Take a chance and Learn, failure could be an option.

Since the rumours broke and the official announcement was made about Microsoft launching their own tablet, there seems to have been a number of people lining up to announce its demise before launch.

Take this article from Business Insider which suggests that Microsoft are doomed to failure from the start. You can see why they have come to their conclusions but until launch it is difficult for me to think of it in terms of success or failure. I have a little more faith in taking chances. I can not imagine for one minute that Microsoft have set themselves up to fail. It would be incredibly unwise for any business to create and launch a product without taking a number of things into consideration. Microsoft have assessed the tablet market and see a gap for a new entrant, one of the reasons being is there is always room for healthy competition. This is what drives innovation.

One of the most interesting flaws in the arguments of the doubters is that Microsoft don't understand the market, they cite the example of their failed range of media players the Zune. Now whilst it was a failure as far as media players go the lessons learned have been used to help create the Windows phone. Zune as a music and video download service will be offered under the Xbox brand. Which leads me on to another point. If Microsoft are to be warned off of the Tablet arena just because there is a dominant brand, why did the Xbox succeed?

That Learning Dude remembers another product doomed to failure, the Sony Playstation. I was at an event in 1994 with two companies presenting their wares, Sega who had dominated the game console market for several years with the Megadrive and Mastersystem and the new kid on the block for consoles, Sony. So confident were Sega that their new Saturn would continue their market dominance that the exec hardly got out of first gear. He mocked Sony for even attempting to enter the arena, questioning their hardware and software choices, the control system and anything else he could see fit to challenge. Sony stuck by it, they had done their research and even though admitting Sega had sold millions of consoles they stayed true to their dream. The rest is history as they say, Sony still have one of the dominant brands in the marketplace and as for Sega? Well they make software now for the industry after admitting defeat. Even with the odds stacked against them Sony achieved success, just as Microsoft were to follow suit in later years with the Xbox when faced with Sony dominance. So who is to say Microsoft cannot challenge Apple? In fact it is in the games arena I see the biggest opportunity with the Surface with connection to the Xbox generating maps and additional data for games such as Call of Duty and Halo........but that's getting a little geeky........although would I not be right in thinking Nintendo are going down the very route of crossover tablet and controllers for their new console?

As I said. A little too geeky right?

Now what does this have to do with learning I hear you cry?

Well for me, learning is all about creation, connections, innovation, knowledge and in fact whatever you want it to be. Mark Twain said that he never let his schooling get in the way of his education. This means it never stops. To do this you should be bold and take chances. Stick your neck out and let people know what you think. Take information on board the way you want it and come to your own conclusions testing theory along the way. Don't pay too much attention to the doubters either, any time I hear their voices I refer to the story of the group of scientists who back in the day said that whilst the possibility of television was there, it would be a commercial disaster with limited potential................history is littered with these stories. I am just thankful nobody listened to them, but then I am watching BIG on Film4 right now so I am a little biased (for those who have watched this film it is hard not to disagree that a robot that turns into a building would be a rubbish toy so perhaps sometimes listen to the doubters but as a rare treat)

When I take on a development challenge or piece of work I would never set it up to fail and whilst I wouldn't go so far as to say failure is not an option, I would say that a little bit of failure along the way tests the strength of your product. So build an element of strength testing into your plan to ensure you can improve it right up until launch and even then keep it evolving.

Do not bother too much about the doubters, take on board constructive comments but if they are questioning the scale of the challenge you are facing then they probably will never understand creativity and innovation. JFK when asked why go to the moon? Acknowledged the task ahead but pointed out that they did not choose to go to the moon because it way easy but because it was hard. If you see someone doing something that you think is too hard then you are not looking close enough. Steve Jobs would have relished the fact that his Microsoft are set to challenge the dominance of iPad. It would have spurred him on to do something even more dynamic. That's the real challenge and only by doing so will you truly learn what it means to take a chance.

That Learning Dude

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