The Partner Channel Magazine Summer 2016

LEADERSHIP
Comes
WHEN IT ALL
Together
story by BONNIE ROBERTSON
It is a glorious memory, a story we like to share and celebrate at company events or when our
teams need a confidence boost. Those clients, those projects, those situations when it all came
together, and the end results were a cheering customer, a victorious team, and a profit to show for
all the effort. While it is difficult to admit, these kinds of success stories are not as commonplace
as we would like. In some cases, they become the exception rather than the rule. In our endless
meetings and dialogues, we begin to ask ourselves, why did it work then but not now? Was it skillful
planning? Was it healthier communication between all parties? Was it a wiser choice of client? Was it just “luck”?
Over the years I have observed, facilitated, or participated in hundreds of client and project analyses where the
question eventually arises, “Why is this situation not achieving the results we know we can achieve? Why is it not
coming together this time?” I am not here to tell you that there is an easy answer or three magical keys or solutions
that can achieve the results we imagine or know are possible. There are those organizations that do display some
repeatable habits that create those win-win success stories. There are patterns that bring it all together as more of
a standard than the exception. My observations are that these successes occur because of focus on the following
categories: Product, people, process, and profit. Doesn’t everyone focus on these categories? Yes, but the best
practices and outcomes of Partners have some different twists as to what and when to focus.
PRODUCT
Starting with product, as we so often do in this industry, we must face certain realities. There
are fantastic products in the market today, and over the years the leading business applications
and add-on solutions have been greatly fine-tuned. However, there is NO perfect product.
There is no software that performs exactly the way a customer imagines it should. There
is no software that meets all the needs of the customer, which is why starting with
product is not the best way to start. Software is not a service; rather, it is an enabler
for services. Various software products that align with a customer’s business
enable us to assist the customer in achieving what they hoped to when they
decided to disrupt their business with new or additional technology. In
order to provide this service, enabled by software, it requires the right
people following the right processes before final product selection
and implementation occur.
PEOPLE
A truly successful client service project requires
people with skills at various levels. The best successes I
have observed were people facilitating client needs and
expectations long before the technically skilled implementers
became involved. Why are the prospective clients looking
to add or change technology? How do they anticipate this
impacting their business processes? How do they anticipate
the new technology impacting their teams? Their customers?
What is their change and transition plan as the technology is
being introduced and further driven into their organizations?
At this point, some of you will be saying, as I have heard it
over the years…“that is the client’s problem…many of them don’t
even agree on what they want.” This is true. Clients’ management
14 SUMMER 2016 | THEPARTNERCHANNEL.COM