How Do You Get From Here to There?

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We’re often asked what it takes to be a successful software vendor. What it takes to be a successful software vendor is, in fact, what it takes to be a successful human being. While we’re not in a hurry to give away our Secret Sauce (patent pending), we do think it’s only fair to share our answers. So, here we go:

First, speak the language. Based on the people you’re talking with, and presuming you have some idea of what they think about and the ways in which they think about it, talk with them in the terms they know and prefer.

Second, if you make a commitment, make sure both parties to the commitment share an understanding of the terms of that commitment. If you expect a top-fuel dragster and we show up with a VW bug, even if it’s fully restored seeing eye-to-eye is likely to be a challenge.

Third, follow through on your commitments. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Do it well. Do it thoroughly. Do it as if you were doing it for yourself. And bear this in mind: If you under-promise and over-deliver, you’ll never go wrong.

Fourth, stand by your work. We understand the need for flexibility. By the same token, we don’t have sliding scale of second best, third best, and so on. We’re determined to do our best and give our best in every engagement. We’ve done pretty well by that determination so far.

Fifth, be accessible. Especially if you’ve sold something to someone, buy and bye-bye is a formula disastrously unhappy outcomes. If the folks to whom you’ve made commitments can’t find you, they’re not likely to think of it as much of a commitment. Desertion may be more like it.

Finally, be accountable. Anyone can talk about responsibility, and everyone does. But there’s difference between taking responsibility for doing something and being accountable for having done it — and for having done it right.

All of that boils down to this equation: Commitment + accessibility + responsibility + accountability = success.

In case you’re still wondering, that’s how you get from here to there.

It’s About Belonging

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We call our user group the IAB — Innovation Advisory Board. We created the Board because we care about our customers. We care about their satisfaction. And because we care about them and their satisfaction, we care about their input.

We held this year’s annual meeting of the IAB October 12 and 13. While we told our customers we’d make the meeting in-person and virtual, more than 70 people chose to attend. Our customers got to spend an evening with their product teams. Our people got to get to know our customers better during an enjoyable outing at Topgolf. We used the Management Education Center at Michigan State University for our full conference meetings. And we used our offices in Troy for our breakout working sessions.

We learned much.

Perhaps because we held the IAB at a point at which the world may be finding (or fighting) its way out of a global pandemic, one of the most important things we learned is this: IAB also means it’s about belonging. People were obviously happy to be out, to be with other people, to share interests common and diverse, to engage in conversation and to be engaged, to compare notes on business in general and on the use of our software in particular, and to be the social animals we all are.

And this might sound corny, but we all reveled in the spirit of teamwork that characterized those two days. The best traveled streets accommodate two-way traffic. Similarly, the most conducive environments for learning are mutual. We learned from each other. We earned growing respect from each other. We were honest and transparent, and we were repaid in kind. The experience made us all the more sure that, while we built our business by developing and maintaining software,  we maintain our business by developing trusting relationships.

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be sharing some videos we shot during the three days we were together. What struck us most about seeing the rough footage was how happy people are. We believe you’ll see in them what we do.

In the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we do.