My Friday Rant (Again)

Two weeks ago, I posted "My Friday Rant" -- nothing more than getting a few industry observations off of my chest without provoking the usual competitive response.

People tell me they liked it, so -- yes -- I'm going to attempt to do it again.

And -- once again -- the same disclaimer.  If you don't like rants -- better skip this post!

The Ideal Gift For My Vendor Colleagues

Yes, it's the ubiquitous "chill pill".

I'd recommend that we all take one when you start taking all of this vendor competitive stuff too seriously.

There's more to life than tirelessly arguing why you're approach is a Godsend, and everyone else's is straight from hell.

Twitter was invented for something other than endlessly spamming your latest win or bragging point.

I am not guiltless here.

I (and my other EMC brethren) can get lost in the moment, and drop down into unseemly tit-for-tat pointless arguments that do nothing other than amuse (and occasionally annoy!) all others who are watching.

The Facts -- As I See Them

We all do business in a very competitive market.  All of our products and offerings are fit-for-purpose in a variety of use cases.  There are a multitude of decent products for our mutual customers, partners and prospects that basically do a fine job.

Our customers and partners are looking for more than a snazzy array or marketing gimmick.  They're looking for bigger answers to bigger questions.  The components to really great approaches often lie outside of our own price books and offerings.

More importantly, ours is an industry driven by ideas and concepts.  The products and services we offer are driven by higher-order customer needs that are changing all the time.  Do what you can to share your thoughts as to where we're going, rather than where we've been.

When I teach my kids to drive, I tell them to look down the road.  Don't stare over the top of the hood.  Don't freak out if another car encroaches your space. Don't obsess about the rearview mirror, either.  Try to figure out what's around you, and how it's changing -- and don't over-react.

Examples Abound

If you follow all the traffic in blog-land and twitter-land, you've probably seen lots of evidence of this over the past few weeks.  Vendor "A" does (or says) something.  Vendor "B" reacts and responds.  And the whole thing devolves into a hyper-competitive shouting match in 30 seconds flat.

It's not unusual to see personal attacks emerge -- slurs, mocking, etc.  Statements made years ago are dredged up, twisted out of context, and thrown back into the mix.  It's ugly, unprofessional stuff IMHO.  If I saw my kids doing something similar, we'd have a serious discussion about appropriate behavior, because I think they need to be better than that.

Keep in mind -- I am criticizing *all* of us *collectively*.  Thinking that this discussion doesn't apply to you (or your company) is not productive -- the transgressions of any of us reflect poorly on all of us.

A Plea?

Hold back on that undoubtedly clever retort.  Don't insist on always having the last word.  Do what you can to elevate the discussion to the big themes and ideas, and don't obsess so much on the details.  Use the power of our social media to share interesting thoughts, and not promote a specific agenda.  Be truthful, be honest, be open, be transparent.

I'll do my part, as best as I can.  I'll encourage those around me to do the same as well.

Have a nice weekend!

Comments

[Ron Singler]

Well said....

[Mike Workman]

Chuck - Mike Workman, Pillar

Well said, repeating what Ron just wrote but hey, worth restating. I tried to make some of the same points, I suppose, in my comment to your last Friday Rant...

I think if we can all manage a good laugh at some of these things, it might be a substitute for the Chill pill. Problem is, sometimes these "poke in the eye" statements from competitors sting too much not to poke back.

Maybe if we all just counted to 10?

LOL - I just pictured getting some "comments" back that that the folks at Pillar, or some other vendor would have to be able to count to use that strategy...

Mike

[BackupHype]

Chuck - very nicely put. I didn't read this until just now - I wrote a similar blog this morning (you told me to go write something, so I did, "What do customers think?" at http://www.backuphype.com).

We are thinking similarly on this subject.

BackupHype

[Joe Svankanski]

Chuck, it's a fine idea ... but ... when you provide incentives based upon sales results, no comment is too low if there's a chance it will swing the deal. And customers may roll their eyes at such schoolyard taunts, but if they can use them to extract concessions, then ....

[Chuck Hollis]

Joe

You bring out a great point -- if customers would be clear that they won't tolerate this sort of behavior, there'd be a lot less of it.

Thanks!

-- Chuck