Xerox and the Skunk

Xerox used to be a leader in computing.  Well, in 1969, they invented the laser printer.  They were the smartest and sharpest and no one was even close to matching them.

They owned the copier market.  But lately with computing, the lines between printers and copiers have blurred.  HP has gained market share with home based computing.   Xerox has been severely late to get products to the market and to establish relationships with Staples.

For decades, Xerox dominated the copier market.  But by the 1990s, they lost market share significantly.

Xerox PARC created one of the first personal computers.  Xerox PARC created the Xerox Alto in 1973 -- the first true PC.  First to use a mouse and a graphic user interface.  Unfortunately, the company's Alto system was never a commercial product and was built exclusively for internal use.  Meanwhile, both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were given demonstrations of the Alto and the rest is history.

Xerox had their own unique LAN.  They pioneered the standard for linking computers on the internet.  The internet was formed from the DARPAnet, a DoD project.  All of these computers on DARPAnet were Xerox Alto workstations, utilizing Ethernet cables invented by PARC.

So PARC had many successes such as the Ethernet and GUI.  In fact many companies benefited from Xerox's development and research  But then PARC lost touch and failed to capitalize on their inventions and innovations.  And their management was to blame.

The management didn't really see the true value of computers.  They were too stuck on the photocopier industry.  Their rigidity and too narrow of a vision restricted them to look outside their tiny boxes and to consider new arenas -- a virtue I call "Rescripting."

But Bill Gates was able to see the value in it.  In 1979, he took a tour of Xerox's facility and came away with the idea.  Another fellow who did the same was Steve Jobs.

The problem with PARC was the organizational structure.  There are many benefits of reporting directly to the CEO.  By reporting to the CEO, you have the CEO's ear without having to go through filters.

By doing this, you can be more focused and adaptable.  Members, I believe, can work better to achieve team goals.

It also demonstrates how technology and research is viewed by the corporate management.

Contrast this to Skunkworks at Lockheed Martin.  This group of engineers and research scientists were highly regarded and had direct access to the top.  They were a task force that were empowered by management to work without distraction.  The work product was clearly defined with a clear set of objectives.  Here are the 14 Rules of Skunkworks.

They had true synergy, worked with autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy.  This is a great example of why I believe small businesses often has the edge.  They are lean and mean.  I learned through my experience in the Navy that the more steps required to push a process through, the more ways, information can be lost.

This is the main difference between what happened at PARC at the XEROX headquarters and at Skunkworks at Lockheed Martin.