IT Hire Wire

Back in 1998, I was lured from management consulting firm A.T. Kearney to join Lante (pronounced Lon-tay) Corporation, a fledgling, obscure web application development company, as it sought to seize a leadership position amidst dot.com mania.

Why did I go?

Certainly, I had passion for new trends in IT and their strategic impact on business models. That’s why I went to Kearney a few years before; they had just merged with EDS. But there was something else about Lante that attracted me. Call it the “it” factor: the professional connections and relationships of its founder and CEO Mark Tebbe.

Amongst other confidants on his advisory board, Tebbe counted such industry icons as Mort Meyerson - vice chairman of EDS during the Ross Perot era - and Michael Dell. In fact, Tebbe had Dell send me a personal email message during the recruiting process to help convince me to make the jump.

Less than four years later, following a sensational IPO rise and equally dramatic fall during the dot.com crash, what was left of Lante was quietly, and cheaply, sold.

I have learned loads from that particular IT job. Certainly, it challenged me like never before to make quick, effective marketing decisions amidst dramatically changing market dynamics. Hasty positioning and promotional choices were ultimate mistakes. But the greatest lesson was recognizing that the “it” factor is mighty fickle in the technology field, and one’s reputation - or fame even - is no sure formula for future business success.

Where’s Tebbe today? He’s chairman of www.answers.com, trading earlier this week at $4 a share. I admire his relationships, but mostly his passion for technology AND appetite for risk.

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