Re: As seen in WSJ

From: David J Dachtera (djesys.nospam_at_comcast.net)
Date: 10/06/04 

Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2004 19:49:34 -0500

John Smith wrote:
> [snip]
> GMAT Question:
> Correctly answering this question permits you to squander every opportunity
> your company ever had and run the technology company of your choice into the
> ground in 5 years or less.

John presents an extreme example here, but the logic is profoundly
correct, IMHO.

> Suppose a company invented the best operating system in the world, and then
> decided to build the best chip in the world to run it on, but they didn't
> tell anyone about it -- would that company:
>
> a) Totally crush all competitors within weeks as customers flocked to their
> o/s and chip?

A bit ambitious for my taste. A mentor of mine once said, "Shoot for the
moon! Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars!" Still, best not to
set one's sights TOO high. That'd be seeting one's se;f up for failure:
setting unrealistic expectations.

Supplant the establishment? Not likely. Claim your piece of the pie?
Maybe a bit better.

> b) Scratch their asses and wonder why their o/s & chip wasn't outselling the
> competition?

Perhaps the first idea there is not too far off base, albeit a bit
crude, but the second suits my taste: outselling the competition as
opposed to totally supplanting or "crushing" it, as it were.

> c) Figure that what they had invented & built was no good and look to get it
> off the market as soon as possible by telling prospective customer that a
> competitor had a better o/s?

I understand what John might be trying to say here. These days, flawed
and incomplete studies still result in "landmark legislation". I see no
reason why results would not be misconstrued in this way. I am still a
dreamer, though, and I keep hoping we as a people will learn from the
mistakes of the past and our own mistakes. (You may have thought me
crazy. Now, I've just proved it for you!).

> d) Look for a smarter competitor to buy their company only to wind up with a
> bunch of dolts who were more stupid than the company that came up with the
> o/s and chip in the first place?

Hhmmm... Seems perhaps due dilligence was lacking, given the paradox
stated in the first two or three phrases there...

> e) Attempt Options B through D inclusive a second time.
>
> f) Having been the buyer in Option E and having the benefit of seeing what
> has transpired over the years and had ample time to figure out how to
> correct the situation, do absolutely nothing to advertise and market the o/s
> & chip?

We err, perhaps, when we assume that their goals in any way approximate
ours. As others have pointed out, maintaining appearances for Wall
Street's sake seems foremost in THEIR minds, while growing the product
to build/ehnance shareholder value seems to be ours (correct me if I'm
wrong - this group is a lot of things, but certainly not shy!).

> If A, you are taking the same medication as Bob.

"Medication" is a euphemism, no?

> If B, C, and/or D, you are Digital.
>
> If E, you are Compaq.
>
> If F, you are HP and have learned nothing -- you deserve to whither and
> die.

In these days of "do it because it CAN be done, regardless of whether or
not it SHOULD be done", I believe we must pause to consider the
disparity between our goals (preserve our livelihood, make money for
OpenVMS, preserve OpenVMS by growing the product, or more in some
perhaps similar order) and theirs (make the bottom line LOOK good, no
matter how wrong the numbers may be). 

-- 
David J Dachtera
dba DJE Systems
http://www.djesys.com/
Unofficial OpenVMS Hobbyist Support Page:
http://www.djesys.com/vms/support/
Unofficial Affordable OpenVMS Home Page:
http://www.djesys.com/vms/soho/

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