Microsoft Not Honest? Shocker from Sage Exec
October 31, 2009
I was stunned to read about trust in the enterprise software business. Navigate to “Sage Channel Chief: Microsoft Lost Touch With Partners”. I don’t know if this article is spot on, but it is great snack food for a water cooler chat break. The article is based in part on a discussion with a former Microsoft executive, Tom Miller. Mr. Miller shared some of his impressions about Microsoft’s interaction with partners, contrasting the Redmond approach with the path Great Plains (a company Microsoft acquired). For me, the key passage was:
If you really look at Great Plains, we didn’t always do everything right but we did develop trust because we were always, always honest, and if we made a mistake we admitted it and corrected it. And we had that relationship built. Many of the partners we recruited during that period of time are still there and still totally committed. However, that philosophy is gone from Microsoft. It is no more a personal touch.
There are other nuggets in the article. I will leave it to you to unearth them. My hunch is that Google’s partner ramp up may be aided if Mr. Miller is correct. Damage control time in my opinion. Wow, trust. Interesting concept.
Stephen Arnold, October 31, 2009
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