To think that they made some of us travel for this goes to show how clueless they are. Outside of the Microsoft discussion, there was absolutely nothing that we could take into the field and sell. Even the Microsoft discussion is the same old platform play, and presumes a customer uses everything we have to offer which hardly any do. Norlin first 40 minutes and comparing us to building the Great Wall of China and the Colosseum was the most eye rolling instance I’ve ever seen in the business setting, and he even had the audacity to say he was proud of his slides …this guy does not get it and needs to be replaced as soon as possible
17 replies (most recent on top)
@md accept the challenge shows how bad you are at your job. A quota that’s 4x, 5x and even 6x+ YoY growth isn’t a challenge, it’s setup for failure. You’re job is to put people in a position to be successful and you’ve failed miserably
The “level up” sales enablement was a joke yesterday. Role playing a hypothetical for an ideal customer is laughable. It’s not realistic, it’s a dream scenario and doesn’t reflect the challenges in the field. Another example of these clowns being out of touch with reality.
“KKR needs to act. No more second chances.”
Prediction: Before removing those three, KKR’s action will be to liquidate its interest by selling the company and/or combining it with another KKR-owned entity (like break off BMC Helix and pair with Omnissa to become a new entity)
That would be a “change of control” per the ESOPs, and those three Omnissians will cash in, retire, and go on to serve on board of directors elsewhere (like Raghu, Betsy, etc did after VMware)
"Shankar, Kevin Norlin and Renu are way over their skis"
This sums up why nothing meaningful will change until KKR removes the clueless who are unable to lead us out of our current crisis. KKR needs to act. No more second chances.
@md we found Kevin Norlin in the comments trying to motivate people. You’re bad at your job Kevin. If you knew how the field talked about you, you would be embarrassed. “Accept the challenge” is funny coming from a guy that does nothing more than look at dashboards. Doesn’t engage, doesn’t even know our products, our successes, or our customers. No presence in the market, no respect from his own company and genuinely viewed as a joke. People were laughing at you during the your opener at the rally
@me it’s so clear to see who’s in so called leadership and who’s in the field by these comments. The problems are systemic and the data clearly supports it.
@g3 only clueless thing about your response is you shouldn’t be in a competitive sales environment.
@kb accept the challenge, its always an opportunity to get out and sell if you’re good at your game. Microsoft’s sales strategy hasn’t changed in decades. Where you been.
@hx nailed it. To demonstrate leaderships cluelessness they go as far as say that MSFt presents an opportunity for OMNISSA instead of being realistic and building a strategy. Shankar, Kevin Norlin and Renu are way over their ski’s and have negatively impacted people’s lives who have worked to build this coming up
@hx if I were in sales and did not believe in my product then I’d never be able to promote it and would definitely move on.
"I get the frustration but what’s keeping you from selling? "
Here's the big roadblock, from my perspective. The KKR acquisition turned off many customers in our installed base, and they started to look at alternatives. Meanwhile, Microsoft decided that Omnissa was an easy vendor to displace since they had the 'good enough' product and the pre-existing C-suite relationships. Microsoft sales reps have been coached to highlight all our weaknesses and their proven key strengths. Our leadership has no credible response to this sales reality because they are clueless.
@h6 some people value loyalty. If you and the rest of leadership did the same, this company wouldn’t be driven into the ground. Some sound business decisions and stop wasting everyone’s time with this trash enablement strategy wouldn’t hurt either. Running this company like a high school project
@g3 then find a new job? What’s keeping you here? If you find the situation so hopeless, it’s probably time for you to move on instead of raging all the time on an anonymous website.
@fr that is the most clueless comment. Our products don’t have enough value for customer to go through the pain of change. Omnissa has zero credibility in the market. We can’t compete with Microsoft. We have zero leadership presence in the market. They damaged relationships with the account realignment. There’s just a few reasons
I get the frustration but what’s keeping you from selling? Stop following and get out there and do your thing! Set an example
@ec takes a bad leader to know one. Shankar and the rest of our executive leadership are absolutely useless.
Norlin's rise to SVP is another example of Shankar's bad judgment in choosing leaders. I wasn't convinced by the Microsoft commentary, or any of the other attempts to counter our ongoing revenue decline. I've tried to keep an open mind, but every time our leaders describe their revised approach to resolving our many problems, I have more doubts.