CEOs using CAD
Yesterday, at SolidWorks world, John McEleney demonstrated some of the new capabilities of the next version of SolidWorks. He did it himself -- no demo jocks.
Coincidentally, I got the following email today from Mark Sawyer, CEO of @Last Software:
Some years ago you made the following statement to me, "I have a lot of respect for John McEleney because he is the only CEO I know that is trained, certified, and expert in USING the product that he sells."
That impressed me too. (Besides the fact that I like John for other reasons too... So do you, I'm sure.) So every time I perform SketchUp work (tradeshow demo's, training sessions, sales calls, etc...) and I trot out my PowerBook to show SketchUp...and I think of that comment. I'm your second CEO that is trained, certified, and expert in USING the product the I sell."
Mark just came to @Last this year. The fact that he took the time and effort to master his company's software says a lot about how well he's going to be able to connect with his customers.
What would it be like if all software CEOs took this kind of initiative? How would it have changed the CAD industry if, for example, Carol Bartz had taken the effort to become a trained and certified expert in AutoCAD when she came to Autodesk in the early 1990s?
Evan Yares
4 Comments
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Response: Eating your own dogfood...Dieser Post brachte mich nun entgültig darauf, daß es für mich vielleicht doch besser wäre, mehr Kenntnisse über VectorWorks im Bezug auf Bedienung, Features & Problemlösungsstrategien zu haben. Späte Erkenntnis. Das würde bei der Kommunikation mit dem Vertrieb und NNA...
Reader Comments (4)
You write with the passion of someone who has been scarred by Autodesk somehow. That, I do not know. Nor do I care. But with therapy and time, most people get over there trauma and move on...
Dane
Evan Replies:
Had Carol learned to use AutoCAD, then the debacle with Release 13 probably never would have happened. She's been publically apologizing for that one for years.
My passion comes from my 24 year frustration with the CAD market. All I've ever wanted was a CAD program that was good enough that I could hand a copy to a friend, with the confidence that they'd still be a friend after using it for a while. So far, I've found only a handful of programs that come close to that ideal.
Jimmy
http://jtbworld.blogspot.com
Evan Replies:
Yes, Carl is a technology guy, and gets the stuff his company does.
"All I've ever wanted was a CAD program that was good enough..." Wow, this is too low a standard my fellow CAD journalist/user.
How about, all I've ever wanted was a CAD program that was so darn good I could give it to anyone and make a friend. Honestly, I think my statement is the "par statement" for Mark and his team at @Last Software. And SketchUp clearly does make friends...it really is that good.
But perhaps I'm being too critical. More likely, I'm just too darn spoiled with the Macintosh to be familar with any statement like yours to find that appealing. To me, "good enough" is a very scary and depressing phrase.
But I want to point out one other thing. Were you aware that Steve Jobs always demos Apple's products -- even many of their more technical professional ones? I attribute that to why they are often so elegent and easy. Jobs won't tolerate anything less.
If more CEOs demo'd products we'd all be working with better, easier, more elegantly designed software. Thanks for pointing this out.