Apple v Nike

At the extreme, businesses can be summarized by one of two philosophies:

Apple's (Do the right thing)

and

Nike's (Just do it)

While it's nice to believe there's a middle ground, I often have trouble finding it in clients. Is this merely a matter of temperament in leadership: whether you're a cool-headed quality-obsessed iterator or a hot-headed carpe diem enthusiast?

I grew up in casinos, watching my grandfather lose his money, which perhaps made me more cautious than I might otherwise be. Both my parents and my former step-father were stockbrokers. You could call my grandmother right at this moment, and she'll tell you within a quarter the current prices of Procter & Gamble and IBM. Constant fluctuations and renegotiations wear me out; but for other people, they're exhilarating.

Maybe success is a matter of balance, or choosing an appropriate product that fits your emotional makeup. For the most part, we don't complain when prescription drugs or new automobiles take years to come to market because of lengthy safety testing.

But sometimes urgency trumps mixing the perfect recipe. I'd rather TurboTax get it right than do it now, unless it's April 14th in which case I'll settle for good enough. In the fashion world, or if you're developing mobile handsets in a fiercely competitive, style-conscious market, nowness is crucial.

Does hesitation result in missed opportunities? Or is that extra pause crucial to making the right decisions? Your answer says a lot about your approach to product design.



*
Contractors all over earned a good name this week when CC Meyers, the company repairing the 580 freeway connector that melted in Oakland, announced they would finish ahead of schedule. In appreciation, IKEA is offering free Swedish meatballs at its Emeryville store to transit workers.