Failure as an Asset

Failures & shortcomings can be assets

I'm sitting at a lunch counter having a cup of coffee. Next to me is a teacher. He likes to talk. Here is his story.

The opportunity came up for a one week skills improvement seminar...wait for it....in Hawaii. All they had to do was to write an "essay" on why they should be chosen to attend.

He tells me, all the other teachers got it wrong. They wrote about their skills and successes. He did not.

He wrote about how he, [for the purposes of discussion only]

Lacked classroom organization skills.

Needed to improve his communication skills.

Needed help in finding and using resources to teach lessons.

You get the idea

He was chosen to attend

I can't help but thing that states & cities competing for the Amazon HQ or the Apple HQ could learn the lesson

Instead of telling what wonderful things they have to offer, they might have appealed to the corporate need to develop and environment better suited to their needs

They could work together to attract skilled employees instead of forcing the corporate giants to compete for them

Develop housing that would appeal to skilled employees the corporate giants want to attract

Develop a program to attract the sort of businesses that would both benefit from and provide support to the corporate giants

Just saying....

Regards,

Slim.

Box 33

Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Copyright © 2019 Bob Asken  

All rights reserved

Isaac Newton's AAPL

Sir Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree when an apple fell and hit him on the head.  He suddenly had a great insight.
"I am going to rethink buying Apple.  Both the product and the stock."

There was a confluence of reasons.

1.  While Apple admits to missing out on Netflix, there is no mention of Time Warner.  It was reported on CNBC that Apple discussed the idea in 2015.  However, I wrote the article 11 February 2013. 

AAPL + FB Should buy AOL, Time Warner, CNN


2.  Apple is planning to go into Original Content.  Then, too, so is everyone else.  They missed a base to build on.  Did AT&T lose money on buying Time Warner?

3. Samsung announces a new foldable phone. Actually, this is not a cell phone.  This is a computer. And, Samsung announced 5G.  The news reports?  Apple will be coming out with its own 5G.  Ho hum.

4. I posed the question, "What happens when a Chinese tech company announces the launch of the Pomegranate? About 60 years ago, the pomegranate was known as a Chinese Apple.  I started out in life as "an English Major". I would call that foreshadowing. 

5. Tim Cook is touting the Apple Watch.  A fine piece of equipment.  However, does it work independently or does it require an i-Phone?

6.  Tim Cook chose to distance himself from data-gather-security-issues claiming we make machines. In the next breath, he announced a move into health care.  This, I understand, requires Apple to gather and retain every personal, medical, and financial aspect of everyone's life. 

7.  While the health care is a fine strategic move, losing out on 5G, competition in the phone business, competition from China, losing out on "content", and moving into credit cards with Goldman Sachs impugns the veracity of Tim Cook's claim on personal data.

A few more articles about Apple

Newton's AAPL

Polish the Skin Off AAPL

Apple, Google, Facebook, India

And the Winner Is...

AAPL Meets Hollywood



Regards,
Slim

If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked out Google Pixelbook [or an Apple Mac Book--I will keep an open mind.] and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note.
Sincerely,
Slim.

Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Copyright (c) 2019 Bob Asken
All Rights Reserved