A matter of mindset: Apple's decline, BYD's rise

While discussing digital transformation and artificial intelligence with Faruk Eczacıbaşı, President of the Turkish Informatics Foundation, on my program on Medyascope, the topic we focused on most was mindset, or the change in mentality. Eczacıbaşı was right when he said that technological transformation is only possible when the way of thinking changes. Because this is at the root of the crises experienced by the biggest technology companies today.

Apple's latest move is a concrete example of this. The company made a $1 billion annual deal with Google to strengthen Siri. Yet, the artificial intelligence database in Apple's hands is many times larger than Google's in terms of parameter count. But unfortunately, it is not as efficient. The source of this paradox is not technical, but cultural: Apple's innovative mindset has long since changed.

During the Steve Jobs era, Apple was a company that did not shy away from "paying the price for innovation." For this reason, Jobs was fired, and then called back by investors who realized their mistake. Innovation was the company's DNA at that time. However, after Jobs' death, this DNA changed under Tim Cook's management. Apple has now turned into a company that pleases investors but loses its originality in the long run.

At that time, I frequently touched upon the risk of this strategy in my articles and programs. The reaction was usually the same: "It's already making a profit, what more do you want?" But short-term profit took away long-term leadership. Apple is now a follower brand. And at the point we have reached today, it has come to hope for support from Google in artificial intelligence. Moreover, Google is not even among the top three leaders in this field.

The real issue is not technology, but mindset.

Last week, I was at BYD's press conference in Istanbul. General Manager of Turkey, İsmail Ergün, defined BYD not as an "automotive company," but as a "technology company." This statement may sound simple, but it contains a great vision. Because right now, in the automotive industry, it is precisely this mindset that distinguishes BYD from the others.

If they maintain this mentality and do not deviate from the line of "we do not produce cars, we produce technology," BYD will gain a lot in the long run. Let me be even more ambitious: Just as the technology giants that started as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and are now referred to as the "Magnificent Seven" consist of phone manufacturers, the giants of tomorrow will consist of car manufacturers.

BYD has caught this wave at its peak. If they maintain their mindset, it would not be surprising for them to join the trillion-dollar club in a few years.

Mentality comes before technology.

Apple forgot this, BYD remembers.