Did You Read It: In Search of Stupidity

Did You Read It takes on In Search of Stupidity, by Merrill Chapman, 2006: twenty years of high-tech flops, written against In Search of Excellence; its claim is that stupidity, not excellence, decides. Question one: MicroPro's peak sales? Gary: a billion. Marcie: close to $70 million in 1983, chapter four, the biggest software company of its day; then it sold two products called WordStar at $495 each, and died. Question two: who made the chiclet keyboard? IBM's PC Junior, chapter three, a chopped PC with one floppy at about $1,000, which buyers refused as second class. Bonus: not excellent, just less stupid, more often.

In Search of Stupidity, by Merrill Chapman, 2006, is a catalogue of twenty years of high-tech marketing disasters written against In Search of Excellence: it argues that excellence is a myth and that companies win by being less stupid than their rivals more often, with MicroPro, the biggest software company of 1983 at close to $70 million in sales, selling two products called WordStar at once, and IBM's chopped PC Junior, about $1,000 with a monitor, refused by buyers as a second-class computer.

On the book: In Search of Stupidity by Merrill R. Chapman

Starring

🎙️Announcer LouRex FontaineMarcieGary