The article Of Bulls And Bears (Von Bullen und Bären) by Peter Hill is written with German precision, brutal honesty, and trademark humor (so subtle that you don’t recognize a joke until it suddenly hits you 3 sentences later). This expose talks about the different types of SAP customers:
- the “powerful and well organized” bulls, large global corporations that run a tight ship;
- the bears that “roar – and lose sight of the project”.
Peter’s description of the bears is chillingly accurate:
[…]those corporations that – out of sheer company politics and preoccupation with themselves – often lose sight of the real work on the necessary changes. Huge sums of money are sometimes spent just to end up with fewer functions and automations than before.
I bet every seasoned SAP consultant has encountered those projects where whoever screams the loudest gets their way, even if it adds no value for the business at large. Yikes.
Peter also offers solid advice for the consultants. The bull “can be tamed with a lot of patience and brain power” and the bear, “requires a thick skin and a lot of caution”. Power up your trusted translator and read the article in its entirety to avoid getting mauled on your next SAP project! JP
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