Like an echo that doesn’t return, many – not all solution providers talk a great game until you start asking meaningful questions. I would rather starve in the desert than take a nickel from a company peddling rainbows and unicorns.
What percentage of GenAI Solution Providers are like Nortel was in the above graph?
I felt the same way I do now when I gave a radio interview after selling my company for $12 million in January 2001. Right after me, the CFO of Nortel was interviewed, talking about how bright the year ahead was looking for the company. Remember, this is January 2001, and this is the CFO.
On February 15th, 2001, Reuters reported, “Nortel cuts 2001 earnings and sales forecast in half, blaming severe erosion in U.S. economic conditions.” The announcement triggered a 33 percent drop in its stocks, triggering class-action lawsuits. By the end of May, 3,500 jobs were cut.
So, do you think the CFO knew what was coming when he gave that Rosey interview a month earlier? Remember, this was Nortel – not some heady dot.com start-up. The Nortel story is not the exception, as both the new and established companies fell.
This time around, no one is immune. From longstanding, well-established providers to new “GenAI will save the world providers,” a crash is coming.
The only advice I can give you as a practitioner, solution provider employee, or anyone involved in this industry is to keep asking the hard questions and walk away if answers are not forthcoming. In the meantime, I will continue looking for my top 5 solution providers because there is still gold – real gold out there among the pyrite in the way of successful ProcureTech companies that can and will deliver on their promises. KEEP THE FAITH and STAY TUNED!
30
Added Note: After yesterday’s big announcement, someone in the know advised me to start tracking Promena Strategic Procurement Software for the next six months.
When I asked, “When you say follow-up in six months, are you talking about a funeral or a coming-out party?”
The response, depending on the success of that initiative, “Promena will probably have one or the other!”
Procurement Insights
How many solution providers tell the truth? A better question might be: How many want to face the truth?
Posted on August 22, 2024
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Like an echo that doesn’t return, many – not all solution providers talk a great game until you start asking meaningful questions. I would rather starve in the desert than take a nickel from a company peddling rainbows and unicorns.
What percentage of GenAI Solution Providers are like Nortel was in the above graph?
I felt the same way I do now when I gave a radio interview after selling my company for $12 million in January 2001. Right after me, the CFO of Nortel was interviewed, talking about how bright the year ahead was looking for the company. Remember, this is January 2001, and this is the CFO.
On February 15th, 2001, Reuters reported, “Nortel cuts 2001 earnings and sales forecast in half, blaming severe erosion in U.S. economic conditions.” The announcement triggered a 33 percent drop in its stocks, triggering class-action lawsuits. By the end of May, 3,500 jobs were cut.
So, do you think the CFO knew what was coming when he gave that Rosey interview a month earlier? Remember, this was Nortel – not some heady dot.com start-up. The Nortel story is not the exception, as both the new and established companies fell.
This time around, no one is immune. From longstanding, well-established providers to new “GenAI will save the world providers,” a crash is coming.
The only advice I can give you as a practitioner, solution provider employee, or anyone involved in this industry is to keep asking the hard questions and walk away if answers are not forthcoming. In the meantime, I will continue looking for my top 5 solution providers because there is still gold – real gold out there among the pyrite in the way of successful ProcureTech companies that can and will deliver on their promises. KEEP THE FAITH and STAY TUNED!
30
Added Note: After yesterday’s big announcement, someone in the know advised me to start tracking Promena Strategic Procurement Software for the next six months.
When I asked, “When you say follow-up in six months, are you talking about a funeral or a coming-out party?”
The response, depending on the success of that initiative, “Promena will probably have one or the other!”
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