I’ve been thinking about the A/R job recently. It was prompted by one of the analyst groups giving us 3 days to turn around a report over a holiday weekend. Bear in mind that this was a major report over multiple groups at IBM. Nobody is around on holiday’s and 3 days is a very short period of time in IBM terms. We don’t get accused of being nimble and able to turn the company strategy on a dime. So I was a bit put out and have been stewing about it for a few weeks now.
I don’t excuse said analyst group for the short notice as I though it was unrealistic, but it happened. Being told you have to do it or we write it anyway is tough to swallow, but hey, it’s my job to get it done. They should have given us more time, but stuff happens. I was guessing that this time frame was to get us off the stick, and it was. The report(S) are still not out.
So on to on analyst relations. The popular cliche is that the R in A/R doesn’t stand for report, so the job characteristics became clearer to me.
Check the ego at the door.
I have to deal with some very important people at IBM (at least in respect to my paying the mortgage next month), also at the analyst firms and again with industry pundits. The minute people get their panties in a wad, the ability to be efficient goes south so I’ve learned to let it pass and try to move past the ego issue.
For IBMr’s, I’ve watched VP’s order people around like they were Eisenhower in WWII, only to get swatted by their GM or a higher executive at the next meeting….. There always is a bigger fish. For the most part, just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll get it done, or tell you you’re misguided and we can’t do it.
For analysts, dealing with them is far better than it was in the 90’s when we got told off so regularly we joked about them. This seemed to me because they had an ax to grind about proving they knew more than we did about the subject. Great, they are the analyst and should know more….next?
For me, Analyst are very helpful to shaping our products and answering questions on our strategy. Yes there are some exceptions, like the call I’m on right now where an analyst is going to write that we should drop a major product (ain’t no way) unless we pay him (extortion?). I, like others will likely drop this guy from our list of primaries, not that he was, but he just sealed the deal in front of a lot of people.
The most productive discussions are when we lay the cards on the table and speak openly, even when dissenting. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, just don’t use it as leverage to hold anyone hostage, on any side (we’ve done it too). Recently, an analyst who fishes (extra points for this trait) told us that what we were announcing wasn’t that special. Guess what, it wasn’t… so we changed the technology to make it better. No ego involved.
So for me in the A/R role, I need to bring the right analyst to the table with the right executive to discuss the right subject and we get things done. Wrong analyst, wrong exec, wrong point of the product and bingo, recipe for failure.
On the humorous side, I’ve been told by the analysts that collectively they have both an opinion on most things and the ego to back it up, it’s my job to work with them on their terms. If you figure out what they want and how they want it, the job can be done.
Relationships
This part is difficult, or easy, depending on your willingness to work at it. I know about the food habits of some, dogs with others, children in college with others and some who like to fish. I spar politically with a few and find it enjoyable to be able to have a conversation about subject that they care about. This isn’t rocket science, working with others by finding common grounds (even uncommon) is about getting along.
Give a little extra Effort
Anyone can do what you are told. Try and give a little more by helping put things together, fill out the forms (contention expected here) and think what your counterpart is doing, and do more. How tough is it to be good? Don’t you want to be the best you can be at your job?
Be Flexible
Sometimes you have to turn around a report in 3 days. But for the most part, this is about the changing times. It is not the 90’s anymore, and we are different and so are the analysts. Tactics are different also. Things that worked just a couple of years ago, are so yesterday now. You constantly need to be thinking, sometimes on your feet, on the spot, in the moment.
This turned out to be more of a ramble than the educational piece I’d hoped it would be, but conceptually, hard work pays off, and dealing with constituencies properly doesn’t happen by accident.
