Dick Hardt dot org

Vitamins are products that provide a customer peace of mind. You get no immediate results from taking a vitamin. The benefits (if any) are sometime in the future. Insurance is a vitamin product. Home security systems are a vitamin product. When selling vitamin products, timing is everything. Most home security systems are sold when the customer moves, or when a neighbour’s house is burglarized. Vitamins tend to be sold when the customer is experiencing lots of FUD.

Painkillers are products that remove a customer’s pain. If the benefit of removing the pain is higher than the opportunity cost of the painkiller, customers will buy the painkiller. To sell a painkiller, you have to find the customers with the pain you can solve, and can afford the painkiller. It is much easier to sell a painkiller than a vitamin. … continue reading »

Yesterday was my last day at Microsoft. I worked there a year. When I reflect on 2009, I think of it as the Year of Darkness. I only  wrote a couple blog posts. I was inactive in the OpenID community. I did not talk to press or analysts. I gave no public presentations.

On the positive side, I was given the opportunity to herd the cats on OAuth WRAP and get it out the door. I am happy I as able to do that. I also met some great people at Microsoft.

Having never worked in a large company, working at Microsoft was an invaluable experience for first hand knowledge on how large companies work. I definitely got experience. More than I anticipated. Will I work for another large company? Sure, given the right opportunity. I have a better idea on what parameters are needed to be successful in a large company.

Questions? Love to hear them! dickhardt@gmail.com