域出奇制勝。 ????? iWatch. 雖然網(wǎng)上有關它的預測很多,但真正的iWatch絕不是那樣的。它不是戴在我們手上的縮小版iPhone,也不可能是另一種耐克Fuelband或FitBit(兩者都是運動設備——譯注)。這是一款配備了大量感應裝置的獨一無二的蘋果手環(huán),必將抓住所有人的眼球。有關iWatch的傳言帶來了一絲希望。不過,和其他人不同,我們認為iWatch將類似一款可佩戴鼠標產(chǎn)品。圍繞手臂的感應器能讓你更好地與蘋果產(chǎn)品互動;忘掉屏幕解鎖吧,iWatch的自我感應能完全自動地做到這一點。它能否充當基于iTunes商店的實體采購的媒介?或者是作為其它設備的實體3D鼠標接口?又或者在面談中充當無線通訊設備? |
????In the wake of Apple's (AAPL) better-than-expected earnings report on Tuesday, many are giving the company's cheap stock a second look. There's an even better reason to revisit Apple, however. Tim Cook has been humbled, and now he's reintroducing the company's original profit driver: disruptive innovation. ????Cook has always been a smart leader when it comes to operations. He built his reputation by building a global supply chain that reliably delivers millions of products at managed costs to consumers all over the world. He also knew when to build bridges (like he did with HTC), when to fight (like he is doing with Samsung), and when to apologize (like he did with Apple Maps andservice in China). ????Under Cook's leadership, we've seen Apple Maps, a new (thicker, heavier) iPad, the iPad mini, and many smaller product improvements across the board. But we received no new products in March. Can Apple turn this trend around? ????We believe it can, and we believe Tim Cook is the man to do it. That's because, like many leaders who evolve from being merely smart to wise, he is showing evidence of leadership changes. ????Rumors are circulating that the iPhone will be coming in three different sizes this summer. Following the small-medium-large pattern of Apple's other products, the iPhone may finally break through its singular form factor to appeal to different people for different reasons in different markets. Presumably, this change will help Apple compete on price with Samsung and others that occupy the space between smartphones and tablets. The smaller iPad, the Mini, forged this terrain in a similar way, responding to the success of Android tablets in that format. ????Where is the disruptive design innovation and charisma that Apple sustained for over a decade? They are going to spring from Tim Cook's willingness to give freer rein to Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president of industrial design and the genius behind many of Apple's marquee products. ????Cheap, humbled, and now disruptive. This is the vector along which Apple is going to succeed. With the recent departures in Apple's executive suite, Ive has more power and influence than ever. It takes a wise leader to let another person soar in the power hierarchy, but Cook is doing precisely that. ????To quote industry analyst Horace Dediu, disruption "in the literal sense implies discomfort, displacement, and even destruction. But it's necessary to the health of any economy. The analogy to biology is that death is the most important thing in life." ????How can Apple rise anew? Here are three areas where Apple may surprise us: ????? iWatch. This won't be anything like what we've seen predicted online. This won't be a shrunken iPhone that we strap to our wrists, and it won't be a regurgitated version of the Nike Fuelband or FitBit. It will be a uniquely Apple twist on what you could do with a cluster of sensors on your wrist. And it will be seductive. Glimmers of hope come from the rumors of the iWatch. Unlike others, we imagine that this will be a wearable mouse of sorts. Sensors on your body will make interaction with any Apple product better. It will eliminate the lock screen because it self-identifies. Could this be a vehicle for iTunes store-based brick-and-mortar purchases? A physical 3-D mouse interface for your devices? A Dick Tracy device for face-to-face conversations? |