The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5)

Samsung: talk to me ...

I know this may not sound like 100% software related , but it is actually, in almost every domain they compete...
Few years ago, they proclaimed they will beat SONY in brand name recognition by 2005... I guess, it is happening -believe it or not... <B>SAMSUNG :-)/B> What do you think ? Why is this model working in the Asian marketplace and not here in N.A. ? Is it passion, idolatry, fanaticism or just pure materialistic incentives at work?

How is it possible to drive - from top to bottom - a revolution like Nissan's ? You just "proclaim" it ? Is it the charisma of a Ghosn driving it, his wit and native intelligence or ...

Demotivator
Thursday, March 4, 2004

Samsung and LG are winning in the Asian market because they are cheaper, and spend a fortune on marketing there (look at the cricket sponsorship in LG's case).

They also are doing an excellent job in designing and producing high quality products.

And, unlike Sony, they aren't inventing anything, so their R & D cost should be a lot smaller.

Stephen Jones
Thursday, March 4, 2004

Or at least not inventing to the extent that Sony is. LG's aperture grill system is a pretty useful invention, though with the decline in CRT's probably rapidly approaching obsolence for monitors

Stephen Jones
Thursday, March 4, 2004

Samsung is quite popular in Home Theater. Check the AVS forums at http://www.avsforum.com to see how popular their DLP rear projection sets are. Also, there 931 DVD Player was one of the first to use DVI and upconvert DVDs to High Definition levels (720p or 1080i). In this area they are certainly gaining ground on Sony who had a bit of a fiasco with their latest Grand Wega III LCD rear projection sets.

Gerald
Thursday, March 4, 2004

I've been a Palm user for around 6 years and recently upgraded to the Samsung i500 (combination cell phone and Palm OS).

Love it, love it, love it.

So they're doing something right in my mind anyway.

Attention deficit dis... wha?
Thursday, March 4, 2004

>And, unlike Sony, they aren't inventing anything, so their R & D cost should be a lot smaller.

Harshhhh :) but you've toned down. No one really invents much of anything anymore. The billions of dollars thrown at MS Research has resulted in surprising few flying cars or any gateways that can transport your mind/spirit to Singapore in 10 seconds.

Li-fan Chen
Thursday, March 4, 2004

There's a great book written by a guy named Jim Collins called "Good to Great" in which he tried to find out what made a "great" company. (Btw, his definition of a great company was one that beat the average market growth by at least 3 times over 15 years). I really recommend it (here's a link as well: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/51/goodtogreat.html)

One of the things I took from the study was sometimes it really does start with someone just saying "we're going to be the best in this particular market". It might not happen, but if someone doesn't step up and say something like that, well, then it never happens.

anon
Thursday, March 4, 2004

My point is, just because Sony throws tons of money at R&D doesn't mean R&D will produce anything (I am not implying that Sony R&D, or any R&D isn't being productive--but applied creativity can't be juiced out of a corporate machine the way you can get a law shop to patent per hour).

Li-fan Chen
Thursday, March 4, 2004

anon,
The problem I have with that process is often keeping the person saying that from saying it about every market segment they see. The critical thing about doing that is to identify a market that you want to own, and then following through to make sure it happens. I think that's what you're seeing with Samsung - they've targeted a space and they're following through. Once they own that space, then look for them to choose another and continue. Sony, on the other hand, is trying to be all things to all people, and they're starting to overstretch even their formidable resources.

Unfocused Focused
Thursday, March 4, 2004

I'd say Sony's been overstreched for years. When it comes to their consumer electronics division, quality has really taken a nose dive. You can usually get something better, more reliable, and cheaper somewhere else.

Elephant
Thursday, March 4, 2004

[ The problem I have with that process is often keeping the person saying that from saying it about every market segment they see. The critical thing about doing that is to identify a market that you want to own, and then following through to make sure it happens. I think that's what you're seeing with Samsung - they've targeted a space and they're following through. Once they own that space, then look for them to choose another and continue. Sony, on the other hand, is trying to be all things to all people, and they're starting to overstretch even their formidable resources. ]

I totally agree. I think that's the kind of behaviour you see with the "good to great" companies.

There was a specific example (I don't remember which company it was) in which the management team saw that they would never be in the top 2 players in their current market, so they looked for a market in which they could be #1. They then committed the company to the move by selling off their most important assets in their current market (like Cortez burning his boats). Basically, it started with the team saying "we need to go there cuz we're never going to win here".

anon
Thursday, March 4, 2004

Anon,
If that was one of their examples, then I need to pick up the book (I've actually seen it over the years but it's never made it to the queue of books I own but haven't read yet. :-) )

Even if it has nothing else in it, using that example on managers would help with a lot of MADD (Manager Attention Deficiency Disorder) that I see. Or at least some of it. (And any improvement is well worth the effort!)

Unfocused Focused
Thursday, March 4, 2004