It's the business story that matters
In a post earlier this week, ZD Net's David Berlind covered Daryl Plummer's keynote at the Gartner Symposium/IT Expo. Plummer told IT managers they need to find a way to deliver business value and growth. Plummer told his audience, "IT organizations obsess about details that matter to them but not to the business...Get over it! Stop obsessing over these details...think about your approach to delivering more growth and value to the business." Plummer's advice also applies to tech executives doing media interviews. Too many execs insist on delving into the nitty-gritty of service-oriented architecture, software-as-a-service, Web 2.0, various ultra-geeky open-source projects etc. Here's a news flash - business reporters don't care!!!!!! Talk to business reporters the way you might talk to your CEO. No CEO wants to waste time listening to the VP of Tech Wonkery prattle on about the syntax and semantics of extensible stylesheet language transformations (z-z-z-z-z-z-) - the CEO just wants to know the tech folks can help the business make money and get an edge on the competition. The business reporter is the same way. Tell the reporter about customers using your technology - dress it up with ROI stats - offer to put the reporter in touch with your customers. Show the reporter how your technology helps customers become more profitable and more competitive - that'll get their attention and increase your chances for a great story.
Posted by John Moran on October 13, 2006 at 10:29 AM
