Emerging companies frequently confuse ‘business development’ with ‘sales’. Though each has elements of the other embedded in it, they are very different roles and using them interchangeably is guaranteed to have a negative impact on a business.
To illustrate, we once worked for an early stage company developing the latest whiz-bang computing software. As the product development team successfully cleared one technical hurdle after the other, the firm prepared to reveal itself to the outside world. The CEO’s attention turned to ‘market traction’ and the hiring of a business development executive who would validate which of several markets was most receptive to their offerings. This would be followed by trials and, with luck, referenceable early adopter customers upon which the firm’s story would take flight.
The CEO had a candidate in mind, a 20 year veteran employee of the ten thousand pound. gorilla in the market. This very senior executive had managed both small and large sales teams, knew the technologies well, and brought a wealth of market knowledge and contacts. It seemed like a perfect match.
But several members of the board were less certain and I received a call asking for an opinion of the candidate. I immediately launched into a discussion on commandos, infantry and police. Here is how it goes….
The quest to conquer the Isle of Success starts with, some might even say hinges upon, the initial assault. This is risky and uncertain work. The terrain is unfamiliar as is the size and nature of the resistance that awaits. Taking the beach calls for a highly creative, multi-skilled, unconventional strike force which thrives on the unlikely. These are the commandos, the Rambos, the outsiders. Depending on the situation, they may come in stealthily under cover of nightfall or they may come in by air or sea, in camouflaged jungle fatigues or scuba wet suits. Though few in numbers and often equipped with little more than what they can carry, they are skilled hand-to-hand jungle warriors. The only certainty is that they will improvise and adapt their way to victory. They will take that island.
Once the beachhead has been established however, it is time for the infantry to arrive. The commandos are explorers, wanderers with little interest in sticking around to establish formal structures, systems, rules, processes by which to transition, manage and defend the island. Though the infantry take nothing for granted, they bring organizational skills to the situation. And thus while looking out for and able to deal with the unpredictable, they move to stabilize and secure the island. Having made control of island possible, the commandos give way to the infantry who now make it happen.
Much later, once systems are in place and the island and its population is stable, the police are sent in to preserve order. This group attends to efficiency, economies of scale, incremental growth, process improvement and predictability. They administer the rules, defend and preserve order.
In the world of start-up firms, the first business development person should always be a commando. This can be the founder though in many instances it is a hired gun with palpable sales DNA and a track record of creating something from nothing. This is a natural wheeler/dealer who also boasts strategic skills by which to see the broader game in play. There are a lot of moving pieces at this stage of a business and this type of work attracts a certain type of entrepreneurial person. When hiring these commando business development types, look for one with a propensity to take on these type of assignments. They are not that hard to spot and will have a track record that they can speak to.
By way of contrast, sales people are the infantry who come in afterwards, building upon the early adopters, the referenceable accounts, the initial wins of the commandos. They add replicable and scalable process by which to grow the company. They leverage what the commando created.
As for the tech company in the illustration, the CEO was looking to a career policeman to don battle fatigues and become a commando. Though it is conceivable that such a transition may be possible, it is an unlikely one and thus unnecessarily high risk.
To my knowledge, the metaphor of commandos, infantry and police was first introduced by Robert X. Cringely, in a book called Accidental Empires. It was brought to my attention years ago by a guy who is a pretty good commando himself, entrepreneur Martin Horne.
Looking for a dynamic HR role? Stay away from the entrepreneurial tech sector.
January 1, 2012
In a recent survey of HR graduate students, the technology sector rated among the most coveted destinations to ply their trade. It is viewed as a world of innovative people, technologies and approaches where progressive talent management, OB/OD and related HR work awaits.
The Cry to Replace RIM's CEOs – A Truly Dumb Idea
October 13, 2011
Leaving aside the recent service outages, the shellacking of RIM in the press is a tad surreal to behold.
For the few Luddites not familiar with the firm, Research in Motion is the successful Canadian smart phone pioneer with revenues of $20bb per year, no debt and cash in the bank. They manufacture products that remain popular around the world and continue to boast technological innovations unmatched by any competitor. Their most recently launched smart phone devices have been well reviewed and appear to be selling well. And though the company's first version of its new tablet, the Playbook, has room for improvement, it is a promising piece of technology.
