WhyDoesn’tAnybodyCopyApple?
Apple’sproductsaretheenvyoftheworld.Theyhavebeenspectacularlysuccessfulandarewidelyimitatedifnotcopied.TheminuteApplecrystallizesaproducteveryoneknowshowtocompete．ThisideathatthebasisofcompetitionissetbyAppleandthentheraceisontoclimbthepathofimprovementisunquestionable．WhenApplereleasesaproductthatdefinesacategoryordramaticallychangesthestructureofanindustryitbecomesobviouswhatneedstobebuilt.ButwhatIwonderiswhyeveryonewantstocopyApple’sproductsbutnobodywantstocopybeingApple?
Icanthinkoftworeasons.FirstlyAppleisnotworthcopyingbecauseit'snotsuccessful;secondlyApple’ssuccesscannotbecopiedbecauseitisamagicalprocess．
Thereisagreatdealofevidenceforthefirsthypothesis.TheideaofApplebeingsuccessfulisnotsomethingreflectedinitsstockprice．BeingvaluedlowerthantheaveragecompanyintheS&P（标准普尔）500indicatesthattowhateverdegreeApplewassuccessfulinthepastit'snotseenbythevastmajorityofobserversassuccessfulinthefuture．WhyshouldonebothercopyingAppleifitresultsinbeingpunishedwithalowvaluation?Ifoneworksreallyhardatinnovationandthenthatinnovationbecomescommoditized（商品化）veryquicklywhyshouldonebother?
WheninnovationpractitionersareaskedwhatmakesApplesuccessfultheanswersregardingthecauseofthissuccessborderonthemythical.Theclimaxofthishypothesisisthe“chief-sorcerer”theoryofsuccesswhichplacesonemagicianlikeSteveJobsinchargeofcastingalltherightspells（符咒）．
WhataboutApple’sownopinionofwhatmakesittick?TimCookreferstoagreatteamandintegrationofhardwaresoftwareandservicesasuniqueAppleadvantages.It’sabetterexplanation．Integrationissomethingthatcantakealongtimebutitispossiblewithgreateffort．Afewcompaniesarestartingtomakemovesinthatdirectionbuteffortsarehalf-hearted．Thereisno“movetheEarth”panictobecomeanintegratedcompanyfromSamsungGoogleorMicrosoft．
MyownsuspicionisthatAppleismoreawareofwhatmakesitspecialthanitletsout．HoweverasTimpointsoutit’snotaformula．It’scomplexit’ssubtlebutit’snotmagic．It’saprocessthatreq