In many large companies, my clients complain that changing their channel strategy would take an act of God. I was reminded of this recently as I read an op-ed article by New York Times columnist David Brooks, averring that, “the old generation has to die off before a new set of convictions can rise and replace entrenched ways of thinking.” Brooks was writing about the U.S. Army; but rather than using it as an example of calcification, he cited the Army as an example of rapid transformation.

Brooks elaborated on the Army’s adaptability, beginning with the dark days of 2004-5 in Iraq. What most struck me about Brooks’ article was not the Army’s rapid ability to change its strategy, but the people behind the change.

“The process was led by these dual-consciousness people - those who could be practitioners one month and then academic observers of themselves the next. They were neither blinkered by Army mind-set, like some of the back-slapping old guard, nor so removed from it that their ideas were never tested by reality, like pure academic theoreticians.”

This reminds me of the on-going battle in some business organizations, between the sales teams and the (channel) marketing people. Salespeople, like front-line soldiers, are under extreme pressure. In the case of the salespeople -- to hit their quotas, to help partners close deals. Most salespeople enjoy this pressure, the thrill of the deal. However, in their rush to close deals, salespeople may take short cuts with the channel program. Marketers, however, complain that violating the integrity of the channel plan is shortsighted. These practices substitute short-term gain for lower mindshare and worsened channel conflict in the mid-to-longer term. Finding a way out of this cultural dilemma can take years, if ever.

One solution is to find some “dual conscious” salespeople and put them into marketing for a while - or place a “dual conscious” marketing manager into sales. I’ve worked on countless channel strategy projects for clients, and the best experiences I’ve had are with “dual conscious” marketing and sales people. Please put them on the project team the next time I work on a channel strategy engagement for you.