August 1st 2014 marks one year since I joined Adobe with a great group of friends as part of the Satellite Tag Management acquisition and what a year it has been. In a mere 365 days I have logged thousands miles in the air, met with hundreds of clients, given at least a thousand demos, visited 7 countries, and been a small part in over 1,400 new companies that are now using DTM (Satellite TMS)! When I first found about the move by Adobe to purchase Satellite I was very excited to join a company where I already had met and worked with so many great people, and the transition to becoming part of the Adobe team was a very smooth process. In the past year however, and even stretching back a bit further to when I joined Search Discovery in December of 2012, there were a few things I learned along the way that did surprise me a bit. Perhaps I was just blind to this side of the industry before, but working for a product vendor is a completely new game than working for a services only consultancy.
Price Does Not Matter
At least not nearly as much as I thought it would. When it comes down to mission critical applications like DTM, price is only a very small part of the equation when companies compare DTM to the other legacy TMS vendors. The tsunami of companies that have made the move to DTM have done so on the merit of the product and the capabilities it provides.
People Lie
I am not nearly that naive to think that everyone in the world is honest, but I was not prepared for the competitors in the market to resort to personal attacks and lies instead of just relying on the assumed merits of their products. I have been told that it is just part of this side of the industry, but that is a pile of poop. It is the weak, scared, cowards that resort to crap like that. Deep down I hope that they are better than what they are projecting to the world.
Travel is Exhausting
Yes, I have been to some kick ass cities and countries across the world. Yes, I have met with some of the most amazing companies and I am thrilled to work with them to understand and embrace all that DTM can offer. Yes, I have sent a text meant for my wife to a colleague traveling with me…or was it the other way around? Yes, I have seriously thought of updating the address on my business cards to read “At an airport near you!”. But man……when you wake up early in the am and you can not recall at first what city you are in…that is when you think about taking a few weeks to sit in a hammock somewhere with a good book and a pitcher of some cold adult beverage to reset things.
Opportunities Everywhere
Every single company I have met with from clients to partners in every city across the world is looking for talented people. If you are in this crazy digital analytics industry and you are at least proficient in what you do, then you will never have a problem finding work. If you do not believe me, call Corry Prohens of IQ Workforce, and ask him. He is way smarter about that side of the industry than me anyway.
It Is a Small World
The digital analytics industry is so damn small. It is not six degrees of separation, maybe more like 2-3 at best. It is hard to go to a conference or a client visit without meeting someone that you have worked with, or have a mutual colleague with. Do not burn bridges.
What lies ahead
And the road goes on forever, and the party never ends… ( to steal a line from my favorite folk signer) If you had asked me 5-6 years ago I would never have been able to predict the future that I am now living in, and I am not sure exactly of what lies ahead. What I am sure of is this. I am lucky enough to be on a team with some amazing people, working for a fantastic company, and I can not wait to see what we are able to do together.
Buckle Up… if the next 5 years are like the last 5 what a ride it will be.
