I'd venture to say that a slap in the face is rarely a surprise. You can see yourself getting into the situation and maybe you've said something to bring it on.
So the slap mentioned in the previous post was really my final capitulation to what I knew all along: I stink at caring for people and being a businessman.
What was the final nail in the coffin? A book called Never Eat Alone
by Keith Ferrazzi. The Never Eat Alone blog is here. Two of the foundational premises in the book are that a) you can't get anywhere on your own and b) you need to care about and be interested in people.
Two maxims: It's hard to get away from what you've been. And a foreshadowing of your future can be gleaned from your past.
So as I look back over my years, I can see that from early on they've been spent absorbed in books and in projects that gave me the skills I wanted. I gained energy from being alone, away from people. If I could do something on my own, that was fine with me and even preferable.
With trial and error, I've developed skills for dealing with people. Those skills are focused on gathering requirements, working through problems, and communicating ideas. But a successful ISV has more than a requirements-fulfilling, technically marvelous product and good customer support. After reading that book, I'm fully willing to admit that success comes from outside, through your connections and your relationships.
My thoughts about my situation were pretty much confirmed. Last week, I was driving to a BMW dealership with Lino to pick up a car from the service center. He's the president of Falafel Software and CompnentScience, and I'm fortunate to call him a friend. He purchased a 1996 BMW 75si for we out-of-town consultants to use when we're in town. It's an especially cool car because it has bulletproof glass and, assuming from how solid it feels, is armored. It comes in handy for those hasty exits from the customer site.
Anyway, we're talking about one of his comments to me in the past, and he says to me "You're not a business person. Maybe you'll become one, but I don't see you as a business person right now". He had said that to me earlier this year and I got angry. But he's right. I'm not a business person. And my past shows me that. And I'll have a hell of a hard time finding out what problems customers need to solve. It's not natural for me to put myself in those kinds of situations.
So what do you do?
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Sean Winstead
Tags: Business, Customers, Life