I have been pondering of late the ingredients that make a company truly successful. It is a common expectation to conclude that the largest companies are the best. However, I have now realized that this is not always the case. The best companies are those that are most important in our lives, not just the ones with a larger market segment. This became more real when I remembered how deeply it resonated with me about what happened to Nokia.
Many of us had a Nokia phone at some point in time. I still recall how amazing these phones were with their dependable keyboards and solidly built bodies. For so long, Nokia was the world leader in mobile telephony. However, if you asked me then who was the CEO of Nokia or what its market cap was, I would not be able to respond. And also, most others wouldn’t either, because we only cared for how exceptional these phones were and how they could fit well into our everyday life experiences.
Nokia’s triumph had nothing to do with bigness; it was about being better than everybody else at doing whatever they did. Their focus was on creating phones that people really wanted to use. Then something happened! BlackBerry appeared with something slightly superior: it had an improved keyboard and communication network system. For some time, BlackBerry seemed like one’s primary option, as all of my friends, including myself, migrated from Nokia phones.
However, Blackberry's dominion was short-lived. Apple came into the picture with the iPhone and did something amazing. They asked a simple question: Why does a phone need a physical keyboard? It is not useful most of the time; it just occupies space. Their design philosophy was ingenious; they did away with the physical keyboard so we could have more screen and increase device flexibility. The iPhone was a game changer and quickly became the new number one.
All this development in mobile phones taught me an important lesson. As consumers, we care less about the market share or stock prices of companies. We are concerned with how a product influences our lives. When we value products, it’s because they matter to us because they solve a problem or make things easier for us. If they do not do so, then regardless of any big-name company that produces them, we move on.
I believe this idea applies to more than simply mobile phones, though. In every field, the focus should be on being the best rather than the largest player in it. By aspiring to be the best, you make something real for people’s lives that matters—something that makes them come back for another serving of your work over again. Being the biggest might mean short-term success, but being the best means enduring importance.
Also, this perspective alters how I think about my own successful life. I am tempted to measure success in terms of external factors such as income, job title, or the size of my social circle. But real success, according to me, is being the greatest at what I do and being relevant to the people around me. It’s all about positive impacts, regardless of how small they may be.
The big picture becomes clear when we think of companies like Nokia, BlackBerry, and Apple. This is not about hitting the highest figures; it is about doing my best and creating a difference that matters. That’s what brings true satisfaction and success.
It’s more important to be better than bigger. It’s called relevance in whatever you create, because that is what really counts for people. Be it a product, a service, or even personal achievements, significance is key in life. With this perspective, change comes a fuller, more meaningful life, although its scope may be narrow. Let us therefore aspire to be world changers by giving our best wherever we are in whatever we do.