There's so much coverage of Danny's split from Incisive that it's almost hard to read anything else today. However, this piece from Joe Morin was, in my opinion, brave, insightful and deserving of some additional visibility (since Joe posts about 6X a year):
Unfortunately for Incisive Media, they ultimately shot themselves in the foot, because the most logical thing that Danny could do if he were to compete head to head with Incisive - is to compete head to head with Incisive by coordinating a competing conference on the exact same dates that SES shows are scheduled and force the speakers, attendees and sponsors and exhibitors choose which venue to align themselves with. Its gutsy, but who do you think all of the aforementioned would go with? I know where I would go and judging by all of the outcries in the blogosphere by the search community, I'm guessing thats where they would too.
This would make sense for several reasons, (1) Most larger companies have already factored the SES timeslots and locations into their budgets. So no difference to attendees and we already know these cities work. (2) Competitor elimination - a new conference run by Danny at the same times could literally kill the existing SES show, especially if attendance declines dramatically and SES is on the hook for a large scale venue, (these hotel/convention center contracts are negotiated 18 months in advance).
I'm not going to provide any additional commentary except to say that Joe is clearly a guy with a lot of business acumen and someone who knows the finances, strategies and dealings of the conference world.
Your thoughts?
Once again, I think it's worth repeating what I hinted at yesterday since the discussion has moved on to business:
There are two sides to every story and it might be worth putting yourself behind the CEO's desk of Incisive for a moment and ask; whose company is this? What exactly is our role in this venture? Are we just bank-rolling the Danny Sullivan Show here?
How would you deal with a situ where one single employee's name was the one constantly being asked for on the phone by the likes of the BBC or a bunch of "power-brokers"? By extrapolation, it's fairly safe to assume that your staff are handling these calls and acting upon them on behalf of this single employee?
That changes both the deployment of resources and, eventually, the culture, no doubt. People are asking for this one employee all the time - not your company. As CEO you may well feel like there's a trojan in the house!
So I asked what you would do. I think I know your answer - You'd offer them a stake. And that answer leads us back to the position both parties have found themselves in now.
We know that negotiations went on for a year so clearly, both sides have thought about this at length.
No doubt both sides are bound by NDA's which prevents disclosing the details that really matter in this debacle... and as we all know, the devil is in that detail.
There are 2 sides to a story folks and offering a stake is not a one-sided negotiation. We may all be as well to remember that before questioning the decision of Incisive.
WRT holding conferences on competing dates: Why that surely would not only be unfair to Incisive (though understandable perhaps in Danny's shoes), but also to all that sponsor, exhibit and attend too... ie, you lot no doubt ;p
I cant believe that the sale to incisive wouldn't have included a non compete clause. Unless the board at incisive were out to lunch when they put the deal together, they surely recognised the pivotal role played by Danny, and would have put in some sort of post earn out clause to prevent him simply doing it all again head to head from the power position of his current status.
No disrespect to danny. The guy rocks, and he's been the beacon for the search industry for years...
but in all the deals I've seen, even where the acquirer didn't rate the management team there was a non compete clause.
It reminds me of the story of how VW bought Rolls Royce Motors and all its assets... except for the brand name itself, which Rolls Royce PLC (the aircraft company) sold to BMW.
Hey Rand,
Thanks for the stand alone post, just wanted to add my two cents ;)
Danny may be gone but definately not forgotten, I'm just waiting to see his next trick....
I would love to see this happen. Competition brings out the best (sharpens the skills.) In the long run I think it would help the industry.
Great post! Very pertainent points too, can't say I actually even thought of that. Imagine that actually happening.
I have read some interesting comments about the 'seo blogoshpere', everything from 'so what I never really knew the guy or really read his stuff' to 'Danny *is* SEW'. I liked Matt Cutt's post too.
Personally I have read SEW from almost the beginning and Danny's contribution to 'search' is so profound it's amazing. There was hardly anything around when Danny started cranking out search content.
I think the main thing here is we all win. SEW will keep keeping on and hopefully Danny does something he is really passionate about and I am sure we will all benefit somehow. Best of luck to him.
Well, I believe it was SES-Chicago last year when Danny was asked about the name of the conference, and said that if he'd really thought about it he would have named it differently. Maybe this is his chance to come up with that new name ;)
The conference industry is a BIG and lucrative business. I don't see Danny passing on the opportunity to have a huge equity stake in a new conference series. Imagine the hoopla and blogging when he announces one! Every speaker is loyal to Danny and would join forces to replicate and improve what was SES. Heck, I'd even sign a non-compete if he asked me. It would get the industry buzzing in a way it hasn't since, well since yesterday. I'm sure organizers are pounding on his door and salivating at the opportunity. Danny should be too. I think Danny will look back a few years from now and see this as being the best thing that ever happened to him, just as Incisive will look back and realize they blew a $43 million investment because they didn't understand what they were buying.
I cant imagine Danny being the type of guy who would do such a gutsy slap-in-your-face maneuver. Hats off to him, if he goes for it, but I think we (including Incisive Media) know Danny is most likely not the type. But it would be an interesting event.
I am very curious on what Danny's next move is. I do hope he'll move on to something where he can maintain his influence - be it on forums, associations or via conferences. I'd hate for Danny to lose not only his voice in SEW/SES, but on the whole industry in general.