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Incorrect (Or have you sources?).... the issue is old legacy based companies. No matter where they are based. Legacy as in business systems, business thought

by edf13 7y ago

Incorrect (Or have you sources?).... the issue is old legacy based companies. No matter where they are based. Legacy as in business systems, business thought process, legacy IT, etc. TC is a very old company

lexicondrivel 7y ago
Bank of England, arguably the ultimate in legacy business at the heart of all business types, are investigating the benefits of the most recent tech developments, namely cryptocurrency. Is it a legacy business issue or simply and ultimately a multitude of factors including bad management with ego's getting in the way which doesnt make a nice easy to read story or account of events? I'm not suggesting the original poster is incorrect with their account of events, lack of the right investment is something many people can identify in their own line of work, its just timescales to a point of failure can be variable. Likewise bleeding edge technology is not always beneficial for all, but holding back or testing the water and constant monitoring is required to avoid expensive mistakes. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/G.Danezis/papers/ndss16currencies.pdf http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/G.Danezis/papers/ndss16curren... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/30/bank-england-plots-bitcoin-style-digital-currency/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/30/bank-england-plo...
mcv 7y ago
There are also old companies who manage to keep up and innovate, and care about competence. Not as much as tiny startups, but enough to survive and do well. One problem with the British upperclass, is that they tend to be educated at private schools like Eton, where they primarily learn confidence. So tons of British politicians and managers know how to appear to know what they're doing, without actually knowing what they're doing. As long as things are going well, this works fine, especially since the people they do business with come from the same schools. But when the shit hits the fan, it turns into a fumbling circus. Like it did with Tories and Brexit.
- celticninja 7y ago
  I dont even know where to start with this comment.
  - ubercow13 7y ago
    Could you try? As a (maybe naive, not upperclass) British citizen it seems pretty reasonable.
    - celticninja 7y ago
      I just think it could be applied to UK politicians who are predominantly privately educated and incredibly out of touch, but it is a stretch to think that most company managers are privately educated. Particularly because in the car of Thomas Cook the CEO is a German educated Swiss man. Prior to that is was run by a woman, who was not Eton educated. So basically the comment is a generalisation that cannot even be applied to this specific instance. The only thing it can be applied to fairly is the British political class, who in general would adhere to it.
  - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
    You can start by agreeing with it. It's not just true, it's the fundamental reason the UK is in the mess it's currently in.
    - celticninja 7y ago
      The statement may be correct if it was limited only to Eton educated politicians. As it isn't it is an unfair generalisation on mangers, many of whom are not Eton educated
  - sverige 7y ago
    > One problem with the British upperclass, is that they tend to be educated at private schools like Eton, where they primarily learn confidence. So tons of British politicians and managers know how to appear to know what they're doing, without actually knowing what they're doing. Having worked with certain interested underwriters from Lloyd's, it was an easy upvote for me.
vesinisa 7y ago
Company being old certainly does not mean it needs to be full of legacy systems and business processes. It only means that the company's management is not competent at evolving the company's processes and systems, which means it will eventually fail regardless of being a fresh startup or centuries old going concern. Bosch, Siemens, Bayer, BASF and Carl-Zeiss are all examples of over hundred year-old German companies that continue to innovate at the cutting edge of their industries and are massively profitable.
- C1sc0cat 7y ago
  Not online they wont
- usrusr 7y ago
  Minor nitpick: Volkswagen isn't over a hundred years old at all. It might not be entirely inaccurate to say that they have survived a thousand years, but those were the shortest thousand years in history.
  - vesinisa 7y ago
    Hah! Thanks, edited. It might be also said that their innovation most recently has focused on some less-than legal technologies. But innovation it is, nonetheless.
- ChuckNorris89 7y ago
  Those companies innovate and do well but they're not online businesses. They sell specialized niche high tech physical goods not digital services.
  - vesinisa 7y ago
    What about IBM? Founded in 1911, $13B profit in 2018. Most successful company in several online business sectors. What about Nokia? Founded originally in 1865 as a paper mill, re-invented itself multiple times in countless different industries, before becoming the leading mobile phone manufacturer in 1990s and 2000s. They did eventually indeed succumb to their failure to evolve, but a more competent management post 2006 would have likely saved the company.

by edf13 7y ago

lexicondrivel 7y ago

Bank of England, arguably the ultimate in legacy business at the heart of all business types, are investigating the benefits of the most recent tech developments, namely cryptocurrency. Is it a legacy business issue or simply and ultimately a multitude of factors including bad management with ego's getting in the way which doesnt make a nice easy to read story or account of events? I'm not suggesting the original poster is incorrect with their account of events, lack of the right investment is something many people can identify in their own line of work, its just timescales to a point of failure can be variable. Likewise bleeding edge technology is not always beneficial for all, but holding back or testing the water and constant monitoring is required to avoid expensive mistakes. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/G.Danezis/papers/ndss16currencies.pdf http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/G.Danezis/papers/ndss16curren... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/30/bank-england-plots-bitcoin-style-digital-currency/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/30/bank-england-plo...

mcv 7y ago

There are also old companies who manage to keep up and innovate, and care about competence. Not as much as tiny startups, but enough to survive and do well. One problem with the British upperclass, is that they tend to be educated at private schools like Eton, where they primarily learn confidence. So tons of British politicians and managers know how to appear to know what they're doing, without actually knowing what they're doing. As long as things are going well, this works fine, especially since the people they do business with come from the same schools. But when the shit hits the fan, it turns into a fumbling circus. Like it did with Tories and Brexit.

celticninja 7y ago
I dont even know where to start with this comment.
- ubercow13 7y ago
  Could you try? As a (maybe naive, not upperclass) British citizen it seems pretty reasonable.
  - celticninja 7y ago
    I just think it could be applied to UK politicians who are predominantly privately educated and incredibly out of touch, but it is a stretch to think that most company managers are privately educated. Particularly because in the car of Thomas Cook the CEO is a German educated Swiss man. Prior to that is was run by a woman, who was not Eton educated. So basically the comment is a generalisation that cannot even be applied to this specific instance. The only thing it can be applied to fairly is the British political class, who in general would adhere to it.
- TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
  You can start by agreeing with it. It's not just true, it's the fundamental reason the UK is in the mess it's currently in.
  - celticninja 7y ago
    The statement may be correct if it was limited only to Eton educated politicians. As it isn't it is an unfair generalisation on mangers, many of whom are not Eton educated
- sverige 7y ago
  > One problem with the British upperclass, is that they tend to be educated at private schools like Eton, where they primarily learn confidence. So tons of British politicians and managers know how to appear to know what they're doing, without actually knowing what they're doing. Having worked with certain interested underwriters from Lloyd's, it was an easy upvote for me.

vesinisa 7y ago

Company being old certainly does not mean it needs to be full of legacy systems and business processes. It only means that the company's management is not competent at evolving the company's processes and systems, which means it will eventually fail regardless of being a fresh startup or centuries old going concern. Bosch, Siemens, Bayer, BASF and Carl-Zeiss are all examples of over hundred year-old German companies that continue to innovate at the cutting edge of their industries and are massively profitable.

C1sc0cat 7y ago
Not online they wont
usrusr 7y ago
Minor nitpick: Volkswagen isn't over a hundred years old at all. It might not be entirely inaccurate to say that they have survived a thousand years, but those were the shortest thousand years in history.
- vesinisa 7y ago
  Hah! Thanks, edited. It might be also said that their innovation most recently has focused on some less-than legal technologies. But innovation it is, nonetheless.
ChuckNorris89 7y ago
Those companies innovate and do well but they're not online businesses. They sell specialized niche high tech physical goods not digital services.
- vesinisa 7y ago
  What about IBM? Founded in 1911, $13B profit in 2018. Most successful company in several online business sectors. What about Nokia? Founded originally in 1865 as a paper mill, re-invented itself multiple times in countless different industries, before becoming the leading mobile phone manufacturer in 1990s and 2000s. They did eventually indeed succumb to their failure to evolve, but a more competent management post 2006 would have likely saved the company.