The Resulteers
Back in 2002, in Mexico, I was in charge of a big bank’s entire web infrastructure.
We were having a big machine power shortage, and we were pushing management to buy additional servers to be able to handle all the traffic growing.
One day, an IBM sales guy came and told me, “You must install these AIX servers, you guys already bought them, and they will be great.”
They were the shittiest servers you could get for web platforms.
They were never even in the list of options for the sourcing department to buy.
You probably guessed what happened.
Yes,
– “Nobody gets fired for hiring IBM.”
It was the worst decision ever.
The programs we did run were not even compatible with the operating system.
I can safely say we spent more money in software development manpower to rewrite all the programs and be able to use these machines.
But guess what?
– Nobody got fired.
Why? Because they hired IBM.
It would have been much better for us if we had bought Sun Microsystems machines.
I tried to understand the reasoning behind buying those crappy servers.
Maybe it was a few bucks cheaper?
It could be, but it was mainly a fear of taking a risk.
Fear of buying technology that was new and not well established yet.
IBM is a synonym for results and some managers just want consistent results without taking any risks.
But with that thinking, you kill or delay innovation.
You know what happened 3 years after that? We had to throw away those shitty servers and replace them with new Sun Microsystems machines.
That meant, I was right at first.
In my business, I try to be right from the beginning because of two reasons.
First, because I don’t have the millions the bank had to have a team of 20 people trying to make the machines work.
And, second, because I want my clients and agents to have a different experience than with any other real estate brokerage.
As a closing argument, I would recommend:
Analyze your decisions carefully and follow your decisions.
Don’t be a “Resulteer” and buy IBM just because it is safe. That way nobody will say,
– “Why the hell did you do it?”