I just read about a plug-in mini-computer the size of a lime.
The manufacturer doesn't quite know what to do with it, but he assumes it will succeed. It runs the open Linux operating system, so millions of software engineers can develop applications without interference.
You are Bill Gates, and you developed the best-selling "closed" operating system in the world: Windows. Your company, Microsoft, is watching its sales and profits sink, and the open-system revolution, or evolution, depending on your viewpoint, is well underway.
How do you compete against "free?"
Isn't it a matter of time before the world shifts its allegiance to Linux, and to others like it?
Where do you go from here?
Bill Gates, with or without his billions, has an ego, and a huge one at that, given what I have heard from insiders. Unless he is genuinely retired, Mr. Gates is at square one, almost like that kid he once was, who with a cohort, invented DOS and changed the world.
But does he have the next killer application in his pocket?
Even if he does, is he willing to give it away, free?
That challenge is the same one nearly every knowledge worker is facing, today. The question used to be, "How can America, with its high business costs, compete against people that will sacrifice and live on a bowl of rice a day?"
That question is out of date.
How can we compete against people, in and outside of America, who will give away their knowledge and products for free, hoping that there will be a payday in it for them years, if not decades hence?
You're familiar with freeloaders, those that are seeking handouts. Gates, and many others, are competing against free-unloaders.
Once you have enjoyed "free," you feel like a fool or at least resentful, if you have to pay for that which came to you, gratis.
For a buck each, I rent movies from a kiosk at the supermarket. Comparatively, at nearly five dollars, Blockbuster looks like a rip-off.
But only a few months ago, Blockbuster was a bargain compared to the cost of two people going to a movie, hiring a babysitter, and fighting the crowds for a good seat.
I wouldn't want to be in the video rental business today, unless I could figure out how to rent them out for a quarter, or less, and still prosper.
Would Bill Gates, just starting out today, go into the operating system business, knowing what he knows, and facing stiff competition from "free?"
If a genuine genius like Gates would face daunting challenges, consider what mere mortals are confronting as they enter any knowledge field where the biggest free-unloader of all, the Internet, is their competition!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top speaker, negotiation consultant, attorney, real estate broker, TV and radio commentator and the best-selling author of 12 books, including SIX-FIGURE CONSULTING: HOW TO HAVE A GREAT SECOND CAREER. He is the creator of Nightingale-Conant's successful audio seminar: THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS: HOW TO MAKE SUCCESS INEVITABLE. See: http://www.nightingale.com/prod_detail~product~Law_Large_Numbers.aspx His original class, "Best Practices in Negotiation," is offered at UCLA & UC Berkeley Extension and at a number of other fine universities and organizations. See: https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=U8637 Gary conducts seminars and convention presentations around the world and can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment