it’s all about incentives

The biggest news this week is Steve Jobs steeping down as CEO from Apple company.
The company reported $7.3 billion profits last quater. So what are they doing right?
http://www.economist.com/node/21525937

Moreover, how were they able to sustain the GFC? It’s business model? The fact they have control of every input?

Well, its a combination of things isn’t it?

Consumer preferences would are usually multi-dimensional, however they follow a certain set of assumptions, such as ‘more is better’. But is that always the case?
What intrinsic value does an Apple product have that it is able to sell beyond a rational consumer’s perception?

It has gone beyond being an item of ‘status’ or the ‘being cool’ incentive.
It is its frugal innovation. Simplicity but yet complex. The ‘all in one’ complex.

Add the fact that people cannot be bothered to learn how to use new technologies but yet still want the access to them. Apple product has mastered that.

Well, at least so far under Steve Job’s direction..

A Choice to define Choices

The minor decisions that we make everyday has a ripple effect in our lives and the lives of the ones around us.

From the choice of our words,
The food we eat,
Even when we smile to a stranger.

However, it is too much time and effort to consider all possible ripples of our words or actions.

Although, there are always signs, pit stops and cross junctions that will define our future paths.
We all like to think that we make the best decision every time. For example, when one goes into a retail store, we tend to think that we purchase goods at their best possible value with maximized consumer surplus. However, more often than not, it is only a matter of relative choices.

Our choices may not be good in true fact. But it is better than the alternative.
So we are led to believe that we are given the freedom to choose, but essentially, the entity produces the choices we make only has to make the alternative slightly worse.