Stuck in the Middle Again
Being in the middle can be a good or a bad thing. I love working with our �midsized� customers because, compared to my experiences with large companies, it�s just plain easier. Things get done quicker as there is a pervasive urgency, less pretense, and fewer layers of bureaucracy. But when �in the middle� equates to mediocrity, uncertainty, or being trapped, it becomes a less desirable descriptor.
I�m headed back from the Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference. It�s a typical Friday flight; packed with a mix of weary road warriors and jacked-up leisure travelers. Having booked late, I�m banging this out in a middle seat with my knees crammed against the magazine pouch and my elbow in the ribs of the lucky guy in the aisle seat.
The conference theme was, �Innovation: The New Global Currency�. I sat on a panel discussing how Web 2.0 impacts marketing innovation, situated in the middle chair at a cramped table. On my left, in a suit, was the intense founder of a local consulting firm specializing in helping small companies break through to the next level. On my right, with her Mac open and ready, the VP of a consumer marketing services firm that�s focused on what�s going on in the heads of �baby geniuses to 20somethings�.
Halfway through Q&A, a polite battle broke out between the two, centered on the delicate balance of employing personal information captured on the web�is it stalking or simply providing tailored content to willing recipients? I felt like John McCain standing at a podium between Clinton and Obama but the moderator regained control and I got my two cents in.
My session was sandwiched between general sessions featuring pillars of the local community. Across the board, the credentials of every panelist were beyond impressive. The closing session focused on the role of the public sector in fostering innovation. Each of the moderator�s questions was answered with a colorful soliloquy blatantly extolling a political stance that was decidedly left or right but, ultimately, completely predictable. In an earlier session, top executives of three large local firms swapped success stories. All were conservatively dressed�almost matching uniforms�and offered succinct, carefully crafted responses to the moderator�s inquiries.
I realize innovation can be a drawn-out, incremental process, but most midsize companies would associate the concept with radical change. Shaking things up. Turning things upside down. Knocking things over. Looking at every part of their business from a different angle. Irreverence for status quo.
In that vein, the opening session set the bar pretty high. It featured two local entrepreneurs. Paul Douglas, a local weatherman, developed a wireless weather information service and recently sold it to Garmin for a cool $45 million. But it was Robert Stephens, Founder and Chief Inspector of The Geek Squad that set an appropriate tone for the conference.
Profane, spontaneous, animated, and dressed in the ubiquitous Geek squad uniform (modeled after the CIA dress code), Stephens continues to personify everything that is compelling about the American entrepreneurial culture. From humble roots of a garage startup, he�s now an executive of a $40 billion dollar giant. He still looks and acts like the founder at the helm of an emerging company, even with a zillion dollars in the bank. My pen could scarcely keep up with the pearls of wisdom Stephens laid down but I�ll focus on three points that really hit home.
Thinking Small to Get Into A Billion-Dollar Business�Stephens talked about how small companies, with no money to advertise, can bump into ideas if they remain open minded. In that spirit, the new Geek Squad Action Figures program focuses on quick, small prototypes. Team members are limited to no more than three weeks and $3,000 on each project. Wistfully, Stephens pines for a new corporate facility that is simply a row of garages.
Hiring for What You Cannot Train�For the Geek Squad, it�s curiosity, ethics, and drive. Coincidentally, their hiring practices have become their best advertising. Anyone reading their job ads knows what kind of company they are. When expanding into the London market, recruiters hosted a Saturday night double feature�one Kung Fu and one science fiction flick�at a seedy London theater. Much cheaper than a monster.com ad, �Kung Fi� attracted the perfect Geek Squad recruit�someone who goes to Kung Fu and science fiction movies on a Saturday night.
The Paranoia of Near-Death Experiences�Stephens attributed three near-death business experiences to his obsession with constant innovation. Best Buy was a maverick company long before he came into the picture. In 1981, the original company (�The Sound of Music�) almost went down the tubes in 1981 when a tornado blasted their flagship store. The surviving goods were moved from the warehouse to rows of metal shelves for a big sale in which buyers could walk right up and grab the stuff they wanted. This no-frills approach has stuck with them every since.
Stephens warns small business owners that you will always spend faster than planned and take in revenue slower than planned, so plan accordingly.
In the end, Stephens stresses most about compromising�taking the middle ground. He constantly worries about the classic founder�s dilemma in a growing company�how to keep the company focused on its unique competitive advantage through persuasion and influence rather than authority.
So much of what Robert Stephens said echoes the sentiments of what I hear in my conversations with Oracle midmarket customer executives. It�s why I love my job.
Would you like to join the discussion on this or any other topic relating to the challenges facing midsize companies and how applications can help solve them? Join in on mix.oracle.com.--the group, "Oracle Accelerate Applications Solutions for Midsize Companies". The link to register is on the sidebar as well as those for a couple articles about Robert Stephens and the Geek Squad. And, just for fun, check out Stealers Wheel video of the classic, �Stuck in The Middle Again�.
Thanks for listening.
Jim Lein
