Is there Really Magic in the MQ?

IIAR Webinar Report – On the 16th April, Beth Torrie (LinkedIn, Twitter) hosted a book chat with Richard Stiennon (LinkedIn, Twitter), author of Up and To The Right. While it wasn’t as fun as a class at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, attendees did get an insider view of the magic in the famous Gartner MQ process. As a former Gartner Analyst and Analyst Relations Executive, Richard shared an overview of his perspective on AR and a summary of his book. He considers the book a memoir and “a kiss and tell” about his experiences as with specifics about the famous Gartner Magic Quadrant and insights to better understand the many intricacies behind it.

Richard also shared a great AR anecdote/war story about an executive who actually did try to sue Gartner about an MQ Placement and the back story.

I hosted an enjoyable post-summary chat with Richard and the 30 IIAR members in attendance and following are a few highlights and tips.

• Access! If you are a client, use your access. Connect with the analysts and use their knowledge and expertise to guide your strategies.
• Do analysts like “Factual Changes”? Yes. Be sure to back up any recommendations with actual facts, including survey results, customer names and as much detail as possible.
• What about something more nebulous? This is entirely up to the discretion of the analyst.  A slight change to the wording may be more palpable than a major rewrite. The analysts words are their art form, so be sensitive to that.
• To ombudsman or not? Be selective. Richard advises doing your best to avoid going to the ombudsman, to work with the analyst. I second that.

A recording of the webinar and the presentation are available here (for IIAR Members), and I would encourage anyone who has ever inquired about the magic in a Magic Quadrant to read the book. Richard Stiennon has also created the Quadrant Coaching Seminar, a free on-line course, based on UP and to the RIGHT: Strategy and Tactics of Analyst Influence.

By Beth Torrie (@bethtorrie, LinkedIn).

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