New to this forum, and so far resisted buying CA shares. After receiving this e-mail from a Wall Street analyst, I changed my mind and started to load up.
Greetings,
SZ
Anyone interested in CA should read this internal CA e-mail !.
Any reactions on this e-mail ?
COMPUTER ASSOCIATES INTERNAL USE ONLY CA CONFIDENTIAL
To: CA Worldwide Sales Force From: Rich Chiarello Date: JULY 27, 1998 Re:
Are You With Me?
I'm sure that you, like me, are amazed at how shortsighted some of the Wall Street analysts were with regards to CA this past week. After all of the billions of profits and capital appreciation CA has earned for them over the last 22 years. After our outstanding performance in both FY98(generating over 400,000 of revenue per employee) and Q1 FY99 (25% growth with 50% coming from client/server and 16% from the channel). How crazy are they to devalue the CA stock by one-third, because we lowered the next two quarters expectations by 7%? At first, I just chalked it up to human frailty and then I thought, "Why not go out and buy a ton of CA stock at 39?" (Why not make a killing off of these frightened school children?) But then it hit me: They are not selling CA, the company, short. They are selling the CA sales force short!
That's right. These analysts are saying that the CA sales force --- my
family, my kids --- cannot make a 7% difference over the next two quarters!
These number-crunching, paper-pushing, non-revenue producing, pencil-neck geeks are saying that the best sales force in the IT industry cannot make up a measly 7% shortfall in business from a few, large, enterprise deals being deferred due to the Asian and Y2K issues facing our largest clients!
(Don't tell me to calm down, I am #$@% calm!!!!) And you want to know the worst part?
They are telling this to your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your spouse, your friends, your neighbors, and even worse, to your enemies!!
Well, I don't know about you, but that's going too far in my book. The CA sales force is my family, and you don't insult my family.
So I am 150% committed to proving them wrong in this quarter. The CA sales force will dramatically cut discretionary spending across the board (cut out client lunches, multiple people going on sales calls, unnecessary travel, phone calls, hiring, etc.) and put together the best Q2 revenue quarter that CA has ever had. You see, I want there to be two presents available come October. I want the CA sales force to give Charles the best baby gift in the world for his first son due in October --- a blowout quarter. I also want to be able to send copies of this email in October to these same analysts, with the signatures of all the CA sales people around the world who were just as insulted and just as committed as I was to proving these calculator jockeys wrong. Never underestimate the CA sales force!! Never!!
So I ask that copies of this email get posted in the coffee and lunch rooms of CA sales offices all around the world. I only want CA sales, service, GTDS, and admins to sign this email if you are as committed as I am to defending the honor of our family. In the words of Gen. Patton, "If victory not be ours, let no one come back alive!" As the Dad, I will fight this battle by myself if need be (after all, they have attacked my family's honor and I am sure that you would do the same), but I am not sure that I can do it all alone.
Who's with me? |
