Too many dotcom Web teams are borgs and butterflies. They need to be problem solvers.
I faithfully read Seth Goden’s blog every morning. One reason is that it’s blissfully short [memo to self]. The other reason is the golden marketing nuggets he brings to the table.
This morning is such a moment – and one that speaks to why so many LOB execs and stakeholders constantly push back on dotcom Web teams pitching new designs or the latest industry trends.
They don’t think they have a problem.
Face it. From most stakeholders’ perspective, dotcom teams come in two flavors: the “borg” [you will be assimilated] and the “butterfly” [this is the latest trend and we need to capitalize on it]. Neither are focused on a problem from the stakeholder’s point of view.
But what if a dotcom team saw its stakeholders as customers? Like any good salesperson, the team would help stakeholders identify a problem and explore its cost or impact on the LOB.
In other words, dotcom teams should sell the problem.
Until stakeholders agree that they have a problem, the solution doesn’t count. That’s why so many projects end up in chaos. In pushback, deliberate inertia, and stakeholders who spend their time deliberately coloring outside of the lines.
