If you’ve attained a measure of success in consumer electronics, congratulations, but you need to work harder!

Success is fleeting in our industry, and you must continue to do the right things in the right way simply to maintain your advantageous position.

Gravity pushes backwards in consumer electronics. Success does not necessarily bring about more success if you get away from what got you here.

Don’t believe me?

See Netflix. They stopped talking to their customers and started making wildly unpopular decisions unilaterally.

See Research in Motion. They stopped making excellent smart phones, which is all people wanted from them.

Before them, see Microsoft, which stopped keeping up with the times and found itself unprepared for the high tech world’s move to the clouds.

The graveyard of consumer electronics is littered with companies that did the right things repeatedly, then, because of success and ego, stopped.

In this industry, more than any other, the competition will pass you by faster than you can say “oops.”

To avoid such a rapid descent is not difficult: you must continue innovating your products and your marketing at the same rate that brought you to this successful position in the first place.

Heed my advice, and you’ll continue on your upward trajectory.

Ignore it and you may well wind up another story of warning to others.