6 Lasting Lessons From 2020

My nature is joy. I seek out people and things that bring pleasure. I relish celebrating the achievements of others. And I give much gratitude to those who bring me happiness and success. Unfortunately, 2020 was a period of tremendous challenge, disappointment, and sadness. 

While I’m grateful that 2020 is finally behind us, we can’t leave behind the things we experienced and learned through this incredibly trying year. The pandemic gave us many life and professional lessons on how we can do things differently, and many for the better. We need to embrace the changes we learned amid the strife. We need to draw the best from what was probably one of the worst periods in our collective memory. 

To start the new year on the right foot, I’ve put together a short list of things that we (channel chiefs, partners, and everyday people) can permanently incorporate into our routines.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something Different

Our industry tends to default to best practices. Embracing best practices is just another way of saying we’re going to do the same as everyone else. It’s ironic for an industry that prides itself on disruption and competitive advantage. 

The reason people accept “best practices” is because they’re safe. Go out ahead of everyone else with something experimental and you risk failure. Reject best practices and you could find yourself at a disadvantage amid the competition. Best practices maintain equilibrium to a fault. 

The pandemic changed all that, forcing channel chiefs and operations teams to do things differently out of necessity. None of us had a playbook. No one knew if virtual events, revitalized webinars, open access to resources, or greater transparency would positively affect our partners and customers. 

They did make a difference. And that list was just the tip of the iceberg. 

The old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention,” was never put more to the test than in 2020. We learned that many things that were only theoretical could produce positive results. We also broke our dependency on tired tools and models. 

We need to embrace the strength and courage to keep trying new things, experiment with new concepts and models, and invest in bleeding-edge ideas. Not all will work, and that’s a risk. But staying too wound up in best practices will keep us stagnant. 

2. Virtual Works

Being on Zoom all day isn’t so bad. In the past year, my peers and partners report getting better connected and getting more stuff done because they didn’t have the burden of commuting and business travel. The pandemic gave us time in ways we didn’t think possible. The pandemic leveled the playing field, giving us the ability to eliminate unnecessary time away from home and work. It gave us time we wouldn’t have dared taken for fear of creating a competitive disadvantage. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, my sales and marketing friends worried aloud that they would lose connections with their partners and customers without live events. We learned that we could remain connected and maintain meaningful relationships via digital connections.

Virtual connections go beyond standard business fare. I’ve participated in countless virtual cocktails, gratitude events, live music performances, and simple conversations. All benefit from building bonds with people in ways not possible at convention centers and hotel conference rooms. 

No, we’re not staying off the road forever. No, we’re not giving up on our events and in-person meetings. The lesson is that we don’t have to default to a live meeting when we have the option of doing video meetings from the comfort of our living rooms (or guest bedrooms – whichever is quieter). 

3. Connecting With More People

An unexpected benefit of virtual meetings and events is the exposure of more people in our partners’ organizations that we never knew existed. When we held live events, our partners could send only one person or a handful of staffers – and they were mostly in sales and marketing. The pandemic and virtual meetings allow us to open the aperture to see the people behind the scenes in our partner organizations. People in operations, administration, technical support, sales support, and finance were able to participate in calls, revealing just how much of a village it takes to sell and support our products. 

As I make my sales and channel plans for 2021, I’m thinking about the different personas in our partner organization that impact our go-to-market relationships and customer experiences. I’m thinking about how we can engage with more people than just the familiar faces to achieve our mutual objectives. I believe that bringing more people into our go-to-market process – the people we met by extending our circles – will help bring everyone better results. 

4. Customer Experience Matters

We used to talk about “The Amazon Effect” as a negative – about how the online giant would disrupt our sales and take our customers. The COVID Effect proved that the Amazon model, and those like it, really do work, and it’s all about customer experience. 

The pandemic shuttered businesses and forced people to stay home. We – the technology industry, including vendors, distributors, and partners – had to sell digitally. We knew how to do that – more or less – before the crisis. What we didn’t know was the impact experience has on how customers perceive value and their propensity to continue doing business with a company.

