Necessary but Not Sufficient by Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Eli Schragenheim & Carol A. Ptak

Author:Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Eli Schragenheim & Carol A. Ptak [Goldratt, Eliyahu M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: North River Pr
Published: 2000-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Scott himself opens the door. He seems much more relaxed than the last time they met.

Smiling at Lenny, he says, "And here is the missing person, come in. I told them not to worry about you."

Lenny looks puzzled.

"You'd better find some good excuse for Roger and Mary-Lou," Scott warns him. "They've been trying to reach you for the last three days. Mary-Lou decided that you were kidnapped. What's the big idea, permanently shutting off your cell phone and not bothering to call in?"

Scott leads the way to the kitchen. "By the way, where have you been?"

"Working on something that you said was urgent and important. Do you want to hear?"

"After dinner." Diane kisses Lenny's cheek. "Kids! Dinner!"

It's after ten when Scott finally succeeds in pulling the kids off Lenny. They sit down by the pool, Lenny with a beer, Scott enjoying a Remy Martin. It's a lovely night, not too hot and with plenty of stars to stare at.

"Well," prompts Scott, "the last thing I heard was that you put three people to work calling a whole bunch of Intelogic's clients. Where have you been since then?"

"Do you want addresses or do you want to know what I found?"

Scott gestures with his glass, "Touché. Lay it on me in whatever way you want."

"Good. So, as you know, I started this week with a visit to Intelogic."

Scott, who for the past two days has been chased by a desperate Roger and then by a worried Mary-Lou, restrains himself from interrupting with "and then you disappeared into limbo."

Lenny, apparently unaware of the turmoil that he caused, continues. "I learned a lot. Mainly that Intelogic doesn't know why their software is bringing bottom-line benefits. Sorry, that's not quite accurate. The situation is much more grotesque. Their developers think that they know, then the sales people repeat development's claims like parrots, but none of them bother to see what actually happens with their own clients.

"Can you believe that they didn't ask themselves the most basic questions? Like, what is the average return on investment their clients get with their software?"

"Lenny, why are you surprised? The same is true for us as well. Just a month ago we weren't making a connection between our product and the client's bottom line."

"But they're emphasizing bottom-line value," Lenny argues. "They should know better. Never mind. Let me continue. I met with their VP of sales, a funny guy. He doesn't know much about their product, but he tries to compensate with his jokes."

"You mean that he laughed at yours?"

"Come to think of it, he didn't tell me even one good joke. Anyhow, I told him that as part of the due diligence I wanted a list of all their clients. He wasn't surprised. Then I added that the list had to specify for each client the actual, or at least the expected, return on investment. He almost fell out of his chair." Lenny starts to giggle.

"I would've too," Scott says flatly.

Lenny smiles and continues. "Like anyone from sales, this funny guy is quick on his feet.

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