Next week three of our HTG groups - 6 - 18 - 19 - will be holding their Q3 meetings in Charlotte ahead of the Ingram Micro SMB Alliance event. HTG has had a strategic alliance with Ingram now for over a year, and our participation in this event is an exciting part of that continuing to grow to fruition. We will have 50 or so HTG green shirts in attendance at the event on Thursday and Friday and will experience a great agenda filled with content.
Over 200 partners from Ingram's SMBA channel will be on hand to share and learn together. We will hear from key industry leaders like John Fago and Ryan Grant from Ingram Micro, Mike Parrotino from HP, Justin Crotty from Ingram Seismic, Paul Dippell from Service Leadership, David Russell from MANAGEtoWIN and many others. There will be dozens of vendors on hand to connect with and understand how we together can succeed. Breakouts will cover all sorts of timely topics and feature industry experts. I even get some time on stage to talk about the power of community and how peers can make a difference during these challenging times.
I often get asked about the value of communities like VTN or SMBA compared to that of HTG. My answer is always that they are designed to do different things and are complimentary in nature. HTG is focused on business skills and peer mentoring and accountability. Channel communities are typically focused at a higher altitude and provide significant connections to vendor and industry relationships as well as high value educational content from speakers that HTG cannot afford nor fit into our peer focused agenda. So there is plenty of reason to be part of a peer group like HTG and a channel community like SMBA, thus our strategic alliance. They give partners two legs up on competitors who are trying to run their business in a vaccum and are struggling to know how to survive.
I hope to see many of you in Charlotte at the SMBA event Aug 26-28. I know the HTG and Ingram teams have been working hard to be prepared to offer unprecedented value to those who attend. If you are in the crowd there - no tomatoes or heckling allowed. Wear those HTG green shirts on Thursday, and let's have a great time learning, sharing and go-giving together.
Showing posts with label John Fago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Fago. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Power of Community Takes Another Big Step
I have been in Orlando the last few days at the Ingram Micro VTN event. Having been part of this organization for a long long time, I have seen lots of changes. Some good, some not so good, but the premise of VTN has been and continues to be community and putting members together in an environment that makes it possible for all to take their business to a higher level. There have been some detours along that path as competing interests and other distractions have caused an occasional trip down a path going no where fast. But the team at Ingram has done one thing well over time - listen to the partners. And while it would be good for some of that to happen before the decisions are made rather than course correction after, the good news is they do listen and respond. Kirk, Ryan, Bill, Holly, Laura and the rest of that team have made some significant strides in taking VTN to a new level. Fresh perspectives on the advisory council, fresh content at the events, a renewed emphasis on chapters, more focus on Service Leadership benchmarking and a host of other changes that have taken things to a new level.
The event this week just verified to me that VTN is on the right course for the future. While I was sick for a portion of the event, the focus was right on and the messaging crisp. If VAR's want to survive in today's economy, we better learn how to sell. I would go further and say the VAR of the future actually is a sales company. The current mix of sales, marketing, technical expertise and operations is going to change drastically in the next 10 years. The need for technical resources will be significantly diminished by the move to the cloud. Operational and backend functions will be outsourced. Marketing will be handed off to experts who drive appointments. Our major role as VAR's will be to serve as a quarterback for our clients - we will be in the people business - guiding clients to the right combination of resources to help them get their work done. We will deliver very little of it ourselves beyond playing the role of strategic relationship management. Like it or not, it is coming and coming quickly. The things we have valued the last 20 years - deep technical expertise and solution selling - will quickly give way to business analysis and intelligence. We will become consultants in the true sense of the word.
Many in the channel haven't gotten that vision quite yet. But the announcement of John Fago as the new Senior Director in charge of VTN and other Ingram communities has just cemented the future of those communities for me. I have had the privilege of working with John for over 10 years in multiple roles. I knew from day one that he was a winner. He never says no, it is always lets see what makes sense. He is not confined to the normal inside the box thinking. He lives outside the box and steps inside often enough to keep things grounded. But most importantly he knows when to embrace change and help lead people there. In a few words, Fago gets it. The few times I have disagreed on strategy or a discussion with John over the last 1o years, by the time we were able to talk through it and work on it together there was always agreement that led to a better result. I have a hard time getting to that with my bride of 30 plus years. I have always been a Fago fan. I always will be. But my hats are off to the Ingram executive team for putting John in this role. You have sealed success for VTN with a stamp that will go far to further differentiate your place in the channel. Thank you for continuing to invest in your partners through VTN and other communities. HTG and myself personally, look forward to kicking some ____ as we take partnering, community and channel health to a whole new level in the next few years. The teams are in place. The time is now. Let's make it happen!
The event this week just verified to me that VTN is on the right course for the future. While I was sick for a portion of the event, the focus was right on and the messaging crisp. If VAR's want to survive in today's economy, we better learn how to sell. I would go further and say the VAR of the future actually is a sales company. The current mix of sales, marketing, technical expertise and operations is going to change drastically in the next 10 years. The need for technical resources will be significantly diminished by the move to the cloud. Operational and backend functions will be outsourced. Marketing will be handed off to experts who drive appointments. Our major role as VAR's will be to serve as a quarterback for our clients - we will be in the people business - guiding clients to the right combination of resources to help them get their work done. We will deliver very little of it ourselves beyond playing the role of strategic relationship management. Like it or not, it is coming and coming quickly. The things we have valued the last 20 years - deep technical expertise and solution selling - will quickly give way to business analysis and intelligence. We will become consultants in the true sense of the word.
Many in the channel haven't gotten that vision quite yet. But the announcement of John Fago as the new Senior Director in charge of VTN and other Ingram communities has just cemented the future of those communities for me. I have had the privilege of working with John for over 10 years in multiple roles. I knew from day one that he was a winner. He never says no, it is always lets see what makes sense. He is not confined to the normal inside the box thinking. He lives outside the box and steps inside often enough to keep things grounded. But most importantly he knows when to embrace change and help lead people there. In a few words, Fago gets it. The few times I have disagreed on strategy or a discussion with John over the last 1o years, by the time we were able to talk through it and work on it together there was always agreement that led to a better result. I have a hard time getting to that with my bride of 30 plus years. I have always been a Fago fan. I always will be. But my hats are off to the Ingram executive team for putting John in this role. You have sealed success for VTN with a stamp that will go far to further differentiate your place in the channel. Thank you for continuing to invest in your partners through VTN and other communities. HTG and myself personally, look forward to kicking some ____ as we take partnering, community and channel health to a whole new level in the next few years. The teams are in place. The time is now. Let's make it happen!
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