April 19, 2004Cringely on ignoranceRobert Cringely posted yet another baffling article in his pulpit column. While some of his points make sense, most of the article is littered with very questionable observations, such as: It was only when those companies decided to pay attention to Microsoft and decided to compete with Microsoft that they got in trouble. Robert is observing the right phenomenon but interpreting it wrongly. What got these companies in trouble is not that they started caring about Microsoft, it's that Microsoft entered their space. And when this happens, ignore Microsoft at your own peril. Another company that is competing with Microsoft by ignoring them is Google. Oh Google is certainly not ignoring Microsoft. Microsoft has a search engine of its own, so they are definitely competing. Why does Google have the upper hand right now? Because their product is superior to Microsoft's. It's as simple as that. The key to beat Microsoft is not by ignoring them but simply by offering better products before they enter your space. And when they do finally enter your space, you need to keep offering better products, because at this point, simple technical excellence will not last in front of billions of dollars and a company that has such a stellar track record at executing. Posted by cedric at April 19, 2004 11:26 AMComments
You may be misinterpreting what he meant by "ignoring Microsoft." I believe he probably merely meant to manage your business according to your own vision without second-guessing yourself by trying to react to perceived (whether real or imagined) Microsoft threats. S Posted by: Scott Ganyo at April 19, 2004 01:15 PM"The key to beat Microsoft is not by ignoring them but simply by offering better products before they enter your space." Or focus on a market which is not attractive or highly visible enough for Microsoft to bother competing in. As you point out, once they realize it's a lucrative opportunity... well, either cut your losses and focus more specifically, or you're toast. Very few companies can afford to compete with Microsoft on straight product differentiation. Posted by: Joe Duffy at April 19, 2004 06:29 PMPost a comment
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