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Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

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Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#81
post #12

> The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means…

I'd rather Nokia actually be the only truly open mobile platform out there. No, Android isn't sufficiently open. It's my phone, at a minimum I should be able to pull all my own data off it in any form I choose.

Out of curiosity, how are you unable to pull your data off of Android?

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#82
I worked for Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) in Paris in 1995 when a new team of Englishmen were brought in from London to "turn the French practice around".

Their theme? "Burning platform". The exact same story that opens the memo was their story too.

Maybe this Mr Elop is really an original thinker that will do great things; but the "burning platform" analogy is the most tired image EVER.

Oh, and did it work in Paris in 1995? Not really. It was not an absolute disaster, but in the end (two years later) the British threw the towel and went home, and the French partners who were there before stayed on (are still there to this day).

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#83
post #36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has been making similar margins on all of its products for the past 10 years. How can you say it isn't sustainable?

10 years ago Apple had 5 billion in revenue. Now they're pushing 100 billion in revenue. They butting in on competitors who operate in the 5% margin range, and who are all desperately starting to claw back at Apple's gains. No, it isn't sustainable. History will prove me out, and in 3 years I would bet that Apple has seen a significant margin haircut. Quote me on a 50% decline. As a comparison, by the way, look at So…

EDIT: Arrowed down. This is one of those seminal moments that speak volumes about a community, and I think HN is done (just furthering an observation that has grown). Account and site abandoned.

I would say please don't let the door hit you in this ass on your way out, but you are a bog-standard troll and will be back again next week whining about Apple.

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#84

A well-written email is more powerful than many people comprehend. We used to call them letters, and they were powerful then too. You can change a person's or a group's mind about something, even after a decision appears to have been made. You can clinch a job, win a contract, stop a lawsuit, regain a friend, woo a lover, and change history itself with just a few words. I'm not sure if people realize quite how powerf…

We used to call them letters

The path from the age of the letter to the age of the one-paragraph, stream-of-consciousness email may be a fairly easy-to-follow one, given the obvious way that technology first enabled, then gradually enforced a vastly lower expected interval between missives, but I'm still curious to see a critical investigation of this process in a McLuhan-esque sort of context. Anyone have any recommended reading?

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#85
post #82

I worked for Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) in Paris in 1995 when a new team of Englishmen were brought in from London to "turn the French practice around". Their theme? "Burning platform". The exact same story that opens the memo was their story too. Maybe this Mr Elop is really an original thinker that will do great things; but the "burning platform" analogy is the most tired image EVER. Oh, and did it work i…

Where else have you heard it? What makes it a tired image beyond the fact that you heard it once in Paris?

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#87

This is exactly where Steve Jobs found himself in 1997. He stood by and did what he wanted to [or may be not yet]. Hope Elop does it as well.

Unfortunately for Elop, there's only one Steve Jobs.

Would it be better for Elop if he was competing with more than one Steve Jobs?

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#89

wow, that is one way to motivate the troops. The lack of mentioning of WP7 at all and the re-emphasis of Andriod as a competitor makes me think it's unlikely they will be running Andriod any time soon.

I don't follow your logic. Windows 7 isn't much of a competitor. It had a smaller debut than Android and iPhone, by a large amount, and is being outsold by both so the gap is widening. If I were Nokia, I wouldn't be worrying about fellow also-rans in the industry, like Microsoft. I'd be worried about the products that were eating my lunch, and I'd let Microsoft figure out how to protect their own lunch. If Nokia choo…

> Nobody likes Windows phones

That's a bit categorical, no? I know at least two people who quite like their Windows Phones. Before you ask, not all of them work at Microsoft.

Re: Nokia CEO: Nokia is "standing on a burning platform"

#90
post #61
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 years ago Apple had 5 billion in revenue. Now they're pushing 100 billion in revenue. They butting in on competitors who operate in the 5% margin range, and who are all desperately starting to claw back at Apple's gains. No, it isn't sustainable. History will prove me out, and in 3 years I would bet that Apple has seen a significant margin haircut. Quote me on a 50% decline. As a comparison, by the way, look at So…

One downvote on a site where the voting arrows are tiny and close together and votes can't be reversed is a "seminal moment that speaks volumes about a community"? I think you're being a little melodramatic. Anyway, Apple has always had a disproportionate share of any market it seriously participated in — the big difference is that 10 years ago Apple was a very small part of a single market. Some fluctuations will pr…

you can bet that Apple will remain absurdly profitable in a way that embarrasses most of its competitors. It's just something that Apple is good at.

I'm betting it's not. It's something Steve Jobs is good at.

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