
When Big Companies Are Dead But Don’t Know It - icey
http://steveblank.com/2010/06/07/when-big-companies-are-dead-but-don%e2%80%99t-know-it/
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ovi256
Did anyone guess the name of this mysterious company ? Given that they're
worth 4 billion today, I think they could be well known to some HN members.

Also, the part about "getting their technology written into legislation" aka
regulatory capture aka monopoly ? Sounds completely legit guys !

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simon_
Rovi, formerly Macrovision.

Just search for companies that have had Steve Blank as a board member.

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orborde
I'd like to explicitly point out that Macrovision, engaged as it has been in
copying restriction technology (even getting their standard to be required by
law), probably meets the definition of "evil" for a lot of hacker types. I'm
not really expressing an opinion here so much as spreading the cognitive
dissonance; many people who like Steve Blank probably don't like Macrovision
very much.

~~~
qeorge
Wow, great catch. Additionally, the software business which was spun off
became Flexera (InstallShield), who are one of the nastiest groups of folks
I've ever tried to do business with.

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eande
"Microsoft fits this description. Their failures in multiple markets is no
longer just a failure of management but a failure of board governance. (Hard
to fix when the major shareholder is the lifelong friend of his handpicked
replacement.)"

Strong and direct words, but I have to agree. What we see as outsiders is the
acting of the CEO, but his actions are backed by the board and they are
responsible for the direction of the company. Just wondering when the change
of leader ship will come.

~~~
arohner
What are the fixes for this kind of failure scenario? (Bad CEO, _and_ bad
board)?

IMO, a previous employer was in this scenario. The CEO was not effective, and
the board didn't replace him because of a combination of apathy and personal
relationships.

Is it up to the shareholders to stir up the board?

~~~
danielharan
Either the shareholders revolt, or the company slowly loses customers and
talent.

It seems it's been a long time coming :(

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stcredzero
From the related "Elephants Can Dance" post:

 _Over the last 35 years venture capital has funded nimble new entrants...who
exist to exploit discontinuities in technology or customer behavior._

<http://steveblank.com/2009/06/22/2392/>

The key phrase to me is, "exploit discontinuities in technology or customer
behavior." The shift to mp3 and downloaded music was exactly one of these.
Current pains experienced by mobile users are the small cracks which will grow
into the future fault lines whose shear energies can be tapped into.

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tjmaxal
This begs the age old question: How much capacity for change do we really
have?

