Comments on a client dinner last night
Went out with a client last night to have dinner. This is a contact I have known since my last company, so it was good to re-affirm that he is still looking at the space that I work in the same way as when I last talked to him.
He does challenge us to look at things in a whole new light and offered up one piece of advice last night. He said that the company he works for is notorious for coming up with the “right” answer, but maybe not the best answer. And this is because the envionment and culture of the company is such that the ability to quickly parse, analyze and make business decisions on data is valued over taking the extra time to walk away for a while from important decisions, and try and gain new perspective on them.
In the wild ride that was the dot-com boom, I saw a lot of that. I am starting to see a lot more of it again. Rational, considered decisions are being replaced by the need to be the thought-leader, or the first-to-market.
Getting out away from the office allows me to place a greater perspective on the challenges we face as a company, and hear how some of the decisions that have been made are affecting us out in the marketplace.
It is always an eye-opening adventure. And sometimes, being outside your comfort zone is good. As long as you take the time to process what you have heard and seen.
