I just finished the Steve Jobs biography which reminded me a lot of the constant and incessant discussions back in the day about whether Apples’ fully integrated vertical model or Microsoft’s open horizontal model would “win”. The end result was both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates admitting (however grudgingly) that both models worked. Here is the thing, yes companies merge, but even so lots of companies exist. I don’t mean to be a cooperative play preschool teacher here but you winning doesn’t mean that I need to lose.
The problem with the win/lose paradigm is that it is rather disheartening for the small business. In a world where there is only one winner, playing seems rather hopeless. How can I “win” when I am so small and others are so large?
You know what I think? I think that at the end of 2012 Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon will exist and will be profitable. So really, doesn’t that mean they will all win? But, I guess we will see if I am clueless next December.
~e