Re: Legacy code. Was:Dates -- MIDRANGE-L


>>What makes it "more valuable" if it isn't "better"?
>
>It's more valuable because a client will pay more for it. It may be
>very, very hard to provide a better service than the person who comes in
>at night and washes the cups and cleans the floors. I don't want to
>compete in that area. I'd rather do something that has a higher hourly
>rate.

Then why cloud the issue with this talk of training? Your objective is
simply to get more money out of the client. You are not intending to give
the client anything more for that money. So, why not just raise your
rates? It will have exactly the same effect for yourself and your client
without all the bull.

>I don't agree that my model implies this at all. It doesn't preclude
>long term strategic positioning.

Positioning for what? If you simply wish to find the area your customer
will pay most for, I would think you would look to law or public
relations. Sales is a good direction. 

>>I think the secret is to learn that if you really want the cash, you need
>>to get the customer to want to give it to you. One way to do that is to
>>provide a service that is worth more to him than that cash is. So, pay
>>attention to what your customer wants/needs.
>
>Chris, we're talking the same language.

Dave, sometimes I think so, others I do not. It may seem a subtle
difference, but it is very real to me. IBM doesn't investigate what I am
willing to pay the most for and then go into business making that (I use
IBM here because it was the example from my previous post). Instead, they
look at what their area of expertise is, and what my needs are. They
propose solutions to those needs based on their technologies and see how
much they can get me to pay for that. 

IBM looks to the future to see what they think I will need then, and they
enhance their technologies to match so that they will have products to
sell me then. Sometimes they botch up and are making a bigger mainframe
when I wanted a more networkable AS/400. 

If they simply looked to what I pay the most for, they'd all be lawyers
and show up in three piece suits and... wait a minute!

>Dave Kahn - TCO, Tengiz, Kazakstan



Chris Rehm
Mr.AS400@ibm.net
You have to ask yourself, "How often can I afford to be unexpectedly out of 
business?" 
Get an AS/400.
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