

Steve Blank: SuperMac War Story 9: Sales, Not Awards - lrm242
http://steveblank.com/2009/04/30/1605/

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jnorthrop
"We had been outsourcing an important part of our demand creation strategy –
packaging – to an outside agency without having the expertise to judge or
manage the results."

That quote rings so true for me and not just on a marketing/creative side.
I've seen so many poorly developed/designed applications and websites simply
because the client couldn't properly assess the work being done by the vendor.
In addition, in many cases, it is only exacerbated by the insecurities of the
client who feel they need to make critiques to maintain an air of authority.

I'm actually in the middle of that scenario right now... any tips on gently
telling management to back off, they don't know what they are doing.

~~~
davi
_any tips on gently telling management to back off, they don't know what they
are doing_

In this circumstance, "gentle" can be totally useless. Firm, declarative,
crystal-clear assertions based on reasoned arguments sometimes are the best
way to hold a line and engender respect.

This works best if they've already seen you succeed a few times.

