COLUMN: You Scratch My Back
By Gordon Logan, Managing Director of Thermo LabSystems Ltd. and Executive VP of Thermo BioAnalysis
A couple of weeks ago, I carried out some simple arithmetic on a report that predicted the top 100 IT outfits to achieve greatness in 2000. You know the type—their corporate reports are full of people surrounded by halos of UV light who are hugging CPU boards, wearing Hawaiian shirts, and, in the case of the men, sporting obligatory goatee beards. If you recognize any part of yourself in this description, you should consider seeking some treatment.
Of the companies mentioned, the average venture/stock/investment capital placement was about US $17 million, most of the companies were in the ERP segment, and only one dealt in any way, shape, or form with the analytical sciences. My guess is that most of these outfits have the same survival chances as lemmings on a windy cliff top. In this IT light, it comes as no surprise that I'm often asked surreal questions like, "Is there such a thing as future-proof LIMS or Chromatography Data System (CDS) software products?"
I suspect some of you might think, given my position, I ought to know the answer. As it happens, I don't. Over the years I've learned I'm not in the "future predictions" business. I'm in the "looking after customers, staff, and share holders" business and I've got too much respect for them to simply answer, "Yes."
Products are transient, and the IT business is littered with long-term projects, companies, and CEOs (for that matter) who eventually turn out to have decline riddled through them like a termite infestation. No disrespect to termites, mind you; I've actually got a bit of a "soft spot" for the little team players—great work ethic.
In our business, I believe that you must adapt and promote change to survive. All technology is, by default, destined for the scrap heap; most of us actually like it that way. Forward-looking IT companies (those that hope to avoid being riddled with decline) have piloted programs that combine advanced technology with intense customer collaboration. For example, LabSystems has developed a Joint Application Development (JAD) program to propel our LIMS and CDS applications beyond the expected needs of our customers. New software is only part of our approach. We have also refined our customer relations and focus group research over the last several years so that it has become part and parcel of our professional culture. It's who we are, as well as what we do.
Today, many companies have skewed focus group selections and results so that their data no longer achieve the best possible outcome. Many manufacturers use friendly clients as focus group candidates and place iterations of existing products in front of them. After the focus group reviews the product, everyone pats each other on the back and awaits the results. In short order, yet another "build ‘em and they will come" product splutters onto the market with all the features and benefits (and limitations) of the old product, except that it is packaged in a nicer box. There are good reasons why this is so: It's safe, conservative, and a good bet for suppliers and users. Oh, by the way, the fact that it very often works really shouldn't be overlooked.
Joint Application Development has a slightly different approach. We first ensure that all of the new products that we create can be upgraded at no cost to the user. Next, in contrast to most product-development programs, the JAD program first involves corporate partners at the design stage. JAD partners provide full-time assistance and feedback to the product-development team (at their cost). Companies don't have to be LabSystems clients to be involved.
Why would a JAD partner sign up? Our collective technology and business environment is changing very quickly. The world has become a more competitive place where the barriers to market entry are being redesigned. To compete, organizations need to operate to their strengths and bolster their weaknesses. Partnering provides a recognized method of doing this in a rapidly changing market.
Our clients are analytical scientists working predominantly in R&D, manufacturing, and quality improvement functions; LabSystems is in the laboratory software business. JAD allows us all to participate as equal partners. We select each other to quickly apportion our strengths for our collective benefit. The JAD results remain broadly conservative but, because new ideas from a number of new consumer/user sources are included from the ground up, the final product is a significant leap forward and can be associated with well-respected supplier/clients. The attraction to the remainder of the market space is obvious.
A recent issue of Fortune outlined the reasons why CEOs of major corporations failed to deliver—it all came down to poor "people skills" in its broadest definition and even poorer implementation of company deliverables. The future is always uncertain. To be successful, you must share this journey with your customers so that everyone is rewarded with mutually appropriate benefits. Believe me, it works.
Please send comments or questions to columnist Gordon Logan by e-mailing managing editor Laura Vandendorpe at lvandendorpe@vertical.net.