Where is my Walkman?

There is a distinct difference in conversational tones between children and their parents. Some of this exists because of the need for teenagers to get peer acceptance. If everyone else is saying the music is “sick,” they should probably join the foray into new meanings of old words, rather than continue with the Queen’s English.

Sometimes the difference in language is due to business products. When I was a teenager, there was a device which Sony created to allow the user to play music while walking down the street. It was called a Walkman, and people loved it. People used Walkmans on the bus, as they walked down the street, and as they jogged.

The Walkman was the standard for any portable device used to play music. There were lots of cheap ripoffs that did the same thing, but everyone wanted the Walkman. As times changed, Sony introduced the DiscMan, which would allow the user to play compact discs, rather than the original tapes.

So should I be surprised that my son, who is now 15, doesn’t own a Walkman? Instead, he, and all his friends, own an iPod. The iPod is essentially a Walkman with music stored on a hard drive, rather than on a tape, or on a CD.

This is not a story of generational differences, though, but of a large Japanese company, Sony, who once dominated the market in portable music players, and now is a non-issue.

Business historians have to wonder if Sony could have done more to secure its lead.

So how did Apple come in and steal the market for portable music devices?

1. Apple made it more user-friendly. Apple gives consumers the full package of buying and downloading the music, as well as playing the music. They made it so easy that even grandparents could figure it out. Sony stuck with their traditional model of selling the music player on its own, rather than giving consumers the whole package
2. Apple has played a major role in controlling the distribution of electronic music. Apple realized early on that all the music players needed to get the music from somewhere. With the success of the internet, they leveraged their software abilities and set up iTunes stores to allow users to buy music quickly and easily on their computer. Sony could have hooked up with another major player, like Microsoft, to offer a similar service, but didn’t.
3. Sony made the same mistake twice. Sony, who trumpeted the Betamax technology in the mid-70s until VHS stole the market for personal videos, again used its own technology for digital music, atrac3, while mp3 quickly took over as the industry standard.
4. Apple took its leadership position and built on it. Apple continued to innovate with new models. They increased the memory, and increased the processing power to allow users to get much more out of their portable music players than just music. They allowed third party developers to profit by giving them a distribution source (iTunes store), and software to build upon.

For the latter half of this decade, the iPod has held a market share of over 75% of all mp3 players. Meanwhile, in dollar terms, the iPod has held over 80% of the market. It has used good business principles to steal a market from the industry leading Sony Walkman, and continues to build on that leadership position.

Although my son and I have used different terms, he has as much trouble finding his iPod in the morning, as I used to have finding my Walkman when I was his age.

Visionary Leaders Create New Industries

When you see premium coffee shops on every major street corner, it's hard to think of a time when they weren't so prevalent. In 1975, Frank O'Dea took a lot of risk in trying to create a new premium coffee industry in Canada. He started a chain of Second Cup stores, and was able to create an internationally successful franchise, with stores in 13 countries.

In the mid-80s, he started his second successful industry, despite all the nay-sayers, with Pro-Shred, a paper shredding company.

He's now embarking on a new venture: creating the social housing industry in Brazil. You know what? If I were a betting man, I would say his chances are pretty darn good.

This guy knows what it takes to create a new industry, and he shares some advice at Fast Company magazine: http://bit.ly/dkCeVU

Meanwhile, you can listen to the full interview I conducted with him at: http://www.streethockeymillionaire.com/frankodea.htm.

Frank O'Dea Speaks With James Allan

On Thursday, I spoke with Frank O'Dea, founder of Second Cup and Pro-Shred. Both industries were essentially created from scratch. So Frank knows what it takes to create a new industry in a country, and is currently looking for investors to help him create a social housing industry in Brazil.

Frank follows a personal philosophy of Hope Vision Action. While these three things are not the only things required for business success, Frank argues they are essential ingredients of any business. Furthermore, Frank believes that hope can spread throughout an organization if the company's mission and vision statements are done properly.

The interview was recorded, and it will be released when the full blog is posted on Fast Company's Visionary Leader Series next week. Watch for what Frank has to say about innovation, leadership and the two mandatory ingredients to create a new industry.

Resort Marketing

Resort and luxury hotel owners may believe that if you build it, they will come. This is only true until the competition comes, markets their resorts aggressively, and steals your competitors.

I've added a video on youtube which shows the story of a man named Roger who fell into the trap. When the competition wore him down, he moved to a new location. The competition followed, and again Roger had to consider fight or flight.

Check out the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gwht1jHT1o

Comments are appreciated.

Visionary Leaders Do Things Others Don't See

How are visionary leaders created? What does it take to succeed in the luxury hotel industry? What impact does the recession, technology and the "demise of luxury" have on luxury hotels?

To find out the answers to these questions, I interviewed the best possible source: Isidore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain.

What he said about becoming successful is on the Fast Company website at: http://tinyurl.com/ylymvjm

The full interview was transcribed at:
http://www.streethockeymillionaire.com/IsidoreSharpInterview.pdf

Mr. Sharp is a fascinating man who got into the hotel business in 1961 at the age of 30. He came up with many innovations in both the hotel industry and the way management treats its staff. He outlined much of his journey in his book "Four Seasons". I figured after reading the book that many people would try to plan out a similar life. So I was more than a bit surprised when Mr. Sharp told me, "Don't try to plan your life."

Instead, he says look for opportunity, and follow the ones that you have a fanatical belief that will work out. "Follow your passion of the moment, and let your skills direct you."

He has a deep belief in people that most people are too cynical to follow. He instituted a "Golden Rule" to dissolve the command-and-control pyramid of the day, and to create an employment scenario where every employee has a deep-rooted respect for every other employee.

His hotels span the earth, and are found at every major tourist and business destination you could think of.

Meanwhile, his life has not been without hardship. His 16-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer, and then died within a year. Shortly after, a young man named Terry Fox was running across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Mr. Sharp was an avid supporter, and remains one to this day.

Truly Visionary Leaders Create More Visionary Leaders

Please check out my blog for Fast Company magazine at:

http://tinyurl.com/ylmo3lx

Success Can Occur at any Age

Some businesses and individuals hit success early, while others have to work at it much longer. Check out the video podcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=038vKF_Atv8