I’m not a fan of the growing schism between Altimeter Group and the rest of the analysts. One of the most visible wedges driving this rift is the idea of “rock star analysts.”
“Rock star analyst” is an old notion with deep roots among financial analysts. Originally, rock star analysts were the ones who made the right call the most often, especially on complex decisions. They made their clients the most money. There was a strong body of proof and formal professional consensus behind the status.
Not so on the tech analyst side of the aisle. What does “rock star analyst” mean to analyst relations people and analysts today? It seems to mean an analyst scores high on RSS readership, Twitter following, social net savvy, citations in the media. In short, celebrity status. Customer satisfaction isn’t a meaningful factor, beyond the PR value of the analyst.
What does celebrity status have to do with accuracy, completeness, timeliness? With giving clients great advice?
Why would a decision maker want to hire a celebrity to help with tech decisions?
It’s time for a reality check. Of the many reasons one might hire an analyst, celebrity status is — at best — just one aspect of the package.
Update, for clarification: I’m criticizing the rising popularity of labeling an analyst a “rock star” due to celebrity status. I see Altimeter Group as an unwitting victim of this craze. Ray Wang and his associates have proven their chops as technology & business experts. Putting them on rockstar pedestals strictly because of their social media popularity is insane. And arguably, it’s a disservice to the entire analyst profession. - BF May 12, 2010.
Popularity: 12%
May 11th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
New post: Of rock stars and analysts http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
“Rock star analyst” or “#staranalyst” in recent months and years has [in many circles ... generalizing] come to mean as you say, a celebrity.
True analyst rock stars should be analysts with substantial pre-analyst industry IT experience, long track records of professional accomplishments, measured by a thriving practice made up of loyal clients who value the analyst as a truly integral and trusted advisor. Over a long period of time.
Celebrity for celebrity’s sake has no place in the analyst business. (Nor does it in the AR business). Those who seek it are fully misguided.
The true “rock star” status that analysts should aspire to, should be someone like Gideon Gartner, Howard Anderson or Dale Kutnick.
Cheers,
Gerry
May 11th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
@thinkovation thanks. there’s a cools kids / not cool kids dynamic. “Of rock stars and analysts” http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Interesting questions raised RT @bfr3nch: New post: Of rock stars and analysts http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Barbara I couldn’t agree more (and also with Gerry). Celebrity worship is running amok everywhere in our society. The true “rock star” analysts as you say are the ones who deliver the most valuable advice, consistently, for their clients year in and year out.
There’s something wrong with our business culture if we believe that we can simply “get our ticket punched” by someone famous and success will be ours. In the pre-Bubble days, Internet start-ups made pilgrimages to those financial analysts you mentioned and metaphorically kissed their rings in hopes of an IPO “blessing of the fleet” effect.
Similar fawning over some of the current rock star crop could prove just as useless.
May 11th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thanks Gerry. Yes, good points. As an AR person and a vendor client, I’ve worked with “rock stars” fitting your description at many firms. Most were unsung heroes except among their clients.
Analyst celebrities — Gideon, Patrick, Howard, and then Dale and George — were/are all great analysts in their own rights. They had a great eye for recruiting analyst and sales teams. They also instilled a strong research culture and intellectual ethic in their companies.
You echoed a point I’d like to reiterate: This “rock star” celebrity notion has been adopted in many circles. Not everyone buys in, yet enough do that it is spreading.
May 11th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Steve,
You’re right, some decision makers would want the association with a celebrity, just for the privilege of associating with a celebrity. An astute observation on human nature.
Interesting that you raise the pre-Bubble days. The internet start-ups had faulty business models and were solving problems that didn’t exist. And many financial and tech analysts lauded the investments. I see many parallels in today’s market, where we constantly talk about companies with millions of “users” and no viable revenue streams.
May 11th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
As we all know, there are many different reasons to hire analysts.
Some firms want to use analysts for PR purposes - to get their firm written about. In those cases, they may well want a celebrity, who may reach more eyeballs. It’s the classic celebrity spokesperson model.
And if you’re looking for good advice and responsiveness and influence, there’s also going to be a pretty good chance that the analysts that possess these attributes are also going to be well-known.
Altimeter is well-known because they are skilled at the use of social media. They also happen to have some really excellent, knowledgeable analysts who provide good advice.
Why do we have to label anyone a “rock star analyst”? And if we’re going to use that label, let’s find an agreable definition of what that means. I don’t necessarily agree that having a lot of RSS subscribers, Twitter followers and media mentions automatically should label them a “rock star analyst”.
I think there may be a derogatory element to the term - one where the analyst feels deserving of special treatment because of their “fame” and not necessarily because of the business value they provide. And unfortunately, the two may not always be mutually exclusive.
Interesting topic, thanks for posting it.
May 11th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Interesting post Barbara.
