All Posts in Strategy and Tactics

|In: Industry Commentary|Last Updated:

The Meta Group reports that a staggering 55% to 75% of all CRM projects fail to meet their objectives. Clearly it’s just the latest in a long line of over-hyped technologies.

Or is it? On the average about 70% of all IT-related projects fail to meet their objectives, so CRM’s failure rate, along with the appalling 70% failure rate for ERP implementation projects and the shockingly high 70% failure rate experienced by those implementing supply chain management (SCM) is about as distressing as a 70% failure rate for baseball batters.

Which is to say this is actually good news. Any manager in baseball would be thrilled to have a team batting average of 300, and if CRM and SCM projects are succeeding as well or better than traditional IT projects it’s remarkable. Why? CRM and SCM aren’t like traditional IT projects. They’re the next stage in an ongoing shift in the role of information technology — from solution to enabler.

When I had hair and COBOL was the only programming language used in business, we automated an existing process, and we were done. The new application was the solution.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, in contrast, ship with built-in business processes. They’re more than software, and as a result require far more coordination between IT and business management — something that caught many early ERP implementers off-guard. Businesses usually implement ERP systems to replace obsolete technology and think of the new processes as added baggage, not added value.

SCM and CRM are fundamentally different. Neither is a category of software.

SCM is a business discipline. Its goal (loosely stated) is to maximize the quality of the raw materials used in creating a company’s products while minimizing handling costs. It requires sophisticated manufacturing and distribution processes, along with the cooperation of your suppliers, their suppliers, and the shipping and distribution companies that move stuff from one to another.

CRM is a core business strategy. It refocuses a company around the management of customer relationships, treating them as assets, where ongoing investment yields ongoing returns. It involves personalized marketing and service, mass customization in manufacturing, and sophisticated employees whose good judgment and attitude, assisted by the company’s systems, help turn every customer experience into not just a pleasant interaction, but part of an ongoing relationship between each customer and the business.

CRM is a core business strategy, driving success through the management of customer relationships which become assets, where ongoing investment yields ongoing returns. It involves personalized marketing and service, mass customization in manufacturing, and employees whose good judgment and attitude, assisted by technology, turn every customer experience into not just a pleasant interaction, but part of an ongoing relationship between each customer and the business.

With both SCM and CRM, information technology is just one of many enablers.

And that’s a fundamental change in our relationship with the enterprise.

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|In: Career Management|Last Updated:

I had this great idea: I figured smaller companies need the same integrative perspective and professional management a CIO provides large enterprises, but can’t afford a full-time CIO. So I created a solution — a low-cost IT management service.

187 marketing letters and a bunch of telephone calls resulted in precisely no interest. IT Catalysts still offers the service, but since 187 is a statistically valid sample, it’s no longer something we actively market.

Quite a few of you have asked about my experience starting IT Catalysts, so at the risk of overusing that most deadly of words — “I” — here are some early lessons learned.

Lesson #1: Selling is everything. Yes, everything. If you aren’t prepared to sell, don’t start your own business. I received a deluge of kind wishes and great advice when I announced my transition in this space, but no flood of requests for my services. If you start your own business, prospects won’t call you either. You gotta sell.

Lesson #2: Write the brochure first. You don’t have to produce it, just write it. It forces you to craft clear answers to important questions, like what you are selling, who you are selling to, and why that person should choose you instead of a competitor. You’re always selling to a person, not a company. Choose someone who will want what you’re selling and can make the decision to buy it.

Lesson #3: Write the brochure before the website. A brochure must be concise. The web gives you too much space. (Yes, I learned this the hard way.)

Lesson #4: Use your friendships, but don’t abuse them. Now that you know who you’re selling to, ask every friend you have to introduce you to anyone they know who fits the description. Don’t ask for more than an introduction, though, and don’t sell to a friend unless friendship means less to you than income.

Lesson #5: Make more friends. If you understand Lesson #3, Lesson #4 is self-explanatory.

Lesson #6: Be friendly. You can’t be brilliant until after they like you. If you’re brilliant before that, you’re just another annoying show-off who knows how to talk but not how to listen.

It’s a tough year to start a business. It’s also a tough year to find employment. The only benefit of employment is that you don’t have to sell as often. It isn’t security. As a wise friend put it, true security only comes from the lack of security.

I have plenty of that.

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