Us vs Them

Matts on 2003-08-07T15:54:50

The other night leaving work I walked past two engineers having a fag break (I put that in to make the Mercans laugh). They were complaining about the Sales people. Saying that if the sales people disappeared tomorrow there would still be a company here, but if they disappeared tomorrow the company would fall flat on its face.

I think you get a lot of this us vs them attitude. And I think it's the wrong way to look at things.

Sales people are very different to techies. They look at things differently. They have different goals. But they are still necessary to run a company well. You can have a small company without sales and marketing, but you can't have a large one without them. It's a symbiotic relationship.

Why am I saying this? Well because I think that although no role is dispensable, nobody is indispensable. We can all be replaced, and all will be at some point in the future (either forcibly or voluntarily). I'm not saying go out and hug a salesperson today, but next time you think about saying your role is more significant or important than someone else's, consider the part they play in your success.

"That was the most HEART-WARMING rendition of "I DID IT MY WAY" I've ever heard!!"

symbiotic?

phillup on 2003-08-07T17:58:37

Sometimes, with all the Us v Them that goes on... I feel more like it is "mutually parasitic".

Sometimes...

jmason on 2003-08-07T19:42:35

NeXT was famous as a company who didn't have a sales force, and look where it got them.

BTW for extra merkin lafs, say "smoking a fag". har har.

Re:NeXT

ziggy on 2003-08-08T18:44:54

NeXT was famous as a company who didn't have a sales force, and look where it got them.
That's not true.
In NYC, their sales office was at 666 5th Ave. And I vividly remember a sales guy who came to campus in 1989 with an engineer in tow. I don't know where their other offices were, but they did have a salesforce. Just not a very big one, a very empowered one, or a very successful one.
There was also an underground trade in illicit NeXT gear. Why? Because Steve demanded he personally approve every use of the NeXT logo, and some of the sales guys got tired of not having baseball caps and keychains to give away, so they just made their own. (My NeXT baseball cap is a laughably poor quality item, but I'll never get rid of it.)

Re:NeXT

chaoticset on 2003-08-09T21:04:44

In NYC, their sales office was at 666 5th Ave.
I KNEW it! Steve Jobs is THE DEVIL !

true

spur on 2003-08-08T11:23:46

What's more troubling is that many of us (engineers) think sales people are inferior to us in their IQ. That's simply not true ! Not as a crude generalization, at least. There are different kinds of smarts, and sales people have their own kind. I wish I'd have some of their smarts...

PS: All generalizations are false

Whew...

rjray on 2003-08-09T00:59:19

I'm not saying go out and hug a salesperson today...

Had me worried there for a minute...