tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post5549332270936363839..comments2007-10-15T08:48:56.093-07:00Christopher Keenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452233158192995749noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-51671978203709516202007-10-15T08:48:00.000-07:002007-10-15T08:48:00.000-07:00Michael - Airbus is a spectacular example of the challenges of blending cultures in a very high profile joint venture. I was in Paris during the 2005 fireworks - having a board of venture capital directors is nothing compared to having a board consisting of elected officials!ckeenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452233158192995749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-54485161514121343812007-10-14T19:09:00.000-07:002007-10-14T19:09:00.000-07:00Regarding integration between German and French companies, it's interesting to look at Airbus -- The German factory built components that didn't fit into the plane when assembled in France. One big "ooops", and the CEO was fired as a result. Here is the story:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=257" REL="nofollow">http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=257<BR/></A><BR/><BR/>Michael Krigsman<BR/><A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures" REL="nofollow">http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures<BR/></A>Michael Krigsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12008691215588148171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-47455986127161973972007-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:002007-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:00Andrew - I have no inside scoop here, so you should write off my seeming allknowingness to typical blogger hubris. Having said that, I have met Shai a couple of times, talked to people who worked in his group and even worked for German companies myself, so I am pretty confident that this was a case of the German hierarchical inertia triumphing over Shai's change program. Or as Shai himself said - "I am a catalyst at SAP, and the definition of a catalyst is that it gets burned up in the reaction."ckeenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452233158192995749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-73198604491736339112007-10-10T21:39:00.000-07:002007-10-10T21:39:00.000-07:00Well said, Chris. I am curious about this comment though: when you say "SAP politics drove away their internal technology wizard, Shai" are you expressing an opinion based on reading the tea-leaves, or do you know this? <BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AndrewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-56179206466907591082007-10-09T16:23:00.000-07:002007-10-09T16:23:00.000-07:00I may have more of an inside view, but more inside does not always equate to more insight. One of my more significant failures of analysis came in '87 when I turned down an offer to be the product manager for Windows at Microsoft because I thought it sucked and went to work for McKinsey in New York instead.ckeenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452233158192995749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294880355377903512.post-85898534215725179282007-10-09T16:00:00.000-07:002007-10-09T16:00:00.000-07:00Chuck , <BR/>thanks for your comment and this link to your blog . <A HREF="http://www.gandalf-lab.com/blog/2007/10/why-did-sap-buy-business-objects.html#c1515724426138231299" REL="nofollow"> From here</A>.<BR/><BR/>You clearly have a more insides view of the situation. <BR/><BR/>My comments were really coming from the view I have about Business Value of Business Intelligence , This space has to move to the next level of value add and stop focussing on the plumbing aspectsNiraj Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480714242783122078noreply@blogger.com