tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479767814192247924.post3276152565203404651..comments2023-12-30T02:08:29.043+11:00Comments on Foundation and Empire: Should you pay less for multi-skilled consultants?Graham Dodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880164350187740304noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479767814192247924.post-75271632610627593322009-11-18T14:45:25.972+11:002009-11-18T14:45:25.972+11:00I have always felt that the key to justifying high...I have always felt that the key to justifying higher rates is by stating that your specialty is "Notes AND...". <br /><br />There are two ways that this works to your advantage. I call them "intersection" and "union".<br /><br />The positioning for intersection goes like this: "Notes experts can help you with Notes. I'm a Notes AND... expert, and I can help you with your specialized jobs that require skills and experience at combining these two things." <br /><br />The positioning for union goes like this: "Notes experts can help you with Notes. X experts can help you with X. Notes and X are both about collaboration. I'm a collaboration expert with expertise in multiple tools and environments, and I can help you at every level of this job, from defining the problem correctly to picking the right tools and environment for the job, and making the best use of tools and environment to solve your business problems."<br /><br />Note that for either intersection or union, the "AND..." doesn't necessarily refer to a technology. It could be a vertical market ("Notes AND medical") or a business methodology ("Notes and Six Sigma"), etc.<br /><br />Sharepoint can fit in with either the union or intersection positioning. You can select which way to go for any given customer and project.sRichard Schwartzhttp://www.poweroftheschwartz.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479767814192247924.post-79280428889876837352009-11-18T00:53:33.805+11:002009-11-18T00:53:33.805+11:00Interesting point. Suppose we are all trying to po...Interesting point. Suppose we are all trying to position ourselves in different ways (a good thing) - it is all about having depth of skills and knowledge in a particular area - sometimes having skills outwith a certain area can bring things to the table - especially in the web development world (RIA, Javascript frameworks etc). <br /><br />You don't get these things in manuals or training books - you get them by working on projects (or by using others knowledge).<br /><br />My experience in the dev world is 15 years Domino / Notes - but I have serious experience in the above as well as SQL integration / DB2 integration yada yada...<br /><br />I don't have the skills of a network guy or infrastructure guy - I have a network of people to call on though...<br /><br />Horses for courses is what I am saying (I think!!)<br /><br />Oh yes before I bore everyone to tears - skills / knowledge should be market driven (current customers / emerging trends) - not the other way about..ChrisChttp://www.xsptalk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8479767814192247924.post-16498450336696969152009-11-17T23:40:13.171+11:002009-11-17T23:40:13.171+11:00You've heard the old adage "Jack of all t...You've heard the old adage "Jack of all trades, master of none", these are generalists. Yes, they should get paid less, they are usually competent in many ways and they usually don't know the full capabilities of a product like Notes or Sharepoint and can not use these products to their fullest extent.<br /><br />I have multiple Black Belts in martial arts. I only teach one style as that is the one I have mastered. <br /><br />Oh, only a coward does not post his or her name!<br /><br />Just an opinion, that and $3.00 will get you a cup of coffee. LOLJohn Turnbowhttp://www.recondite2.comnoreply@blogger.com