HTC is known for a number of great phones from the Nexus One, the first ever official Google phone, the HTC EVO 4G which really kicked things off for high end smartphones, and more recently the HTC One X which has received great reviews and is a big step forward. Oh and of course we can’t forget the first ever Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. They make good phones, there is no doubt about it, but their sales just haven’t been able to keep up with the likes of competitors.
Profits aren’t where they should be and while the Taiwanese company isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, it’s clear that they need to implement some changes. An email leaked a couple days from Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, that was sent out to employees and appears to talk about the big problem: Bureaucracy.
Here’s part of the email:
“We have people in meetings and talking all the time but without decision, strategic direction or sense of urgency. Bureaucracy crept in without clear ownership. We agreed to do something but we either didn’t do it or executed it loosely. Don’t let the processes, rules and norms to impact our important goals. Of course we have to follow certain rules and criteria but don’t let small things kill the major goals.”
It is a good thing however that the CEO recognizes the problem. However, knowing you have a problem and what it is is the first step. Actually implementing changes and doing something about it is another thing. As far as their product line is concerned, HTC seems to be moving in the right direction with less releases and focusing more on high quality, high end devices.
Of course going this route is great, quality is better than quantity, but being able to provide updates is important as well. They’re in the process of rolling out Android 4.0 to various devices and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean should be making its way to newer devices such as the Sensation 4G, Rezound, One X, etc.
Every company, at one point or another, will face bureaucracy. If not squashed, it can really kill performance and profits as it causes the company to remain stagnant and do just enough to get by. And we all know what happens when a company remains stagnant. I personally like HTC and think they have great potential to reel it back in. We’re really just in the beginning of Android.
These next few years will be very exciting and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold.