Xerox's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Xerox — each one explained and grounded in the record.
The Counterfactual · Decision Forks
Xerox Invented the Future and Shipped It at $75,000 a Copy.
Xerox PARC didn't fail to commercialize the graphical computer - it shipped one in 1981, two years before Apple's Lisa. The Star sold ~25,000 units and died at a base price of ~$75,000. The failure wasn't invention. It was 3,000 miles of distance from the people who set the price.
8 min
The Cannibalization Choice · Cannibalization Choice
Xerox Built the Future at PARC. Then It Sold the Future to Its Past.
The myth is that Xerox ignored what PARC invented. It didn't - it shipped the laser printer, pushed Ethernet, and sold the Star in 1981. The failure was a $100,000 price tag and a 3,000-mile gap between the lab and the cash cow.
8 min
The Cannibalization Choice · Decision Forks
Xerox Didn't Refuse to Sell the Future. It Couldn't Figure Out How to Charge for It.
The legend says Xerox feared the computer would cannibalize its copier. But Xerox did ship a GUI machine in 1981 — at roughly $75,000 a system. The real failure wasn't cowardice. It was a monopoly that never learned to sell anything customers didn't already know they needed.
8 min
The Fall · Decision Forks
Xerox Didn't Fumble the Future. It Forged the Books to Hide the Present.
The legend says Xerox invented the PC and let Apple walk off with it. The records say otherwise: Xerox shipped a GUI computer in 1981, then accelerated $3 billion of copier revenue to disguise a franchise that was already dying.
8 min