Why we lost the “battle” with Americans?

[Hsuan-chu (Chloe) Lee]

    Yesterday Nokia laid off 3,7000 employees in Finland and 100,000 globally. As the slogan says, ironically, they are connecting people but also firing people... Recently the sale of HTC smart phones has been dropping down by approximately 30%. As far as we know, Nokia was the biggest cell phone company in the world, occupying more than 25% of the cell phone market. On the other hand, HTC is the company that invents the very first smart phone in the world. In that case, Finland and Taiwan both have advantages for the global competition. Then what exactly happened? Why both us lost the technology battle with Apple and Google?
    My Finnish colleague suggests that Nokia overlooks the importance of the Internet and a decent software, so it led to the current situation. As for HTC, I would say HTC smart phones did not gain the first comer advantage and has not created an extract value for their products. Step by step, HTC cell phones are just “cheaper” alternatives for i-phones. Nokia and HTC are pioneers for the mobile devices, but both fail to satisfy the picky customers around the world.
    Another question comes along- why do Americans win over us? Apple and Google are not even the companies that originally produce cell phones! Apple is known for the computers and Google is for the search tool. They build up their own kingdoms and hunger for more possibilities. It takes such a long time for them to do R&D work and know the market better. Unlike most of Taiwanese companies, these Americans are not in hurry to make profits. Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple, is not a genius for innovative products but a patient businessman, who really takes his time for the best outcome. He is the pioneer for the personal computer revolution and leads Apple to the top of the world. If we think about it, maybe Nokia and HTC urgently need such a strong leadership.
    Even Apple is that successful, Forbe magazine recently wrote about Apple and asked a question- how long can Apple last? This is Americans, who always analyze for the best and worst in their money-driven society.
    What can we learn from these Americans? What can we do to improve ourselves? It takes a good leadership, capitals, human resources and global marketing. Are we enough for these factors?

[Helge Keitel]

This is a very good point: "If we think about it, maybe Nokia and HTC urgently need such a strong leadership" (Apple, Google, Facebook).

I'd like to add the need for "Entrepreneurship". Nokia has not been led by inventors or entrepreneurs but traditional managers and CEO's.

Steven Jobs was a true entrepreneur, a complex and difficult personality. The same goes for those who created Microsoft, Google, and Facebook.

Innovators have to be passionate and real persons. I feel that Nokia has been micromanaged by faceless bureaucrats with narrow understanding about inventions and innovations.

On the other hand, there are ups and downs in corporate histories. Nokia started 1865 and has been around for quite some time; on the brink of bankruptcy multiple times.

We might still see a turnaround...