"That's a very tactical element David. Let's talk about the overall organizational structure and how our software fits into that."
I'm paraphrasing, but the above quote is the essence of a very frustrating conference call I participated in recently. (Conference calls as the bane of our collective professional existence is a topic for another day).
Let's say you've got a software platform that you believe in strongly. You think your software platform is revolutionary/disruptive/best-in-class/paradigm-shifting/supercalifragilisticexpialidocious/whatever today's hot corporate buzzword may be. You're CERTAIN it's better than anything else on the market, and you're not shy about speaking disdainfully about competitive platforms. What happens?
- You don't bother to listen to the feedback.
- You adopt a defensive posture throughout the conversation.
- You spend 45 minutes attempting to verbally retrofit a client's organizational structure into your software, because you're CONVINCED if they'd just do it your way they'll see the proverbial light.
- You arrogantly dismiss the legitimate concerns expressed about the existing functionality of the platform that this client uses most frequently, because "the tactical stuff isn't our strongest feature."
Here's the thing: if you're positioning your product as the most comprehensive marketing software in the market, able to tie together teams from across all internal marketing disciplines, and enable a highly efficient day-to-day execution system(including social media management), the tactical is critical.
Taking an overarching approach to building this tool, having a grand design from the top down when architecting the platform...go for it. That's how you should approach it. But when it comes down to how specific users will be tasked with using it every single day...you'd better make damn sure that those granular elements are in place and adjust the software as feedback from those users is provided. Otherwise, your grandiose idea falls flat in the practical execution.
<Rant Over>
Originally posted 7/27/2015 on LinkedIn