- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: A & C Black Publishers Ltd (16 Feb 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0713682078
- ISBN-13: 978-0713682076
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 898,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
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Review
'Every page is a tug at your lapels to see things his way. The world would be a better place if we did.' Wall Street Journal 'The book gives a common-sense rundown of the reasons why some ideas do not take off and will be salutary reading for those who believe that the IT workd does not follow the normal rules of business and industry.' Professional Manager (July 2007)
Product Description
After years of studying countless winners and losers, the author has come up with a simple idea that explains why some technologies-DVD players, iPods-become huge hits while others-video phones-crash and burn. His big idea is that people are only willing to change when the 'pain' of their current situation outweighs the perceived pain of trying something new. In other words, technology demands a change in habits. This simple fact is the main cause of failure for many fabulous inventions. Many companies fall for their own hype and believe that if they build something better, people will automatically beat a path to their door. This is not necessarily the case; as Coburn shows, most potential users are afraid of new technologies and need a really great reason to change. The Change Function looks at this trend across many industry sectors, from computers to mobile phone and digital TV recorders, and is invaluable for anyone who creates, invests in, or is interested in, new technologies. '...every page is a tug at your lapels to see things his way. The world would be a better place if we did.' Wall Street Journal
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Mr Coburn has submerged his well thought-out thesis in a tome of self-instruction-like text with bullet points, quotes, 'techy' fonts, 'shouty' interjections, countless parentheses within parentheses and a great deal of repetition. This makes it a very difficult book to read with any fluidity.
It is a pity that his approach is so jerky as his main theory is interesting and the technologies he examines are mostly familiar to us. He reasons why some major developments: the picture phone, interactive TV, tablet PCs, etc either succeeded or failed and predicts the likely future for RF Identification, the Entertainment PC, flat-screen TV, satellite radio and the mobile e-mail amongst others. He is in the business of advising people where to invest their money but readers can watch the future unroll with insight and not necessarily risking their money.
It is a pity that his approach is so jerky as his main theory is interesting and the technologies he examines are mostly familiar to us. He reasons why some major developments: the picture phone, interactive TV, tablet PCs, etc either succeeded or failed and predicts the likely future for RF Identification, the Entertainment PC, flat-screen TV, satellite radio and the mobile e-mail amongst others. He is in the business of advising people where to invest their money but readers can watch the future unroll with insight and not necessarily risking their money.
Format:Hardcover
Intel icons Gordon Moore and Andy Grove are each credited with a high-tech development axiom. "Moore's Law" says the cost of putting the maximum number of transistors on an integrated circuit (like a computer chip) doubles every 24 months. This leads to the "price elasticity argument" that infers the ideal price at which consumers will find new high-tech products attractive. "Grove's Law" posits that people adopt new technology when it is "disruptive," that is, when it becomes 10 times better than anything else available. But author Pip Coburn, who writes with a lively pen, believes that high-tech leaders must put these revered principles aside, and focus instead on the people who use their technological marvels. Those who appeal to consumers will thrive. Those who do not will lose money as their products go down in flames. Is Coburn correct? As the founder of a firm that advises investors on high-tech stocks, he makes a compelling argument. We suggest that technology executives, portfolio managers, and anyone else concerned with the success of high-tech companies and their products will want to read this thoughtful book before placing their own bets.
Format:Hardcover
According to Coburn, his book "aims to identify the root of crisis [i.e. producing what customers do not want, at least in sufficient quantity] by getting in users' heads to what they really want - as opposed to running insightless focus groups - and it looks for ways of reducing the total perceived pain of adopting a new way of doing things. In other words, we want to understand the crisis at the adopter level, or specifically how a new offering solves a problem such that the pain in moving to a new technology is lower than the pain of staying in the status quo." Throughout this book, Coburn examines the level of the crisis with regard to the services a new technology might offer. He also examines the total perceived pain of adoption associated with that new service.
When explaining why certain technologies "crash and burn," Coburn offers several examples which include the World's Fair-Style Picturephone, the Iridium satellite phone system, interactive TV, the Segway (although not all votes are as yet counted), and Webvan. He suggests why each failed., as well as lessons to be learned from those failures. With regard to technologies which have "taken off," Coburn includes the iPod, BlackBerry, and Netflix while noting that to be aloft for a while in way ensures an extended flight. A technology which solves today's problem may quickly be replaced by a new technology or by a better application of a relatively established one. Credit Coburn with a lively, at times highly entertaining narrative. He claims to have 14,292 opinions and most of them seem to be in his book. It remains for each reader to determine the significance and limitations of the Change Function concept. It may be flawed but its advocate, Coburn, is never dull.
When explaining why certain technologies "crash and burn," Coburn offers several examples which include the World's Fair-Style Picturephone, the Iridium satellite phone system, interactive TV, the Segway (although not all votes are as yet counted), and Webvan. He suggests why each failed., as well as lessons to be learned from those failures. With regard to technologies which have "taken off," Coburn includes the iPod, BlackBerry, and Netflix while noting that to be aloft for a while in way ensures an extended flight. A technology which solves today's problem may quickly be replaced by a new technology or by a better application of a relatively established one. Credit Coburn with a lively, at times highly entertaining narrative. He claims to have 14,292 opinions and most of them seem to be in his book. It remains for each reader to determine the significance and limitations of the Change Function concept. It may be flawed but its advocate, Coburn, is never dull.
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