The Organization of Last Resort
Yes, I’m talking about the SE organization in most companies. The SE org is a nexus in terms of capability and communication. We are able to relate to people, comprehend our technology/services, and match technology/services to business problems better than the competition. Not only do we interact with virtually all internal departments, we also interface deeply and continuously with customers.
This is a good thing right?
Absolutely, but there is a catch. Sales is in the (enviable?) position of being exposed to all of the internal and market shortcomings of its company and product. When Sales makes demands things usually happen. Those demands much of the time fall to the SE to provide resolution or workarounds.
What I’ve seen is that in very small companies the SE wears many hats. And this only slightly improves as a company grows. Product Managers invariably run into the same problem, but there is usually a high ratio of SEs to PMs so you can see where many requests end up.
I think that in any given day we could fill up our calendars working to solve perceived problems elsewhere in the company. Oftentimes we fall in that trap—I know I do. It’s in our nature to want to solve problems and be helpful.
But should we indulge ourselves for our customers and shareholders?
My answer today is much more of a resounding no than it used to be. In my earlier years I was more about highest and best use of my time from a shareholder perspective. I have gradually shifted to a sales territory perspective, which means the highest and best revenue for your sales team.
It isn’t because I caught the “not my job” syndrome, quite the contrary. I think it has to do with a slightly better understanding of human nature…
- If you solve an out of band problem once, people will expect you to keep doing it. This is because others’ forget about the problem because it has been temporarily relieved.
- It creates an inherent assumption that it is part of your job. Once you’ve assumed responsibility, it’s hard to back out of it.
- Unless you’re vying for a position in a separate department, you aren’t being measured/rewarded for it. This means it is unproductive for you.
If you are an SE manager you have to maintain a watchful eye that your team isn’t getting caught up in firefighting institutional issues. Keep them focused on solving customers’ business problems with the solutions in your bag.
If certain problems become so acute they cannot be ignored and they cannot be acted upon, assign a single czar/taskforce from your SE/manager ranks. Make sure all of them are dealing with problems the same way, carefully documenting progress, and publishing a very noticeable scoreboard of progress. Most times we cannot direct change, we can only influence. It’s a good thing we’re skilled at that sort of thing 
At the end of the day we should be exerting effort to be the best we can be in the job we are assigned to. Taking our eye off that ball makes us less effective in our accounts.
Sometimes this simplest of axioms captures points most clearly:
Focus on that which you can control.
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Filed under: Growth, Management, Sales, Soft Skills, Strategy
