The Xbox One - an opportunity missed

The Xbox One - not much to see here

The Xbox One – an opportunity missed

Remember when Microsoft was THE business that everyone in the world talked about? 

It was like the Roman Empire; its ruler (Bill Gates) was the richest and most famous person in the world.  Its centurions (Windows 95) were garrisoned in every country in the world.

In hope of cementing itself as an Empire that would stand the test of time, eight years ago Microsoft unveiled the Xbox 360.

At the time it was (apparently) ground-breaking.  I remember going to a mate’s place to play a basketball game on his recently-purchased console and I was amazed.

The graphics were so realistic; it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

So, it was with great pomp and ceremony that, late last week, Microsoft came back to the party to release the Xbox One – its updated version of the xbox 360.

Now, I’m no gaming or technology genius, and I haven’t researched this extensively, but so far I’m not exactly blown away by the new Xbox.

Other than TV connectivity (it seems to be trying to compete against Apple TV… good luck!), and a so-called Siri-lite (voice activated stuff) the best it can offer is a blu-ray player (which the Playstation3 had years ago) and built-in Skype (which peaked about four years ago).

But is that it?  Really?

I’m not alone in my disappointment at its lack of originality, as shown by this outstanding YouTube mashup of the launch.

In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Since the introduction of Windows 95, I can’t remember a single mind-bogglingly innovative thing from Microsoft.  From the top of my head, all I can remember is:

•         Introducing the Xbox (after the N64 and Playstation were already around)
•         Introducing its tablet, the Surface (after everyone else had already put tablets into the market)

And that’s it!  Think about all the main Windows inventions you use most today: Word, Excel,PowerPoint, Windows… they’ve been around for almost two decades!

It’s little wonder Microsoft is on the back foot.  But why, when they’re already on the back foot (Apple, Google, Samsung and others have all stolen market-share from Microsoft) do they introduce another flagship device that, essentially, is just a slight upgrade from the same thing they introduced eight years ago?

Perhaps Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Balmer, is a little gun shy after the public’s muted response to Windows 8?

After all, he described the company’s latest iteration of Windows as a ‘bet the company’ moment, since they removed the Start Menu and redesigned the interface.

Unfortunately, this ‘bet the company’ moment didn’t go so well, perhaps best illustrated by Microsoft offering a downloadable app to allow users to re-install the Start button.

It was this moment that prompted the Financial Times to write: “[This is] one of the most prominent admissions of failure for a new mass-market consumer product since Coca-Cola’s New Coke fiasco nearly 30 years ago.”

For years now, journalists, analysts, CEOs and low-profile bloggers (like me) have been calling for Microsoft to bring something new to the table, and the launch of its new Xbox seemed like the perfect opportunity.

If ever you were going to prove to the world that the biggest name in electronics history was once again a serious player, the time was now.

Now it seems Microsoft is business that cried wolf.  Despite its fancy glittering product launches, the message being communicated is: we don’t have any cards up our sleeve.

And perhaps, like Rome, the Empire may be facing its last days.

 

Massive news day today

The ABC News homepage is a busy place today

I woke up this morning thinking that the terror attack in London would be the story that demanded rolling coverage all day.

Then Ford decided to close its Australian factories.

Then Peter Slipper was officially charged with fraud by the Australian Federal Police.

It's hard to know how to respond to the first two stories because they're full of human and real life tragedy, disappointment and anger.

The Slipper one is much easier to respond to - it's time he got his comeuppance.

Overall though, I can't get my mind off the London attack.  It was in broad daylight.  It was witnessed by dozens of onlookers.  It's just gruesome, terrifying and sickening.

Amazingly, both murderers were captured alive.  Once fully healed, they'll face the UK justice system and we may see that rolling media coverage after all.

Christian consolidation – sometimes less is more

Donations are drying up in
tough economic times

A heavily edited version of this article appeared in Eternity magazine.  The problem was, the Editor took such a heft sword to it the final piece ended up being something I was massively unimpressed with.

So, here's the original un-edited version for your reading pleasure. 

Big business is full of jargon and so-called management-isms.

Step foot into most corporate boardrooms and you can expect to hear any of a number of jargon terms from the common (market-leading and paradigm) to the silly (aspirational and bespoke) to the made up (leaderful and visionistic).

However, while many CEOs may have a penchant for punctuation, they, often, have a good sense of what works well.

A few years ago, one management term that had embarked on a quest for world domination was ‘blue ocean strategy’.

The premise was, essentially, look way out to sea and you’ll find a place to sail where no one else is sailing.  In other words, get an idea no one else has thought of yet and take it to market.

For many Christian organisations though, their approach has been the exact opposite.  They dust off their copy of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and embark on a plan of multiplying competition in the hope of greater prosperity.

Perhaps their conversations go something like this: “I have an idea!  But, despite there already being a multitude of people already doing it, we should go do it too.”

The problem with this approach is that while (intentionally or unintentionally) it’s based on sound economic theory, its application is being abused.

