By Maxwell Fisher - March 26, 2012 | Tickers: HPQ, LXK, XRX | 0 Comments

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Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, got his start with Xerox (NYSE: XRX) back when the company was exploding. The battalion of Xerox salesmen pounding the pavement, knocking down business doors, will draw chuckles and sighs from many a battle-scarred veteran of that particular army. To jog the memory, just as Googling has become English slang today, back then copying a document was called Xeroxing. They were not just a leader, they were THE leader in office document management.

So what happened and where did they go? With such passion and drive from its sales force, it is a mystery that one so far ahead could fall so far behind. I submit that the failure of leadership led to this once great companys decline and paved the way for others such as Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) to dominate the industry.

What Has Happened

Xerox began as a photographic paper company in 1906. It wasnt until 1958 the company changed its name to Xerox and its focus to plain paper copiers, primarily for business use. It has since grown into a global document management corporation that produces and sells an array of printers, photo copiers, and related supplies.

During the early years, Xerox literally had to wait while the market caught up to its vision. The personal computer was almost 20 years away, much less personal printing. To compensate, the company focused on providing businesses with its products and services. This strategy was critical to the companys survival at the beginning, and later became the growth mechanism throughout the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately, leadership became stuck in this focus and stagnated the company due to its inability to see beyond it.

In the mid 70s, Xerox was on the cutting edge of the personal computing industry. In fact, for a hefty $1 million investment, Steve Jobs was able to take a look at its work on the WIMP (Window, Icon, Menu, and Pointing device) system later to be called the mouse. It was his vision that directed the commerciality of the technology by means of the Apple Computer. Jobs is quoted as saying, "They just had no idea what they had."

Sadly, that statement was and has remained prophecy for the late great Xerox.

Read the original post:
Why I Am Bearish On Xerox