A Butterfly in a World of Bulls and Bears

The key aspect of this chapter for me was the Innovators' solution idea of integrated architecture versus modular architecture. The writer speaks of every aspect of a product needing to gel together giving an example of Gillette cans that rust because the cans are not manufacture by Gillette and because the brand executives are not users of the product. That has been the much repeated central message of the book - of having executives that make the product be not just users but passionate about the product and not ones who just look at numbers. On the aspect of modularity versus integrated architecture, Apple has always been known to promote integrated architecture. So it is no surprise that this chapter extols the virtues of an integrated architecture. I guess it is also the Apple brand and positioning which makes this best for it. But as professor Christensen says, it makes sense to choose the one that suits the present maturity of a product in most cases.  I could relate what th

 This chapter is about how Steve got back into leading Apple. I would say the main takeaway here are his marketing abilities. And again centered around passion for the product. Steve Job pitches his NeXT computers to develop the operating system for Mac and finds an entry back into Apple. His preparation for the pitch is highlighted. The chapter talks of his unconventional background and how he was driven by passion, talking of his school education and how a teacher inspired him. And about how he always got what he wanted through his passion - convincing companies to sponsor projects, getting his adoptive parents to send him to the school he wanted to go to, internships etc. It talks of how he met Steve Woziniac during his younger days and came up with ideas to commercialize the computer he was developing. This chapter tells how Steve Jobs convince Apple to buy out NeXT along with all employees, including Steve Jobs as a consultant. Of how he then eventually got to replace the CEO and