CDOQ

In investment banking, exploiting regulatory loopholes is often called innovation. 

This morning I finished reading Apple in China , a fascinating book about the interdependence between Apple and Chinese manufacturing. The book makes clear that the company might never have reached a $3T market cap without the contributions of Foxconn and support from the Chinese government. In turn, China might not have developed into a sophisticated manufacturing powerhouse without Apple’s training, investment, and partnership. Having worked with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) in China, I found the book cast light on aspects of manufacturing I hadn’t fully appreciated. Apple Pyramid (Image credit: ChatGPT) Iconic products like the iPhone come to life at Apple through the push and pull of four teams. At the top, the Industrial Design (ID) team defines the look and feel. Next, the Product Design (PD) team ensures the product works as intended. The Manufacturing Design (MD) team then decides which components and assembly partners will br...

All failed startups resemble each other, but each successful startup is successful in its own way. Venture Capitalists preach otherwise. 

New thinking requires new context.

When you know a few ways of doing things, it is hard to find new way of doing things. 

Fail fast a few times but don't make a habit of it. 

This is a briefing doc based on a discussion between Arne Tonning and Chander Chawla based on Chander's Magnet Strategy .  Main Themes: Sustaining Growth: The conversation focuses on how established companies can continue growing even after achieving significant scale and market saturation. Beyond Incrementalism: While incremental product improvements and geographic expansion are important, truly disruptive growth often requires more radical approaches. Tech Giants as a Model: We analyze the strategies of companies like Apple and Google, highlighting how they leverage their size, technology, and data to enter new industries. Key Ideas and Facts: Seven Strategies for Sustained Growth: 1. Incremental and Adjacent Product Improvements: Iterating on existing products, developing complementary offerings, and targeting new geographic markets. Example: Apple launching Apple Music, Apple News, and the Apple Watch alongside its core iPhone business. 2. R&D (Research and Development): In...

This post is an update on societal and business trends I identified in 2019. 2020 year-end update is in shown in blue font and this 2021 year-end update is in purple font.  At the end of 2019, I wrote down the list of societal trends I had been noticing over the years because I wanted to actively observe these trends in 2020. A pandemic happened in 2020 and we are still living in it. Surprisingly, almost all trends (19 out of 20) are still continuing. Following are my  Y ear  E nd of  2020   U pdates (YE2020U; all new 2020 text is in blue) to the trends.  ----- 2019 is coming to an end and continuing my quest to better understand human behavior, I wrote down the twenty trends I have been noticing for a few years. It would be interesting to observe these trends in 2020 to see how they evolve and if they achieve wider adoption. There are multiple reasons why these trends have emerged but in this article we will only look at what the trends are. Unless specifi...