I’d suggest you differentiate between ‘rock star’ and ‘prima donna’ analysts. There’s nothing, in my opinion, wrong with an analyst becoming the former - the problem is when they become the latter. These things frequently - but certainly not always - happen in tandem.
But in my view, the best analysts tend to become ‘rock stars’ because they do great work for their clients. They are those who can take mountains of data and firehoses of information (yes, I’m mixing metaphors - on purpose) - and turn it into a simple, clear statement - ’so what’. To me, that’s not a problem - it’s how the industry evolves, and new firms (such as Altimeter) get started.
Also a true ‘rock star’ would never refer to him/herself as such. Perhaps that’s the distinction - and the reason the term tends to be a turnoff. Being a true ‘rock star’ requires external valuation - you don’t gain the title by retweeting yourself as so many do in these days of faux social ‘influence’.
May 11th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
great post - commented RT @bfr3nch: New post: Of rock stars and analysts http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Hi Barbara,
We want to be stewards of the community we serve, and part of that means being active online, and wherever the markets are we engage with. In many cases, this means we’ll be active online in the social web, where buyers, sellers, and influencers are, we truly believe in “open” and as a result, are very active using social tools, as you observed.
While we hope we are good analysts, we certainly do not believe or wish to perpetuate the “rock star analyst” myth. Our goal is to bring the highest quality talent from every coverage area and emerging areas so that we can solve our clients toughest problems.
Our recruiting practices seek collaborative and competent analysts with industry experience. What could lead to this misconception is our business model. Our intention is to differentiate from the competition because we incentivize individuals to build their personal brands and we do reward for experience and talent.
I would have to stress that there are great analysts at many of the firms and wonderful independents that we’d love to recruit to Altimeter Group. In fact, we are in many discussions to bring individuals who have great thought leadership, end user client presence, and a sense of collaboration and ownership of a firm. These shared values come from our team and from the clients we serve.
Look forward to continuing discussions about the future of this great industry we are so honored to be part of.
Warmest regards,
R “Ray” Wang
Partner
Altimeter Group
May 11th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
@bfr3nch Thanks for the open dialog about the changing analyst space. http://bit.ly/aRPMKC @rwang0 has continued dialog in comments
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Jocelyn and Chris,
Clearly, I vote for dropping “star” from the the profession’s vocabulary. Since there’s no way that’s going to happen… Agree that clarifying what we mean by these terms — and being candid about the derogatory aspects — would serve the interests of analysts and analyst relations alike.
On Twitter, have been discussing pro’s and con’s of related terms: star analyst, rock star analyst, celebrity analyst - and as Chris adds in his comment above, prima donna analysts.
May 11th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Well said RT @jowyang: @bfr3nch Thanks for the open dialog about the changing analyst space. http://bit.ly/aRPMKC @rwang0 has comments
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Ray,
Thanks for adding an inside-Altimeter perspective. Your focus on recruiting partners with shared values, intelligence, experience and style makes perfect sense. So does your emphasis on building personal brands. This is the gist of every successful analyst firm for the last 30 years.
This is a good time to point to out once again that Altimeter folks didn’t start this ruckus over who is and what constitutes a rock star analyst. What’s gone awry is that others — many others — like to put these labels on some of the Altimeter partners. With no reference to those values Ray describes here.
Ray, you’re not doing a thing to lead to these misconceptions. As far as I know, Altimeter analysts do not refer to themselves as “rock stars” or “star analysts”. If you refer to other analysts that way, I hope you’ll at least be very clear about you mean by “star analyst”.
May 11th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
@rwang0 @jowyang @Gartenberg Thx for comments. Altimeter didn’t claim rock star status. Others put the label on you. http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 11th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Great topic, Barbara. I could not agree with you more about the non-importance of “celebrity” for its own sake. At the same time, analysts without the brand of the big firms - which is equally meaningless, as anyone who has been billed big firm rates for an inexperienced newbie can attest - need to pursue some amount of visibility. In the “old days” that was press quotes. (Some firms still measure and compensate analysts in part on those.)
Today, tweeting and blogging offer a similar platform to create visibility that analysts can use as a proxy for “influence” in convincing clients of their value. I would argue that they may be a somewhat better measure. The “boring” ones, the ones who spend all their time promoting themselves and not offering any useful ideas, and the ones who are just plain wrong a lot, simply won’t sustain high levels of readership/follower numbers for long. At least, that’s what I expect will happen once the first surge of “socialsphere tech industry research” (as I’ve come to think of it) begins to fade. It will be as Darwinian as any other channel.
So here’s to the star analysts - as in any other field of endeavor, the real stars are not the self-proclaimed, but those the market identifies. And it’s an aspiration worth having, if we can find third parties to hand out the gold stars. You’re one of them, as is Jonny Bentwood. Be kind to us hopefuls (can I buy you lunch?)
