Comments on: Arrogant + Ignorant = Buh-bye

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:33:19 +0000

pam, thanks for your comments. i always tell my kids that it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. in this case, this dingdong blew both approaches. i love you guys at burst. go longtail!

kel

By: Pam

Pam — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:19:12 +0000

Hey Kel,

Nice blog you have going here…I finally had a new moments to check it out. It’s appalling that this person (not going to refer to him as a gentleman, as he obviously wasn’t one) couldn’t even give you and your team the courtesy of at least listening to what you had to say and your ideas for effectively promoting his company. Even if he was dead-set against anyone giving his company advice, why not at least be polite and treat you like any other guest in their office? The fact that you said he wouldn’t even make eye contact with anyone from your company is a major red flag. Good for you for sticking to your guns. I hope you’ve received a follow-up from the CEO and marketing guy.

BTW, I hope you know your fans at Burst would never treat you that way.

By: Kel

Kel — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:05:32 +0000

sonciary, i have no idea what he was thinking! really. i think he really believed the vile he was spewing. kinda sad for the people who have to work with him every day. there is no way in heck this was an isolated incident.

By: Sonciary Honnoll

Sonciary Honnoll — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:58:30 +0000

You are the best – seriously. What was this guy thinking? I feel really sorry for him – arrogance is a nasty poison. ‘Internet 2′ – HILARIOUS!

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:51:32 +0000

dave, it’s so funny you should say that. whenever i see completely inappropriate behavior i can’t helped but wonder if something happened to them as a child. that is usually followed by a little empathy. this dude used up his empathy equity the second the disrespect was directed towards my team. not sure, but i’m guessing there were no wire coat hangers allowed in his closet!

kel

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:28:13 +0000

Amazing. You’ve got to wonder what is going on inside some people’s heads to be sitting on so much anger and frustration. Maybe your principled stand will at least prompt the CEO to ask this guy WTF? There is always more to the story, but he should be paying a therapist to listen to it rather than you. I guess he did succeed in sabotaging the engagement as that must have been his goal. I feel bad for the CEO and marketing guy; this guy is poison to the organization.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:53:23 +0000

ben, that was funny! you should do stand-up. at one point the guy mumbled something about being one of the inventors behind “internet 2″ or something. i should have told him i’ll be sure to let al gore (inventor of the internet) know he took his idea to a whole new level.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:36:51 +0000

Embarrassed, he’s probably feverously calling Comcast to upgrade his internet service to Web 2.0. Great post and story! You should write the book on how to fire customers.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:35:08 +0000

hope, thanks for your comments. as the “anti-agency agency” we will never let revenue negatively impact our employees’ happiness. in return for that respect i have this amazingly talented, dedicated group of people who would do anything for each other and the company as a whole. i’m so lucky…

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:26:43 +0000

karen, i always got your backside covered, sista’! the greatest asset at kel & partners is the employees and i would never put that asset at risk.

By: Hope

Hope — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:48:31 +0000

Kel -

Rock on! As the CEO of client services based company, you walk a fine line. I have worked at many agencies where executives often would turn a blind eye to the abuse bestoyed on their staff by egotistical, moronic clients because they “paid the bills” or were “marquee clients for the agency.” Usually these clients had a short shelf life in their high level positions, because the truth about their lack of knowledge or negative attitude finally reared it’s ugly head one too many times- and boom – they got outed. I am a 100% firm believer in what goes around comes around. Guys like the one you met with yesterday clearly have issues with their own insecurities and hide behind their ill-attempted bravado and smarter-than-everyone personalities – you know, the Napoleon syndrome. I applaud you for not allowing anyone to degrade you or your staff. More CEO’s should have such guts. Your staff is very fortunate to have you at the helm.

By: karen

karen — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:06:47 +0000

As I sat in the meeting, I started to think about creative ways that we could work with this guy going forward. Because one of the greatest things about the K&P team is that we can and will find ways to work with all personalities.

But when Kel decided the meeting was over, and I’m telling you that quote is 100% accurate, the initial shock wore off and the relief settled in. It was then I once again got to see how truly great it is to work for a place that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.

To pass on business to ensure a quality work experience of your employees is serious biz-nizz.

Go Kel

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:29:23 +0000

frank, you are a dream client and i love you too! more importantly, my team loves you!

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:28:16 +0000

shane, your comments always make me laugh out loud!

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:27:16 +0000

michael, it was so clear this guy was insecure. their marketing to date has been a complete embarassment to the point where the website was so bad they had to take it down because people thought they were going out of business! this guy had his fingers in all of the previous marketing. whenever he went off on all the companies he worked for and started waving collateral in the air, i realized he is the kinda guy that has to tell you how good he is because you would never draw that conclusion after an encounter with him.

kel

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:22:11 +0000

larry, the ceo & marketing guy were in the room too! that’s why i let it go on so long — because i really liked and respected those two. the coo just took it too far and i wasn’t going to tolerate it any more. the “good guys” looked shocked by his behavior and i’m not sure they knew what to do. it was like watching a train wreck.

By: Frank Chiera

Frank Chiera — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:39:51 +0000

Kel,

This is why we love you. Passionate, unwavering, and simply the best.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. He is probably curled up in the corner of his living room inconsolable.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:07:02 +0000

There’s a reason why jackasses like this exist in today’s real world of Web 2.0: comic fodder. I’m sure this nincompoop tells people the kind of car he drives, wears loafers without socks and probably wears his sunglasses inside. The moment he said “Internet 2″ disqualifies anything else he says. Sort of like the buffoons who say Ha-vai-i instead of Hawaii or fa-gee-tas in stead of fa-hee-tas. Bravo to you for showing this fraud/hack the door. Hopefully his boss will do the same, if he knows whats good for his company.

By: Michael R Neece

Michael R Neece — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:01:03 +0000

Hi Kel,
Arrogance is a fatal disease. It is not contagious, but the real problem is that the person who has this terminal condition is the only person who is unaware of the illness. The only cure for the condition is a life changing, humbling event.

I’ve experienced many arrogant fools in business and they all have one thing in common, they are extremely insecure.

When you ended the meeting, you demonstrated enormous respect for your team and yourself. Bravo!

You are very likely to hear from the CEO begging you to reconsider working with them… right after he/she tells you they fired the arrogant one.

Cheers.

By: Larry Lawfer

Larry Lawfer — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:53:49 +0000

I hope you share your knowledge with the CEO and Marketing guy you liked. While they may not be appreciative at first, being right goes a long way in being helpful. Good for you for walking out. I wonder how he explained that one?

You go girl! Great post.