Tom Stewart's most recent Barely Managing column in Business 2.0 takes a look at the market for DVDs as the realization of video-on-demand that so many sought. Tom has a finely honed sense for organizations' preference for order over profit. I only hope the RIAA is reading as well. Some clips from the column:

The DVD is -- surprise -- the form in which we have produced video-on-demand. Gerald Levin, former CEO of AOL Time Warner (AOL), was right: Video-on-demand really is a killer app.

[...]

In so doing, they taught us all a lesson. The prophets of video-on-demand overlooked something about "demand" -- namely, whose demand it really is. You don't create demand; you obey it.

[...]

When demand is running around loose, smart leaders don't make too many plans. Instead they make hypotheses, then adjustments.

11:11:53 AM •  • comment