Comments on Open Reasoning: The analyst watcher blind spot

Hi DaleA really good post and great comments too. ...

2008-02-11T16:40:44.380Z

Hi Dale

A really good post and great comments too. I will add this one to my list of must-reads for anyone who needs to understand AR.

Cheers, Jonny

Hmm. Looks like you've got everyone stealing Fred ...

2008-02-07T09:32:56.136Z

Hmm. Looks like you've got everyone stealing Fred Randall's famous line from the movie Rocketman, "It wasn't me!"

Great post. I'll go quibble with some of your points from my blog. ;-)

Thanks David - I know we are on the same page from...

2008-02-06T18:11:00.306Z

Thanks David - I know we are on the same page from our frequent chats on market dynamics and mechanics over the the last few years.

Good to see Analyst Insight come out of its quiet period BTW :-)

Dale, an interesting post, thanks. You have put to...

2008-02-06T16:17:53.679Z

Dale, an interesting post, thanks.

You have put together a clear, well argued and powerful explanation of why smaller analyst firms are valuable. I am recommending that everyone in AR read it - http://analystinsight.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-small-analysts-are-important.html

As you know, I'm a real advocate of boutique analyst firms. Reading your piece, it's disappointing that some other agencies don't yet get it.

Equally, I can think of some in-house AR managers who didn't immediately get the value of the boutiques.

Still, that's part of the job - to help clients understand who is relevant and important - and be able to explain why.

A "trouble making post" - very cool. Can't wait.;-...

2008-02-05T12:45:34.748Z

A "trouble making post" - very cool. Can't wait.;->

Thanks Carter. I have been reading your site and i...

2008-02-05T07:17:35.940Z

Thanks Carter. I have been reading your site and it is clear that SageCircle has 20:20 vision when it comes to looking at the whole of the influencer landscape and the range of different analyst categories/styles in that context.

Your point is well made with regard to limited AR resources and scarce executive bandwidth, so my plea is not to open the door to *all* smaller analysts, but give credit where credit is due when boutiques and independents are doing a good job, even though they are not playing the same game as larger firms.

Your advice about smaller players marketing themselves well is very apt, and I would translate your comment about "knocking on the wrong doors" as an imperative for structured account management too. It sounds like a grand thing for boutiques to do, but it has worked for us.

Which reminds me that I need to write another troublemaking post at some point about AR gatekeepers and conflict of interest - you can probably guess how that one is going to go :-)

Hi Dale, Good post and one that analysts at smalle...

2008-02-04T22:57:43.540Z

Hi Dale, Good post and one that analysts at smaller firms should read as well as “analyst watchers” and AR teams. A few comments:

Lucky for us, SageCircle is not guilty of this mindset. For instance, in Avoid emotion when building the analyst list for emerging tech markets, we recommend “…Seek out smaller firms that have developed a niche specialization in your area. Major firms can be fast followers of trends, but small firms are typically more nimble and first to recognize interesting new companies…” This is not an isolated example. There are other articles that also suggest seeking out single practitioners and boutiques because we recognize that the major firms do not have a lock on smarts or influence.

And this is not something that we only came to recognize recently. For instance, in August 2003 we published a SageNote™ called “’Investing’ in a Boutique Firm’s Future” that suggested that AR teams pick some boutiques to work with because “…Each boutique firm request represents the opportunity to interact with a potentially influential analyst…”

However, SageCircle is also known to emphasize the need to carefully pick and choose where to invest because AR teams only have a finite amount of resources (e.g., executive time, budget, AR bandwidth). Bottom line is that AR cannot simply respond to every request willy nilly, just like the marketing folks can’t place advertising in every publication, paper or on-line.

Alas, AR and analyst watchers are often working in the dark because many single practitioners and boutiques do lousy jobs marketing and selling themselves. Often it is “pay attention to me because I’m smart!” Hmm, yeah you and hundreds of other firms. Another problem is when analysts from all sizes of firms knock on the wrong doors. In fact, I had to write Who's Who -- Who educates the analysts and who buys analysts' services on my blog at my former employer because I was dealing with too many analysts frustrated that I would not buy their services, when I was not the one to buy their services. My suggestion is that single practitioner and small firms invest in some marketing to make sure they stand out. BTW, I am taking my own advice – SageCircle is currently investing thousands of dollars to make sure that our marketing is top notch. I also suggest that small firms educate themselves about who is who in large vendors.

Finally, it is only going to get worse! The idea behind the Fog of Influence is that there is going to more complexity in the influencer landscape which is going to make it more difficult for smaller firms to be heard and more difficult for AR to focus on the right advisors and influencers.

Thanks for the great post and the other articles on Open Reasoning. I look forward to many more exchanges of ideas.