Steve Johnson on technology

In our industry — advertising, marketing and media — there is no shortage of innovators who subsequently lost out to the next innovation. Why? Like Ken Olsen, they had a tendency, as well as a need, to focus on the business at hand. There were numbers to make, deadlines to meet, work to produce, clients to serve, awards to win. Of course this short-term mindset — a focus on current clients, an obsession with known competitors rather than emerging foes, and a determination to leverage existing competencies instead of developing new ones — was a deterrent to preparing for the future.

Innovation is the brass ring of technology. (Speaking of which, the "brass ring" on a carousel hasn't existed in my lifetime but I digress.) Some companies are obsessed with chasing the next innovation; others sit on their laurels and focus on today. Surely there is need for both.

"If the other guy is getting better, then you’d better be getting better faster than the other guy is getting better... or you’re getting worse.