Book Review – “Too BIG to IGNORE” by Phil Simon
Phil Simon is a book writing machine. This time last year I reviewed his “The Age of the Platform” and now he has another book out “Too BIG to IGNORE”. His latest effort has as its tagline “the business case for big data”. Phil’s very clear that this book is not oriented to the gear […]

13 warning signs to prevent ERP doom
Integrating big systems across an entire organization is challenging at best and often disastrous. Here are 13 tips to help you succeed.

How Much Can Demonstrations Teach You About a Solution? (Part 3)
In the first two posts in this series (Part 1 and Part 2), I provided background and context behind using software demonstrations in evaluating technology solutions, courtesy of my own opinion and experience as well as those of Debbie Wilson and Brian Sommer. In this third and final post — at least for now, unless […]

How Much Can Demonstrations Teach You About a Solution? (Part 2)
In the first installment of this series, I provided a few observations — and referenced some useful observations from Gartner’s Debbie Wilson — on the ideal place for fitting product demonstrations into procurement/sourcing technology selection. In this second post, I’ll share handful of lessons I’ve learned over the years to get the most out of […]

AntiClue: Five reasons projects fail
A wise old soothsayer once said: "The reasons for project failure are more numerous than grains of sand in the desert." Here are 5 reasons many projects don’t succeed.
Dissecting the Man Purse – A Real Life Customer Experience Map
For many years, I’ve been been a customer, nay, an advocate of a company out of San Francisco, called Waterfield Designs. They sell things like cases and messenger bags and vertical messenger bags a.k.a. man purses. They are super-stylish, incredibly utilitarian and definitely expensive. But Waterfield’s entire business model and customer approach has me wild […]

A Thriving Procurement Function for the Next Five Years — Part 2: Getting People on Your Side
What will a thriving procurement function look like over the next five years or so? In this installment of the series, I join with Gregg Brandyberry, my partner at Wildfire Commerce, to explore a critical skill we believe is necessary to procurement …