Context: When Companies Confuse Start-up Experience for Start-up Experience
October 7, 2011
I had the occasion this week to chat with an entrepreneur still licking his wounds from a stalled startup venture. His tale is a reminder of how easily companies misunderstand organizational context when hiring. For startups, such a misunderstanding can be fatal.
The CEO Hiring Practices at HP
October 3, 2011
The press tells us that Hewlett Packard is the largest technology company in the world with revenues of $126bb. Impressive as those numbers may appear, they do not seem to impress HP's Board of Directors. You see they do not believe that any of the firm's 324,600 employees are capable of leading it. Not one person. Not this year or last year when CEO changes were made. In fact they were apparently not capable six years ago or even eleven years ago when CEO changes were also made. But before summarily indicting the firm's succession planning/leadership development programs, it is useful to consider the track record of the external candidates who were considered better choices than the firm's internal candidates. This analysis decidedly shifts the spotlight to the competence of Hewlett Packard's Board of Directors.
The Folly of Believing What You Read
September 19, 2011
Some time ago we posted a blog titled ‘So you REALLY want to be a CEO?' which looked at the human costs of climbing the upper rungs of the management ladder. The blog was based on a series of articles immediately following the ‘resignation' of Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler. All of these articles presented a cautionary tale of life in the fast lane, the long hours, the extensive global travel, and the shareholder pressures that accompany an uncooperative stock price. They also spoke poignantly of the physical and emotional toll that such unrelenting pressure took on the Pfizer CEO who eventually resigned in order to attend to his family and health. As it turns out however, much of this narrative may not have been true
Before sending us your resume (and then getting frustrated with us) ask who we work for
July 25, 2011
A friend of mine is a trustee in bankruptcy. As his title suggests, he and his firm serves those contemplating the ‘cleansing' process of personal bankruptcy. Potential customers compare service providers, select one, and then pay the chosen firm a fee to initiate and manage the ensuing process on their behalf. However, as soon as the relief-seeking customer signs on the dotted line, the trustee's allegiance shifts to the creditors for whom they then seek to maximize debt recovery. This shift in who works for whom must be a tad unsettling for people who already have a heap of problems and stress on their hands.
What Dating Services Can Teach Companies About Hiring
June 1, 2011
Executive-level hiring is a decidedly aspirational endeavor. Organizations idealize their workplace cultures, select for attributes that will fit into those romanticized environments, and then immerse unsuspecting hires into their ice-cold reality of their works-in-progress.
How to Survive a Startup - by Jill Ram
April 20, 2011
If you're an executive and you're thinking of joining a start-up, know what stage of a start-up to join. If the company is in its first year or so, don't expect to make significant changes. If you join after the company is somewhat established and mistakes have been made and learned from, you'll likely be more successful from the outset. If the founder has stepped aside, well, by then, the company is likely not considered a start-up anymore. It won't be functioning like a big company yet, and it won't have all the structure in place that it needs, but it will be run with more practicality and with less emotion. Timing is everything so choose it well.
Good News for the Old, Overqualified and Overlooked
March 18, 2011
It is expected that a significant percentage of the baby boomer generation will drive right past the Freedom 55 highway exit. For many the goal of early retirement will have proven to be unattainable hype, while for others the ups and downs of working will appear more attractive than the prospects of working up and down the local lawn bowling leadership board.
Pressed for time? Blame those Benedictine Monks.
February 24, 2011
It is among the principal reasons candidates tell us they are open to consider a change in employers. They are tethered to it, yet somehow it still flees. It is time, the most precious of resources, and for many harried executives they want some of it back.
Though their relationship with time may be strained, it is worth pointing out that it was not always this way. In his fascinating book Time Wars, Jeremy Rifkin chronicles the evolution of our modern relationship with time. He points out that in traditional agrarian and pastoral cultures, time was a very naturalistic notion maintained in cyclical, repetitive, biological and even sacred terms. The ‘passing of time' was cued via the changing seasons, biological lifecycles and lunar patterns and thus, the cadence and tempo of those societies were finely tuned to the cyclical rhythms of their physical environments. As he states, "Our early ancestors coveted the circle, perceiving time as eternal return, a ceaseless repetition of an endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth". Since these cyclical rhythms could neither be accelerated, nor altered, the cadence of these societies' was natural and harmonious.
Why Business Development and Sales Are Very Different Roles – Commandos, Infantry and Police
October 3, 2008