I want to address this post to the Novell employees on this thread, I don't know all of your names. I have been favourably impressed with several, in particular Scott Lemon, Doshi, and Jon Freeman, at least one from Novell in England (name escapes me now) and believe that you are all doing what you think is best for the company and it's shareholders. I also paid a lot of attention to what was said by 'Novell Wife' and find her comments to be very credible. I started buying Novell shares at $24 and added more with every significant drop until I finally got a Margin call when the price went below $12 ... I did not sell but put up more money and am now holding and waiting for the inevitable profit that I'm sure I'll get 'someday' in the future.
I believe that there is very substantial value in this company, properly managed (and with good leadership) it should sell for a premium to the industry close to what MicroSoft gets right now. Novell is still the industry leader in a market segment that is nearly certain to grow at a rate even faster than PCs and PC applications for the next several years. I do NOT believe that the company is effectively managed at this time, and that you have no leadership either of our company (CEO probably) or by our company in the marketplace (seen in Press reports especially).
I have managed people in the IT business for many years, including many managers ... I've always told the managers that I believed their role was to perform a service for 3 types of people: 1) Stockholders 2) Paying customers 3) Employees (esp those reporting to them) ... the listing of 'their customers' is in priority ... the most important service that they performed was to make effective decisions (clear, understandable plans is the best indicator). I demanded that they treat all 3 types of people with respect but, that they keep these priorities because without stockholders there would be no funding to run the company, without customers there would be no revenue, without employees there would be nothing to sell to the customers ... so in the event they saw a conflict between these 3 points of interests they were to use the priorities to guide their decisions. From the interactions that I've had with Novell over the past year, and from the information that I've gleaned from several sources, this thread being one of the better sources ... I've concluded that too much of Novell management is so pre-occupied with survival and so confused by lack of adequate leadership that they are now failing to provide adequate management services to each of these 3 groups of people.
I am fairly certain that Novell has been 'targeted' by MicroSoft, that Novell's technology is superior to MicroSoft's, and that Novell has a literally unbeatable 'technological lead' in the contest with MicroSoft ... largely the reward from a massive install base. But, MicroSoft does not compete against your strengths rather against your weaknesses ... Marketing and Sales shortcomings are what appears on the surface, but I think the real problem is ineffective management.
Please consider these points (opinion, observation, judgment)
Start with the notion that TECHNOLOGY is NOT equal to PRODUCT.
MicroSoft talks with customers, prospects ... finds out what they want to buy ... then announces it, starts development (if technology is in house) ... ships something, gets feedback ... then either fixes what they shipped or buys something that works ... then starts selling 'upgrades' ... makes lots of money, products are 'good enough'.
Novell talks with users, support personnel ... finds out what they need and want ... then (stealth mode) develops a solution, including new technology if needed ... announces it, trains marketing, and attempts to sell it to customers & prospects ... several iterations of this last step are usually required to produce successful results ... makes great (engineer's view) products, usually money too.
In the current market environment I think the MicroSoft approach will win most of the 'new customers' and will likely shut out Novell from the small customer market opportunities. It now appears that Novell will build better and better products for fewer and fewer customers until finally the cash flow will not support the payroll (and my shares will be in the toilet). The difference between the MicroSoft approach and the Novell approach is a Management decision ... the responsiblity to measure results and improve the processes rests with Novell senior management.
End with the notion that winners and losers in this business are decided not by technology, but by Customer purchase decisions. The press, stock analysts, short sellers ... all think Novell is the future loser. I think Novell should be the winner, but the contest isn't going well for us right now. It doesn't look like you folks know how to use what you've got to win this contest ... that's my greatest concern, and probably a big concern for many others too!
I'm sure it is possible to beat MicroSoft in this contest and that Novell has the resources and talent to almost guarantee success ... but, what's the plan? ... The only plans that I've seen from Novell over the past few years are inconsistent with a notable exception ... they are not clear and understandable. This is probably not a problem that can be blamed on any single person ... more likely it's a 'system design flaw' in the management system that is the root cause and I believe that a change in leadership is a pre-req for any solution to the management problem(s).
I hope that you still have the management talent available within the company, and that simply changing the leadership of the company (new CEO) will be all that is required to get your management organized, focused, and consistent ... we'll all be winners, and richer too! I suspect though, that attempting to make most of the improvements needed to produce better results for the company ... for all of the employees posting on this thread is either very hazardous to their careers or beyond their scope of control.
I ask that you please consider sending some private email (anonymous if you want) to some of the shareholders on this thread ... either to re-assure us that good results are imminent, or with insights that will help us focus our energies on forcing the right changes to produce those good results ... SOON.
Thanks in advance to all of you that have the courage to try. |
