Shine the light of your talent

Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?
Benjamin Franklin
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Shine the light of your talent outwards not inwards.

Having worked with numerous OSS vendors, I’ve seen amazingly talented individuals hidden away at head office, shining their light internally. I can’t help but think that it’s important for your customers to get the opportunity to see these people at every possible opportunity by spending time on your customers’s sites (shining their light externally). By shining your light externally, the customer gets a better appreciation of the capabilities of your organisation and is more likely to develop trusting, bilateral relationships with them as a result.

In addition, by being on the customer site, your team will be more connected with opportunities like new projects, change requests, etc and will gain a better understanding of what will enhance the customer’s business.

Have you noticed that the higher profile organisations (eg vendors, SI, consultancy practices) tend to shine their light outwards, often even being embedded amongst the customers’s delivery teams?

Of course there is the contrarian view to this with some staff being more productive on specific deliverables when they’re away from the distractions of the coal-face. There’s also logistical constraints where the customer site is hugely remote from the homes of your staff. I’m sure you can think of other reasons, including personality-based considerations.

Irrespective, try to avoid keeping your sundials in the shade.

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