That’s because, in the world of Christian charity, there’s a multitude of organisations doing, basically, exactly the same thing.

For example, Anglicare and UnitingCare both do the same work in largely the same locations.  World Vision and Compassion provide exactly the same services to exactly the same people.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  It’s terrific that so many people want to provide charitable services.  But I think it’s unsustainable.

Christian organisations must wake up and realise that the world has changed.  In the post GFC world, where the streets are no longer paved with gold, credit is scarce, interest rates are falling and cost of living increasing, the charitable dollar has never been more vulnerable.

In times of economic downturn people’s spending habits change.  No longer are luxury items such as fine dining and expensive clothes high on the priority list.  Rather, consumers tend to save instead of spend.

So if the charitable dollar is starting to dwindle, it’s only logical that the number of charities themselves will dwindle too.  I.e. with less supply of revenue, the supply of benefits will decrease concurrently.  

Let’s leave our charitable angle here though and look at Christian advocacy.  This is another sector flooded with organisations doing, essentially, the same thing.

While the Australian Christian Lobby is in the halls of Parliament House seeking to dampen the chances of a same sex marriage bill becoming legislation, the Sydney Anglican church and Catholic Church are both making similar submissions.

Again, I ask, is there any real benefit to a multitude of Christian advocacy groups providing an identical service?  Rather, do they simply fall over one another as the clamour for the same goal?

Perhaps, however, this is an opportunity rather than a challenge.  

Perhaps, like so many other markets such as private equity, property and retail, there’s a chance to consolidate the Christian market (both charitable and advocacy).

Imagine the potential if a bunch of Christian charities pooled their resources and worked together?  Rather than trying to compete against each other in order to achieve the exact same outcome, they could merge/integrate/unite (pick your M&A term here) and deliver an even greater benefit.

While Adam Smith advocated that rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity, its application in the Christian world is unsustainable.

For example, the recent African drought relief program was a fantastic example of Christians wanting to give generously to help those in need.  The problem was, who do you donate to?

All organisations pledged their donation would go to directly help those affected.  But perhaps, had there been a fewer total organisations but an increased number of larger organisations to provide assistance, the resources and means to assist the drought-affected populace may have increased?

This isn’t a silver bullet, but for too long Christians have clambered over the top of each other and tripped each other up along the journey of trying to achieve the same outcome.

Perhaps it’s time to set aside their pride and set aside their non-essential differences and consolidate?

Christians working together – now that would be a story to tell.

NRL culture-fix: The Raiders got things right

Dugan in uniform and 'on the roof'

Do you ever have those moments where you reveal something about yourself to someone and they’re completely taken aback?

It happens to me all the time.  For example, the other day I was chatting to a friend and casually mentioned I recently attended Future music festival in Brisbane.

Her jaw basically hit the ground.  She could not comprehend that ‘someone like Dylan’ would attend a music festival.

These moments are balanced with things that are completely expected. An example of this is me making a lame pun in the middle of a conversation, causing everyone around me to roll their eyes and groan.

Another example of this happened yesterday, when the Canberra Raiders fired their fullback, Josh Dugan, for breaching the club’s alcohol policy.

Dugan is injured and the Raiders’ policy is that, if you’re injured you don’t drink alcohol.  Well, in a moment of massive intelligence, Josh posted a photo of himself and a teammate sitting on a roof drinking a beer.

Oh man, as Stephen Fry would say, “You cannot be that stupid!?”

Yet, in a hilariously accurate reflection of Rugby League, reports from the ABC revealed that other clubs, namely Brisbane, Penrith and Gold Coast, have already been linked as to wanting to sign Dugan.

Source: ABC Online

Can you think of any other profession in the entire universe that this happens?  Let’s compare it to IT.  Let’s say you have a star programmer who only turns up to work occasionally and is causing PR issues for your company because they’re getting drunk in public all the time.

You’re a CEO so you fire him.  Is it possible that another firm would hear this IT guy has been fired and WITHIN THE HOUR (yes caps lock, I was feeling it) is being linked to wanting to hire him?

The answer is: no chance.

Surely this is the best example of a broken culture.  Wanting to win at all costs, even if it means signing someone with a blatant disregard for respect and authority.

In a related story, Ben Barba has been rushed out of rehab and back to the Bulldogs after they lost their opening game of the season.  Coincedince?

All this said, kudos to the Raiders who decided they needed to draw a line in the sand – they will tolerate these indiscretions and cultural disruptions no longer.

A journalist and I were discussing this yesterday and he reckons the best example of what the Raiders should try and emulate is the Sydney Swans.  The Swans emphasised creating a strong culture over anything else and it bore fruit quickly – a 2012 championship.

If the Raiders can stand apart from the pervading League culture of tolerating dodgy behaviour to win at all costs, and try and establish a positive team culture, success could well lie down the track.

And the Panthers and Broncos can continue the Dugan merry-go-round.