We pay a lot of lip service to customer experience, and that needs to stop. Customer experience isn’t an event; it’s a lifetime process. Customer perceptions start from the first contact and never end. Whether they’re purchasing products online, researching technologies and services, looking for technical support, or trying to up their game through training, they’re looking for the same ease of access and value-based outcomes. Their experience is the totality of their interaction with the value chain that ends with them. 

I’m working with our channel leaders, peers, and industry thought leaders to apply the lessons of customer experience impact in our go-to-market relationships. I want to make the customer experience the cornerstone of our value proposition. 

5. Digital Is the Only Path Forward

Few things are certain in the technology industry, where disruption is a design feature. Every couple of years, we expect new technology to come along and shake up the status quo. Innovation is the hallmark of renewed value. 

After 2020, we can say with certainty that digital is the only path forward. Most businesses haven’t yet completed their digital transformation journeys, and some haven’t even begun. The pandemic caused many businesses to rethink their strategies, invest in digital automation and communications capabilities, and extend their IT infrastructure far beyond the traditional network edge. That journey will continue as businesses seek to reap the benefits of their digital investments. 

Digital transformation will bring new opportunities as resources and dependencies shift to the virtual realm. I’m looking forward to working with my team and partners to help customers maximize the benefits of their digital investments in cloud computing, hyperconverged infrastructure, and smart applications to the full extent. 

6. Diversity Brings Strength and Innovation

We can’t look past the social and racial issues of the previous year. The strive we witness is the result of the ongoing inequities and injustices affecting people of color. The slogan “Black Lives Matter” reflects how not everyone feels like they share equity in the rebuttal sentiment “all lives matter.”

Study after study finds the same thing: Diversity is a strength, not a weakness. The addition of more people of color and women into executive, marketing, research, and product management typically results in more innovation, better performance, and higher levels of growth. History is replete with examples of xenophobic societies that alienated people for their differences only to collapse under the weight of their inabilities and sheltered positions. 

The technology industry and channel need increased diversity. We need to draw more people of color, gender, and the LGBTQ communities into our ranks to expand our field of vision and expose ourselves to new opportunities. In 2021, I’m working with several groups to explore diversity in the channel and look for ways to make our industry more reflective of the larger society. 

Those are just a few of the things I took away from 2020 and the pandemic. What did you learn? We all have different experiences and perspectives. Leave a comment, share what you learned, and keep the information exchange going. That’s the final lesson of 2020: We were all in it together, and we need to stay together to succeed and thrive. 

Lori Cornmesser, VP Global Channel Sales 

Accomplished Global Channel and Commercial Management Executive with 25+ years of in-depth experience in managed services, computer networking, testing/measurement, network management/security, and hardware industry. Develop deep relationships with field team leadership, supply revenue, and protect long-term marketplace viability and growth. Proven track record in all aspects of building and driving field/channel sales with a strong focus on strategic marketing and business planning combined with skilled sales and contract negotiation abilities. 

Customer centric organizational builder and leader who maintains strong rapport with existing and prospective clients through transformational sales strategies and marketing plans that deliver greater customer engagement. Recognized for propelling growth with multi-national Fortune 500 companies including service providers and enterprise businesses. Recognized ability to balance strategic thinking, tactical execution and successful market penetration initiatives. Tactically develop C-suite partnerships while amplifying company loyalty and promoting innovation in the marketplace.

Her inclusive experience lead to her being named Channel Chiefs for CRN 2016-2020 and being recognized by CRN Magazine as one of the Top Women of the Channel in 2009- 2020 she also made the coveted Power 100 list in 2014-2020. Lori Cornmesser was named by the Diversity Journal as the Woman to Watch of 2011 and recently received Most Power Women in Technology Award in August, 2019 

While she is dedicated to her career and no doubt works extremely hard in order to contribute greatly to the growth and success of her company, as well as the growth and success of herself within her field, Lori Cornmesser also has served as a the President of the Silicon Valley branch of the larger umbrella organization, the California Diversity Council.  Lori Cornmesser is of German and African American descent, she relates to issues of diversity and understands the importance of not only celebrating diversity, but also in spreading an understanding of diverse backgrounds and cultivating diverse work environments.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/loricornmesser/

twitter: loriclori