Monday, June 13, 2011

Did Nokia Shoot Itself?

One false step and you’re dead. Or worse: You’re the walking dead. This is what awaits CEOs who mismanage a product transition and allow the existing revenue stream to run dry before the promising new product shows up.

The "Osborne Effect" is how some describe the problem. Osborne Computer Corporation in 1981 introduced a machine that was, in effect, the first commercially available portable computer, the Osborne 1. In 1983, the company announced two superior models in the works, the Executive and the Vixen.

Customers took his advice. They stopped buying the current model and waited…and waited… In 1985, the company ran out of cash and went bankrupt. Some would say Nokia is making the same mistake.

1 comment:

Fred Stein said...

great analogy. I sure hope Nokia knows how to crank out new phones 100 times faster than Adam Osborne.

But Nokia still has the problem of being number 3 or 4 in a 2 horse race. Worse yet, it's not their OS anymore.

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