Awesome. "I want to hear solutions to _our_ problems not solutions to theirs."
That's the key thing there. Learn from Amazon, Google and everyone else. But always couch the discussion in terms of *your* business. You might point to other companies for some validation of the approaches but don't use them as *the* justification. "Because it will give us flexibility and scalability" is far too fuzzy. -Rob --- In [email protected], "Steve Jones" <jones.ste...@...> wrote: > > And I tend to sell "Value Networks", Harvard Business School to sell > "SOA". One thing I would caution people on when using Amazon and > Google (and I say that as someone who knows them quite well) as > references into older companies, sometimes you will get the > following conversation (a paraphrase of one I heard once) > > Keen Techy Bloke: We should be changing our IT to be more like > Google and Amazon > Exec: Why? > > KTB: Because they use the web to make their IT more flexible and > scalable > Exec: We've got a website > > KTB: Yes but they really _use_ the web and it makes their IT more > flexible > Exec: Isn't that because they are web companies selling web things? > > KTB: Yes, but we could do it to their IT is much more flexible and > scalable than ours > Exec: Yes and <Oil Major> makes more profits than us so I suppose > you are suggesting we should get drilling > > KTB: Err no > Exec: Then why are you suggesting that the IT for a company whose > business model is based all around the Web will be right for someone > who makes X? > > KTB: Because it will give us flexibility and scalability > Exec: And oil would give us massive profits, we aren't <Oil Major> > and we aren't Google or Amazon, I want to hear solutions to _our_ > problems not solutions to theirs > > Fortunately for me this set me up nicely to understand the mindset > of the Exec but it did make me realise that while people in IT > might look at Amazon and Google and gasp in amazement, there are > people out there who are much more likely to think of that > as "shiny stuff that doesn't apply to me". > > Just a friendly warning. > > Steve
