The RocketBoom soap opera plays on, and if you’re interested in the latest developments, head over to TechMeme to find out more. One of the best posts that has come out of it is Jason Calcanis’ management tips, titled Keeping Talent Happy. He says:
“… there are three types of people in the world:
- People who make stuff.
- People who sell stuff.
- People support the first two groups of people.”
It’s the job of management to move mountains to make the first two types of people happy and productive. Without them, you have no business.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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I've seen this too many times. Quite often, the root cause is jealousy. The CEO wants to prove that it was him, not the champion employee that created the success. The truth is that it usually required both and with one gone, success becomes a bigger challenge.
As Jason details, talent has and will always be imporant. However, it seems to me that in an increasingly services oriented economy (generating two thirds of the Canadian GDP) one might argue that it is those staff who "are" the product which are making or breaking an increasing number of firms.