MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 316
2nd June 2025
#CelebrateFailuresToo
Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin. (Bhagavad Gita 2.38)
Failure – Valuable Learning Experiences
Failure becomes an inherent aspect of the entrepreneurial journey – even life. Since entrepreneurs are pioneering new ideas, products, or services, they're venturing into unknown terrain where success cannot be guaranteed always. Failures in the form of unsuccessful product launches, market rejection, or financial setbacks are not only common but expected to some extent. These failures, however, are not merely setbacks; they serve as valuable learning experiences.
It is a grave misreading of the human predicament to think that everything will be a success. Sanity and happiness come from embracing catastrophe and applauding it. - Stephen Pile, Author of the Book of Heroic Failures.
Even Apple is not an exception to this rule. Apple also faced many failure moments and let us see the story of one, Failure of Apple Lisa.
#AppleLisa: A Tale of Trials
Tale of the transition from DOS to GUI
Before the 1980s, most personal computer users interacted with their machines via command-line interfaces, text-based operating systems such as CP/M and MS/DOS in which users had to type arcane commands to control their computers and keyboard was the only input device. Do you know who invented the iconic mouse and the most popular graphical user interface? It is neither Microsoft nor Apple, though Apple popularized GUI as a technology much before Microsoft brought out its popular Windows operating system. First attempt from Microsoft on GUI operating system was as Windows 1.0 by 1985 as a subsystem on top of MSDOS which was a failure by the way.
The invention of the GUI as an innovative concept controlled by a mouse, occurred at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), on a computer called Alto, with a bitmapped graphics displays invented for their children’s software development environment, Smalltalk released as early as 1973. It did not become a great commercial success though.
In 1979, a delegation from Apple Computer, led by Steve Jobs, visited PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) for a demonstration of #Smalltalk on the Alto for a possible collaboration between Xerox & Apple. Upon seeing the GUI, Jobs instinctively grasped the potential of this new way of interacting with a computer. Jobs could see that all computers in the future would work this way, and he wanted Apple to lead the way by bringing this technology out from the research lab to the masses.
From Apple II to Lisa
Apple by then had already been working on a new computer design in its own R&D labs to leapfrog the company’s best-selling, command-line-based, Apple II personal computer. It was code-named “Lisa”, officially, "Lisa" stood for "Local Integrated Software Architecture," but it was also the name of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' daughter. Unlike the Apple II, which was aimed at the home computer market, the Lisa was planned for the business market, would use the powerful Motorola 68000 microprocessor, and would be paired with a hard drive.
After the PARC visit, Jobs and many of Lisa’s engineers worked to incorporate the ideas of the GUI from PARC into the Lisa. Apple hired few senior executives from PARC for this project.
Meanwhile, Jobs had to take over another project, #AppleMacintosh, being designed simultaneously. Jobs took over that project and moved it away from the original appliance-like vision to one more like Lisa—a mouse-driven GUI-based computer but more affordable than the Lisa.
The Cost of Innovation
Lisa was finally released to the public on January 19, 1983, at a cost of $9,995. This was two years after Xerox had released its own commercial GUI-based workstation, the Star, for $16,595, which was similarly targeted towards office workers. The high price of both the machines compared to the ubiquitous IBM PC, a command-line based PC running on MSDOS retailed for $1,565, doomed them both to failure.
Apart from the cost, there were other significant problems too. The Lisa’s sophisticated operating system, which allowed multiple programs to run at the same time (“multitasking”) was too powerful even for its 68000 processor and thus ran sluggishly. The Lisa shipped with a suite of applications, including word processing and charts, bundled with the system, which discouraged third party developers from writing their own software for it. The original Lisa shipped with a floppy drive (“Twiggy”), designed in-house, that was unreliable.
From Lisa to the Mac
Failure of Lisa did not create a sinking feeling in Apple. Apple and Jobs took learnings from Lisa’s failure and incorporated them in the next to go, MacIntosh.
Announced in the famous Superbowl ad, the Apple Macintosh shipped in January 1984 for $2,495. Eliminating a hard drive, multitasking, and other advanced features, and a greatly reduced memory made it much more affordable. An innovative marketing program that sold Macintoshes at reduced prices to college students contributed significantly to the Mac’s installed base. The advent of Postscript-driven laser printers like the Apple LaserWriter in 1985, combined with the page layout application PageMaker from 3rd party software company Aldus, created a brand-new killer application—desktop publishing—for the Macintosh. This new market would grow to a billion dollars by 1988, and the Macintosh became the first commercially successful computer with a graphical user interface and a product-line that continues to this day.
I remember my super boss during early 1990s, Peter Walker, being passionate about his personal Macintosh though there were no other Apple machine in the organization at that time.
You might also face your LISA moments. It is in you to convert your LISA moments to Macintosh moments. The key is celebrating failures and learning from the failures.
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#PositiveNewsPage
This week’s positive news is also about #resilience.
Adapted from newindianexpress.com
College dropout to role model
In an inspirational story of resilience and innovation, R Madhu, a civil engineering dropout from Jookal village in Chityal mandal, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, Telangana has discovered a path to financial independence through self-employment.
His innovative venture, which he set up at Kaleswaram during the Saraswati Pushkaralu, a 12-day spiritual festival held from May 15 to May 26, at the Triveni Sangamam has cast the spotlight on the power of micro-enterprises in transforming rural livelihoods, particularly for women’s SHGs.
Madhu was forced to leave his civil engineering studies due to financial difficulties. However, he was undeterred. He began looking for ways to earn a livelihood. Inspired by the potential of low-cost, high-demand food products, he purchased an electric machine for Rs 50,000 which can roast and boil corn.
With this equipment, he set up a stall at the Pushkaralu, where he sold a variety of corn-based snacks, which became an instant hit for their taste, affordability, and quick preparation.
His stall became a standout success, earning him Rs 50,000 in profits during the 12-day event. Madhu’s business model has since proved sustainable, generating a steady monthly income of Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000, showcasing the viability of micro-enterprises in rural areas.
Incidentally the hero of our main story this week and technology visionary, Steve Jobs was also a college dropout.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly positive newsletter #MondayMusings every Monday consistently for the past 316 Mondays by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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PROMOTIONS
