Jon, I haven't read the posts after yours so maybe this is redundant. I don't subscribe to your 'mere mortals' idea. Having seen great ideas sunk by klutzy detail work on the prosaic side of things, I think the problem stems from adulation of 'marketing' people as though they have a better perspective on the real world of people, whereas the technical geeks need to be kept in a locked research cage.
Having spent decades in a highly technical environment full of marketing and technical geeks in the oil industry, there is absolutely the need to integrate the two carefully. Either alone is almost the definition of insanity. But the current thrall is to the MBA, marketing, hypster, image-building crowd.
We see that constantly in SI posts where people invariably have only a tenuous understanding at best on the technical aspects of technology but feel fully qualified to pontificate on the need for hype, charisma, and the readily accessible aspects of the products. Irwin Jacobs has been criticized heaps for lacking charisma. Personally, I think he's great and to hell with charisma.
I suspect the engineers are a bit overawed by the current adulation of the thickhead MBA types who can't phase a photon but can string paragraphs like:
"Fully integrated market segmentation analysis with bottom line adjuvant analysis of customer perception in targetted socio-economic multimedia conceptualisation of differentiated design paradigms blah blah blah bullshit rant and raves".
The result is too much bluster and not enough boring, attentive, detailed, cautious and thoughtful design and production. The last thing somebody in red braces, white teeth, tasselled loafers and a Diners Card wants to be seen dead doing is poring over pages of technical specifications for a piece of plastic [other than the Card].
Engineers are happy to make things work well. In fact they'll spend a fortune to make things work too well! Balance and sense are essential.
I agree with you though that Qualcomm has potential failure due to a high concentration of brilliant people built in. I predicted about 3 years ago that Qualcomm would do an IBM hubris failure in about 10 or 15 years when the original creative genius is gone, when Mighty-Q! is just that and they'll think themselves God and nothing can go wrong can go wrong can go wrong. Look at IBM, Apple, Motorola and watch Ericsson! Even Japan Inc in 1990! Britain in 1900! Pride cometh before a fall.
Maybe these problems did in fact lie clearly with some slack engineers or their supervisors who limited their work. But I suspect the hand of too-hasty MBAs.
[mostly in frustration at the oil industry stupidity I used to see, but relevant here I hope]
Mqurice |
