Forbes: How Sony Should Respond to a Disruptive Attack (PS3 vs. Wii)

[Avinash_Tyagi]

Seeking Alpha weighs in:

Taken in a vacuum, I tend to agree with Mr. Christensen's recommendations. The problem I have with them, however, is that they require a healthy and functional corporate culture and a modicum of strategic vision, neither of which Sony had demonstrated in recent years. I don't see how you can answer the question Mr. Christensen so deftly answered without asking the following question: If my prescription is correct strategically, can they really execute upon it organizationally? Because for all the common sense inherent in Mr. Christensen's story, I think it is pretty much a red herring since I can't see a way current Sony management and the existing Sony organization can pull it off.

Let's say for the moment that Sony decides to take Mr. Christensen's advice (despite indications to the contrary). In order to execute it will need to have hardware and software working closely together, and doing so in a way it has never done before. In fact, I'd posit that software development and usability should drive hardware design, not the other way around, which is traditionally the way it is done at Sony.

Given that there are really no new players (meaning fresh blood from the outside, bringing new ideas, new energy and new ways of getting stuff done) in key roles since the debacle called PS3 occurred, why should anyone have confidence that Sony can magically transform itself into a flexible, customer-focused, software-driven organization? Answer: They shouldn't.

So before I would begin even thinking about answering the question "What should Sony do next with respect to its gaming strategy?", I'd want to answer the question "How can Sony re-shape its organization, culture and product development approach in order to be more flexible, customer-centric and innovative in a rapidly-shifting market?"

Because without a good answer to the latter, you might as well take the former, write it on a piece of paper, crumple it into a ball and toss it in the garbage can. Because that is all the value good strategy is worth in the absence of good culture.

http://ce.seekingalpha.com/article/43458