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| Fascinating comments - meetings like this aren't unusual, particularly given that it seems many of the actual design engineers, the guys/gals who are actually designing the pieces and systems on machines, often don't get much or any field time. That said, engineers too often get saddled with the blame for designs that miss the mark or fall short of expectations. It is important to remember here that the product management team coupled with marketing personnel are equally if not more so to blame for what shapes the final product. These are the people who typically have more responsibility for speculating and understanding what will make people buy. Sometimes this is what they glean from meetings like this, or customer surveys and the like, and sometimes it is more deeply rooted in psychology and them having an understanding of the 'unspoken' and perhaps even subconscious items that get consumers to buy. It is a science all its own really. And these departments in the companies carry a lot of weight in determining the product that reaches market.
Believe me, the engineers CAN do a great deal, however what they are allowed to do or are instructed to do are almost always at odds with what they are capable of doing. I've seen many cases where great ideas or concepts sit on the sideline or are relegated to some file cabinet somewhere because marketing didn't buy into it or a project couldn't be justified by cost. So hopefully at this meeting you not only have the ear of the engineers who design, but more importantly, the product management and marketing people who really guide a product's direction in a company and determine what sees the light of day, what gets R&D funding, and what gets shelved. | |
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What to Say to Deere's Tractor Engineers - Thank you!
