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"Antioco was, in fact, a very competent executive—many considered him a retail genius"...yet he made incredibly obvious mistakes to prop up a business with a fl

"Antioco was, in fact, a very competent executive—many considered him a retail genius"...yet he made incredibly obvious mistakes to prop up a business with a flawed business model. I fail to see any of the genius, he seems like another corporate idiot in a suit, to me.

RandallBrown 8y ago
Antioco tried launching a dvd by mail and streaming service around the same time Netflix did. They were behind, but not that far. The problem seems to be this > While he convinced the board to back his plan, one of his lieutenants, Jim Keyes, led a rear guard action. Had they actually listened to Antioco, they may have survived. I subscribed to Blockbuster Online because I could return things to the store and get movies faster than Netflix. Everything about it was equal or better (except maybe the name.) Then it all sorta fell apart on Blockbuster and I've been a happy Netflix subscriber for more than a decade.
- scarface74 8y ago
  Has there ever been a successful large scale pivot by an American technology company that wasn’t founder led? All of the successful FAANG companies successfully managed transistions led by thier founders. Even though Microsoft’s recent turn around wasn’t founder led, I don’t think the current CEO could have done it without Bill Gates’ support.
  - captain_perl 8y ago
    It's unlikely because the existing staff incentives are from the previous business line, not the new one. Just try and get your sales staff to sell a new product line when all their commission comes from the old one.
  - filmgirlcw 8y ago
    Intel? The company has massive problems now, but many of the larger scale pivots in its history were not the work of Moore or Noyce. Now, we can debate whether Andy Grove counts (and I tend to say no, because though not technically a founder, he was employee number 3 and there from the day the company was incorporated), but looking at someone like Paul Otellini, who most definitely helped turn the company around, I think that's a good example. Otellini missed mobile, a massive, massive problem -- but I don't think there is any evidence to suggest that Grove would've necessarily done better. It's hard to say. And if we want to go further back, I would argue that IBM was never led by its founders. Watson wasn't a founder; he came into what became IBM as a hired manager. One could argue his son was "more" of a founder because he grew up seeped into the culture of what IBM became and he definitely helped lead the company to greatness. But subsequent CEOs like Frank Cary and Louis Gerstner really did the big turnarounds and pivots.
- dwd 8y ago
  >> While he convinced the board to back his plan, one of his lieutenants, Jim Keyes, led a rear guard action. > Had they actually listened to Antioco, they may have survived. The article seemed to ignore that and put the blame on Antioco. His only failing was not getting rid of Jim Keyes. Worth considering this in light of the recent purges and executive departures at companies such as Tesla.

RandallBrown 8y ago

Antioco tried launching a dvd by mail and streaming service around the same time Netflix did. They were behind, but not that far. The problem seems to be this > While he convinced the board to back his plan, one of his lieutenants, Jim Keyes, led a rear guard action. Had they actually listened to Antioco, they may have survived. I subscribed to Blockbuster Online because I could return things to the store and get movies faster than Netflix. Everything about it was equal or better (except maybe the name.) Then it all sorta fell apart on Blockbuster and I've been a happy Netflix subscriber for more than a decade.

scarface74 8y ago
Has there ever been a successful large scale pivot by an American technology company that wasn’t founder led? All of the successful FAANG companies successfully managed transistions led by thier founders. Even though Microsoft’s recent turn around wasn’t founder led, I don’t think the current CEO could have done it without Bill Gates’ support.
- captain_perl 8y ago
  It's unlikely because the existing staff incentives are from the previous business line, not the new one. Just try and get your sales staff to sell a new product line when all their commission comes from the old one.
- filmgirlcw 8y ago
  Intel? The company has massive problems now, but many of the larger scale pivots in its history were not the work of Moore or Noyce. Now, we can debate whether Andy Grove counts (and I tend to say no, because though not technically a founder, he was employee number 3 and there from the day the company was incorporated), but looking at someone like Paul Otellini, who most definitely helped turn the company around, I think that's a good example. Otellini missed mobile, a massive, massive problem -- but I don't think there is any evidence to suggest that Grove would've necessarily done better. It's hard to say. And if we want to go further back, I would argue that IBM was never led by its founders. Watson wasn't a founder; he came into what became IBM as a hired manager. One could argue his son was "more" of a founder because he grew up seeped into the culture of what IBM became and he definitely helped lead the company to greatness. But subsequent CEOs like Frank Cary and Louis Gerstner really did the big turnarounds and pivots.
dwd 8y ago
>> While he convinced the board to back his plan, one of his lieutenants, Jim Keyes, led a rear guard action. > Had they actually listened to Antioco, they may have survived. The article seemed to ignore that and put the blame on Antioco. His only failing was not getting rid of Jim Keyes. Worth considering this in light of the recent purges and executive departures at companies such as Tesla.