You know you got it right when others tried to copy your every move.
An Apple-like store in China, a Sony or Microsoft retail store in the same mall (Galleria, Houston).
Steven Jobs, the enchanter, is quitting as Apple has reached its apex, once surpassing Exxon (Google also had this Everest experience).
Maybe some Chinese CEOs like Jack Ma will get a similar idea (in their case, they aren’t going to take a calligraphy class. Instead they want to drive around in gold-plated automobiles).
Something, like style, just can’t be copied.
Design and innovation, like brand, is in you.
Zoom out from history, you will find clusters of creativity, among which Silicon Valley in the late 80’s.
Guy Kawasaki briefly mentioned the secrecy and partitioning at Apple. Planned self-disruption.
In that spirit, I am sure they had a succession plan in place at Apple.
Not as at HP, where the tablets are on sale for $99 (not for Third World charity).
We do live in a different era, when songs are downloaded for 99 cents, and tablet sold for $99.
We will soon get cheaper versions of the I-phone, perhaps via Sprint’s private-label re-sellers, such as Metro PCS. (as of this edit, T-Mobile is rolling out the I Phone 5 for $99 w/out contract).
Perhaps the Chinese CEO’s are calling it quit. After all, their society couldn’t make up their mind: to abandon their naval fleet (ancient history), or to build aircraft carriers (modern technology)? To build luxury car lines, or to buy Indian’s nano autos? To move up the value chain, or to expand overseas?
When emerging nations beat Chinese at its own game (cheap knock-off using cheap labor),
it’s time to quit. Oh, one more thing. At least Steve Jobs advised Standford grads to stay hungry.
Not to flaunt their wealth by driving gold-plated cars around. One high-tech start-up owner in the Valley did just that (crashing his Lamborghini and died after having sold his company just an hour before). Know when to hold and when to fold. It’s Steve’s secret sauce. Try to copy that.