Joe’s Journal

Planning is a critical step in management. In order for a company to survive crisis and to be successful it must establish goals, procedures, policies and rules that will lead them to success. A business must know where it want to be, how it is going to get there, and the wisdom and knowledge to get back on track when a crisis or problem derails progress toward an intended goal(s) . Planning improves a company’s action orientation, coordination, focus and flexibility. In this paper I will talk about one such company that survived multiple crises by effective planning.

In Forbes magazine April 23rd article, “Building the Infinite Internet” speaks about how Akamai Inc. not only survived the dot-com disaster and the murder of their founder but how they came back through effective planning and made a daring comeback and reinvented how digital data is transmitted over the internet.

Akamai only survived its loss of dot-com busted customers and the murder of their founder by effectively planning their future. They scaled back to almost nothing, endured loses and waited for the need of internet bandwidth to be in demand. This took Planning and foresight to see that in the future that they could fulfill this need to their customers. Akamai could of easily been a casualty of dot-com bust, they not only survived through effective planning, they waited for a need to develop and sprung into action to fulfill the need.

In today’s business world, one needs more than a great idea and a business plan to be successful. One needs the skill to think analytically, strategically and creatively. Apple is one such company that thinks in this manner and their success is confirmed by their bottom line “…frantic sales of 21 million iPods during holiday season boosted Apple’s quarterly profit to $1 billion, almost double the profit it made during the same quarter I fiscal year 2006″ (McMillan). With over 88 million iPods sold and over two billion songs legally downloaded from its iTunes online store, Apple is ahead of the digital music race.

Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple, demonstrated the type of Innovative thinking that has made his company successful when he unveiled the new IPhone at Macworld 2007 in San Francisco, California. The iPhone brings together three products: 1) a mobile phone, 2) a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and 3) an Internet communications device with email, web browsing, maps, and searching into one small handheld device. The iPhone introduces a new user interface based on the large multi-touch display letting the user control everything with just a touch. The Iphone ushers in a new age of powerful mobile software never seen before in a handheld device thus clearly demonstrating Apples creativity, ingenuity and forward thinking.

Apple strategic and analytical thinking became evident when they announced the Iphone and snatched the media’s attention from the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2007) held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Iphone was the topic of every conversation long after CES 2007 ended. Apple also announced their name to Apple Inc. Thus redefining their direction and focus and strategically positioning themselves in markets previously not available to them.

Apple continues to turn heads with its innovative products and services. They analytically thought out when, where, and how to release their products and services and strategically position themselves to do so. Apple leads the industry in innovation with its desktop and notebook Mac computers, OS X operating system, and ground-breaking applications and services. They are a company to look to for new ideas and new approaches. Apple is a company that is able to think analytically, strategically, and creatively to produce the best products and services for consumers, which is why they are so successful.

Works Cited

McMillan, Robert. “Apple Shines, Intel Stinks on Earnings.” Infoworld (2007):6