The Argentinean tango between vendors

In the past month I have traveled the world: mostly Asia and Europe; meeting with over 30 companies. All engineering companies, some customers and others prospects. Different countries. Different mindsets. Different cultures. Different beliefs.

Argentinean tango

Photo: Alexander Zabara

The intensity of it made me aware of the delicate Argentinean tango between vendors.

Argentinean tango requires a lot of synchronization between the two dancers. The man leads the dance, deciding on which steps to make, building the choreography of the dance. The woman follows, ever receptive to the movements of the man responding in turn in full synchronization to his movements. The rules of engagement are known in advance - genetically imprinted from within the culture that cultivated it. Each has his/her part to play. Each contributes to it. When two dancers meet, if they are experienced enough, they can dance in unison as if knowing each other for years.

Vendors

If players in the business world behaved as if they were dancing the Tango, my life would have been much simpler.

In some of the meetings I felt at home, knowing most of the unwritten rules of engagement, dancing the tango delicately with the vendor: listening to his needs, synchronizing my messages with them. Moving from technical issues, to product roadmap, to commercial terms. As in the Tango, this requires a lot of practice - the more companies you see, the better you get at this dance.

The problem is, each company is different - its unwritten rules of engagement different. For companies to dance this tango well requires them to fit each other, a feat not always possible.

Leader and Follower

As a Product Manager, I am in a very unique position. By listening to what customers have to say and gaining from their insight and experience, my view of the market’s needs has broadened. As vendors have a better viewpoint to their customers and their specific markets, I take a larger viewpoint of a large number of vendors, catering a larger customer base.

This makes the position of the leader and the follower in this tango dance vague - sometimes I can lead providing my insights on the market, but sometimes the vendor will be the better leader, providing his experience with his specific customer base.

The trick is to strike a balance between what we both know. We both bring valuable, yet different perspectives to the table.