The Source of Complexity

Complexity and My Experience in Enterprise Sales

I read the same idea from two different business books: Complexity is the silent killer of business. One book is Profit from the Core by Chris Zook, and the other is The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch. Both authors argue that managers often choose complex solutions.

After running my own IT consulting business for a while, I meet some managers. Sadly, most of them choose complex solutions from time to time. 

Complex Solution

I helped company K in Taiwan use Modern Data Stack to build their data pipeline. My solution worked really well: Employees in company K had previously used a lot of Excels spreadsheets, but then switched to using Metabase. 

However, they do not use Metabase properly. The CEO of company K feels that SaaS is biggest threat of information security, so the company only allows files to be transferred from one place to another using email. Accessing Metabase through the Internet is not allowed.

One day, the IT manager of Company K asked me if there was any way to implement finer permission controls for certain parts of Metabase. I told her that the answer was very simple: upgrading Metabase to its paid version. I was 100% sure that the ROI would be good enough to justify the upgrade.

She did not accept that answer and told me that it was not an issue of ROI. If she told her boss, the CEO, my answer, her boss would be very angry and feel that she or Metabase had lied. I guess this might be because when she urged her boss to adopt the Modern Data Stack, she told him that most of the software in the stack was open-source, so it was free.

I am not sure where the problem lies, but I am certain that this company has chosen many complex solutions in the past and will likely continue to do so.

Buying something really new

I have observed that people often feel intimidated when they encounter something new. For people accustomed to CD-packaged software, SaaS can seem really strange. Buying something new is not just a transaction; it sometimes forces the buyer into an uncomfortable zone.

In my experience selling to businesses, many times, the knowledge buyer has already accepted my solution and my argument on ROI, but they still find it very difficult to persuade their boss to support their judgment. As a result, they sometimes delay the buying decision for several months, and the situation in their company worsens.

On one hand, they are forced to choose a complex solution. On the other hand, they are good at managing up.

I anticipate that this situation will persist. However, my challenge will ease considerably as I increase my marketing efforts and as the Modern Data Stack becomes more familiar and widely accepted in Taiwan.