In One Ear...

There’s a fella I’ve a lot of time for that I’ve not spoken to for ages and, knowing that his lovely wife is about to be a mum, I was knocked off my chair when a former colleague of his informed me he’d been “gased” by his employers.  Brendan is his name, and in the six or seven years he’d worked for a global internet level email security provider, he’d made them literally millions.  I can’t wait to hear the story, as I’m sure it is they that are the real losers.

I was once a provider to said outfit, and remember being in their Manhattan offices for a couple of days when the temperature outside was around minus-10 (or as the Americans bafflingly called it ’18’) and saw a new marketing push launched.

Part of this included a pretty good presentation by a chap named Jos, featuring the logic behind their new ‘mission’ and ‘vision’.  It began with why they wanted to be seen as the “defining force” in their sector and at the time I recall thinking how well it was broken down and could be used to position yourself neatly in front of a prospect.

The next day, I did a presentation to the same sales team and remember making reference to the newly released mission statement.  Hoping for enthusiastic engagement I asked a question on it.  And silence.  It turned out that not a single rep in the room (of around 50) could remember the statement.  I was gobsmacked.  I could recite it so why couldn’t they?  Surely it was a major event for them?

And then their sales manager made a point of saying each rep should know their customers/prospects as well as I knew them and admonished a slight slap-on-the-wrist.

It was pretty limp, such a show, and after a while of supplying them, their general arrogance and disenchantment became wearing, so Brendan, you’re better off in pastures new to let your huge talents shine elsewhere 🙂