May 11th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Barbara. Wouldn’t it be great if as a result of this dialogue that the hashtag #staranalyst is retired for good from Twitter in this context?
May 11th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Val,
Yes, that would be a great outcome. We could give it back to the Wall St analysts.
Merv,
I’m all for using available tools for promoting oneself and one’s company. Not dissing anyone for self-promo. That’s just good business. Always has been, always will be.
The point of this discussion is that the term “rock star analyst” is coming to signify celebrity status, rather than advisory excellence. It’s about labels that some people are slapping on analysts — slapping on analysts at Altimeter and at other firms — and the implications for analysts and analyst relations.
A conversation about natural selection would be interesting
May 12th, 2010 at 4:01 am
An analyst is - in a lot of ways - only as good as their sources - particularly on the buy side (CIOs at clients). Disconnecting them from the umbilical of their firm, its wide subscribing client base and its ability to connect them to many diverse buy side sources must degrade the quality of the experience and coverage. In many ways a Gartner or Forrester analyst has a “half life” measured in months when they leave and “unplug”. Their “super stardom” must degrade too, surely?
May 12th, 2010 at 5:04 am
Thanks for saying this Barbara. I thought I might be the only one.
May 12th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Great blog about the half life of Rock Star analysts http://bit.ly/aS45aI
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 12th, 2010 at 7:18 am
The half-life of rockstar analysts? http://bit.ly/aS45aI
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 12th, 2010 at 9:19 am
David,
Thank you.
Stephen,
In the spirit of your point, I’d suggest that salability is the one thing that automatically begins to degrade on departure from the big brands. There’s still a do-or-die window for achieving sustained growth in revenues.
May 12th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Add your .02 to gr8 discussion on what the label “rockstar analyst” shld/not mean for analysts and analyst relations http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 12th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Isn’t the Wall Street debacle a sign that the term “analyst” is often a false description? The term seems to imply that you, the non-analyst, will be receiving expert and impartial perspectives, actionable intelligence. In all fact, many analysts are so compromised with conflicts of interest that their work is really more of an outsourced PR function. This is especially true among rock stars, don’t you think? They represent, by definition, a larger interest that probably takes money from those they claim to analyze.
I say this as a self-described professional analyst - we need to reclaim some integrity for our collective brand.
May 12th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Eric,
Nice to meet you. Just checked out your site. Your point about reclaiming the integrity for the collective “analyst” brand - couldn’t agree more. All analysts suffer from payola paranoia because of the analysts who are guilty of it.
At the same time, social media makes it more tricky than ever to manage personal, company and “profession” brands. You, Ray Wang, nobody can control the way people talk about you. You just do your best to manage the conversations.
BTW, have you seen Gideon Gartner’s blog post on an advisory payment model: http://gideongartner.com/2010/.....”-model/ Great post, and great discussion in the comments. I think you’ll enjoy it.
May 12th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
If you haven’t yet read @bfr3nch ’s excellent post on #analyst “rock stars”, and the comments it spawned, go now: http://bit.ly/9WWTiV
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 12th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Ummm…Whoever perpetrated this “rock star” analyst myth needs to have their head examined.
For example, I wouldn’t really call the Altimeter analysts “rock stars” but non-traditional influencers who are starting to make a difference not just in consulting but in social media circles.
If you are an AR professional and tell your clients, you would like to go after the supposed “rock star” analysts you are setting your company up for failure.
Ultimately, your clients will expect you use those “rock star” analysts to produce positive reports instantaneously and be essentially advertisements for your company.
Good post, Barbara.
May 12th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Good and timely post. Given that social media is becoming a more important communication channel for IT buyers, it will eventually influence short-list decisions. This means IT vendors need to learn how to effectively “use” social media to interact with these buyers. This means vendors need to get expert advise from someone. The “rock stars” - a group of hard working, never sleeping, bright young people - get noticed because they are demonstrating through their own use of social media how impactful it can be. At this time, who would you rather get advise from on how to use social media to reach out to your customers and prospects - someone hiding in the office or someone who got your attention by walking-the-walk? The rock-stars might burn out or prove to be ineffective, but for now they are setting the bar.
May 12th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Added a point of clarification to my post about rock stars and analysts. Thanks again to all for thoughtful comments http://bit.ly/aRPMKC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
May 12th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Stephen,
Thanks for the added perspective. That’s valuable advice for AR practitioners.
Bob,
Agreed, choosing experienced advisors for social media / collaboration is essential. Yet even in this situation, it isn’t wise to select an advisor based primarily on the person’s social media footprint. Knee-jerk reactions to “rock star” status rarely have happy endings. I’ve had to deal with these situations. I’m sure you have too.
Even in social media, smart decision makers review client references, published thought leadership pieces, cultural fit, and other evidence of the advisor’s ability to help clients achieve objectives as promised.