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Re: Did Erik Get Fired?

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

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> <TongueInCheek />
> 
> Hasn't the diversity of (unique) trolls gone down recently? Has Microsoft,
> via its PR agencies, cut the air supply on some of its "sympathetic
> members" [1]? Maybe the sinking profits have something to do with it [2].
> 
> 
> ___
> [1] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071023002351958 (From
> Microsoft)
> 
> "5:  Jihad
> 
> A Jihad is a road trip. in which an evangelist visits a large number of
> ISVs one-on-one to convince them to take some specific action. The classic
> Jihad is one focused on getting Tier A ISVs to commit to supporting a
> given technology by signing the technology's Letter of Agreement (LOA -
> see above).
> 
> A Jihad focuses on the Travelling Salesman aspect of evangelism. As in
> sales, the purpose of the exercise is to close ? to get the mark the ISV
> to sign on the dotted line, in pen, irrevocably. Not to get back to us
> later, not to talk to the wife about it, not to enter a three-day
> cooling-off period, but to get the ISV to sign, sign, sign.
> 
> If the start of the meeting is the first time the ISV has seen the LOA,
> then he's not going to sign it at the end of the meeting. Since we're
> asking for a very serious commitment, we want the ISV to give their
> signing serious consideration. If the ISV cannot deliver, then his
> committing to deliver is worse than useless ? the ISV's participation may
> occupy one of a limited number of available slots, keeping some other ISV
> from participating.
> 
> To maximize the chance of getting the ISV to sign during the Jihad visit,
> make sure that
> 
>     -- The ISV has seen the LOA at least a week before the Jihad visit
> 
>     -- The LOA is very clear about what exactly each side is promising to
> deliver, and when
> 
>     -- An Officer of the ISV's corporation will be attending the meeting
> 
>     -- Microsoft's Director of DRG has positioned the LOA with sufficient
> seriousness, in a cover letter or other communication in advance of the
> meeting
> 
>     -- You make it clear from the start that the purpose of your visit is
>     to
> answer any questions that they might have, preparatory to signing the LOA
> while you're there
> 
>     -- They understand that those who do not sign the LOA, are frozen out
>     of
> all further information about the techology until it goes into public beta
> 
>     -- They understand (without being crude about it) that you will be
>     making
> the same offer to their competitors
> 
>     -- You have T-shirts or other swag to give to those who sign. lt's
>     amazing
> what some people will do for a T-shirt.
> 
> There are a million tips and tricks to effective road trips, and to being
> a Road Warrior in general, all of which is beyond the scope of this
> discussion.
> 
> [...]
> 
> 8: The Slog
> Guerilla marketing is often a long, hard slog.
> 
>     slog (sl^g) v. slogged, slogqing, slogs. ?tr, To strike with heavy
>     blows,
> as in boxing. -intr. 1. To walk with a slow, plodding gait. 2. To work
> diligently for long hours. ?n. . 1. long, hard work. 2. A long, exhausting
> march or hike. [Orig. unknown.] -slog'ger
>     ?American Heritage Dictionary, 1991
> 
> In the Slog, Microsoft dukes it out with the competition. MSDN and
> Platform marketing are the regular forces, exchanging blows with the enemy
> mano a mano. Evangelism should avoid formal, frontal assaults, instead
> focusing its efforts of hit-and-run tactics.
> 
> In the Slog, the enemy will counter-attack, trying to subvert your Tier A
> ISVs to their side, just as you should try to subvert their ISVs to your
> side. New ISVs should be sought, and directed to MSDN's one-to- many
> programs. Evangelism should constantly be on the lookout for killer demos,
> hot young startups, major ISVs, customer testimonials,
> enemy-alliance-busting defections and other opportunities to demonstrate
> momentum for our technology. If bugs are found in our technology, or
> missing features are found to be critically important, then now is the
> time to identify and fix them. Stay engaged with the technology
> development team; ensure that you are a valuable resource for them, not a
> hectoring pest. Document all of your progress (ideally in regularly
> updated internal Web pages) and forward it regularly to management. If
> management is not aware of your progress, your successes, and your
> stumbling blocks, then they can't help. (They may not help anyway, but
> they can't if they don't know what you need.)
> 
> Keep those Tier A ISVs on track to delivery! They are your strongest
> weapons and cannot be forgotten.
> 
> The elements of the evangelical infrastructure - conference presentations,
> courses, seminars, books, magazine articles, whitepapers, etc. ? should
> start hitting the street at the start of the Slog. They should be so
> numerous as to push all other books off the shelf, courses out of
> catalogs, and presentations off the stage.
> 
> Working behind the scenes to orchestrate "independent" praise of our
> technology, and damnation of the enemy's, is a key evangelism function
> during the Slog. "Independent" analyst's report should be issued, praising
> your technology and damning the competitors (or ignoring them).
> "Independent" consultants should write columns and articles, give
> conference presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our behalf
> (and setting them up as experts in the new technology, available for just
> $200/hour). "Independent" academic sources should be cultivated and quoted
> (and research money granted). "Independent" courseware providers should
> start profiting from their early involvement in our technology. Every
> possible source of leverage should be sought and turned to our advantage.
> 
> I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions naturally
> favor alliances of relatively weak partners - our usual opposition. For
> example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs. OpenDoc would contain
> representatives of the backers of OLE (Microsoft) and the backers of
> OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell, WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find
> ourselves outnumbered in almost every "naturally occurring" panel debate.
> 
> A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed
> with people who, on the face of things, should be neutral, but who are in
> fact strong supporters of our technology. The key to stacking a panel is
> being able to choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the
> moderator to select the panel, so if you can pick the moderator, you win.
> Since you can't expect representatives of our competitors to speak on your
> behalf, you have to get the moderator to agree to having only "independent
> ISVs" on the panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of
> the competing technologies would be allowed ? just ISVs who have to use
> this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously independent doesn't it?
> In fact, it allows us to stack the panel with ISVs that back our cause.
> Thus, the "independent" panel ends up telling the audience that our
> technology beats the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel,
> and you've got a major win on your hands.
> 
> Finding a moderator is key to setting up a stacked panel. The best sources
> of pliable moderators are:
> 
>     -- Analysts: Analysts sell out - that's their business model. But they
>     are
> very concerned that they never look like they are selling out, so that
> makes them very prickly to work with.
> 
>     -- Consultants: These guys are your best bets as moderators. Get a
> well-known consultant on your side early, but don't let him publish
> anything blatantly pro-Microsoft. Then, get him to propose himself to the
> conference organizers as a moderator, whenever a panel opportunity comes
> up. Since he's well-known, but apparently independent, he'll be accepted ?
> one less thing for the constantly-overworked conference organizer to worry
> about, right?
> 
> Gathering intelligence on enemy activities is critical to the success of
> the Slog. We need to know who their allies are and what differences exist
> between them and their allies (there are always sources of tension between
> allies), so that we can find ways to split 'em apart. Reading the trade
> press, lurking on newsgroups, attending conferences, and (above all)
> talking to ISVs is essential to gathering this intelligence."
> 
>                                 -- Microsoft, internal document
> 
> 
> [2] Microsoft sees slide in profits
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7366106.stm
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I was wonder tha same. It's been all to easy to killfile the trolls now
days...


-- 

Jerry McBride (jmcbride@xxxxxxxxxx)

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