ADAPT OR DIE:
THE DARWINISM OF APPLE
by Richard Papanicolaou
Love, hate, envy, accept. Coming to terms with Apple’s dominance
is not easy for everyone. There are mixed feelings, and allegiances
that run deep in the tech world. However, there is no denying the
impact Apple has had on innovation culture, not just in the realm
of technology, but across all industries. Competitors and admirers
alike are all rushing to emulate the creative model at the core of
Apple’s success. So what’s the secret? How has Apple, a once
endangered species, crawled back from the brink of extinction to
become an example of a flourishing organism?
“
It isn’t a lack of imagination holding any of us back, it’s a lack of
adaptation.
Let’s avoid the well covered design innovations, marketing aptitude,
and attention to detail that Apple is known for and focus instead on
adaptation. Apple was once ‘Apple Computers’, a computer maker.
Today Apple inc. is a device maker. The very same people who
brought personal computing to the masses have now turned their
backs on their creation to make room for something new, mobile
devices. And they aren’t looking back. Steve Jobs was famous for
saying, “If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist,
you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take
whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them
away.”1 This seems simple enough, right?
Try this simple exercise: imagine yourself convincing a board of
directors that everything they know is now outdated, every process
they’ve mastered is now obsolete, and the main product/service the
organization offers needs to take a back seat to something new and
unproven. It isn’t a lack of imagination holding any of us back, it’s
a lack of adaptation. Apple came to this realization early on, which
is how it managed to evolve. And it’s doing it again. The computer
maker turned device maker is now a ‘content distributor’ as well.
“
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The Appstore is where the gaming world, the business world, and
the ‘waiting at the dentist’ world get their apps.
In order for any organism to sustain life and flourish, it needs an
ecosystem. Borrowing again from nature, Apple has gone to great
lengths to create that ecosystem. Every i-device is supported by an
ecosystem consisting of a content delivery system - a sort of feed
for our devices. iTunes is where the new generation gets its music
to play on their iPod, iPhones, iPads and Macs. The Appstore is
where the gaming world, the business world, and the ‘waiting at the
dentist’ world get their apps. The iCloud is where i-device owners
sync their settings, photos, and back up their data.