Yes Gertrude, PLM World has a Dress Code

Posted today at the Siemens SE Misc category on the BBS Forum.

“I just got an email through regarding the PLM Connection event next week in the UK. I was pretty shocked to see a dress code stipulated – see the image below!! The day a company starts to tell their CUSTOMERS how to dress shows a severe disconnect from reality. Do Siemens really think this sort of pomposity will endear them to potential clients (let alone existing ones)?

Now I know why Steve Jobs never made it to PLM World; his black crew neck just didn’t cut it with the organizers.   Roger”

As they say seeing is believing. https://bbs.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=5687

This is a priceless example of PLM World. When a PLM World guy showed up  at a meeting we had after SEU2012 to discuss user groups he was the only one in a suit and tie. Tony Affuso and Karsten and ALL the other UGS/SE/Siemens people I can remember seeing during the event were dressed casually with corporate polo shirts replete with SE logos. I talked with this individual after the meeting and asked him if he had noticed that none of the SE attendees wore formal clothing. He grinned and said yes he had noticed that but never had a clue why I asked. The big shots with Siemens knew their SE users which was evidently something not of importance to the PLM guy

The more I hear about PLM World the further any good opinion I may have of them in any area falls fast. I think they have turned out to be a bunch of self-interested fiefdom building individuals who have become way to fascinated with form over function and have forgotten the reason they purportedly exist is to promote the user community. That PLM guy was not there to build bridges with SE users he was there because they are not happy that SE is holding an event beyond their control and that they can’t profit from. I believe he would rather have seen 37 SE users under PLM Worlds control than to see 500 SE users at their own event out of PLM Worlds control

Devon Sowell was one of the principle SW bloggers out there until about a year ago. At that time he just dropped off the face of the SW blogosphere and no one quite knew why. Turns out that he went to a meeting with some of the SW corporate type individuals and he was sniffed at for his dress standards. Basically he was lacking the “proper” minimum level of approval clothing. So these clueless idiots take a prominent SW blogger who has done a lot towards supporting their community and selling their products and totally alienate him with their stupidity. He was already unhappy with the way the software was going and this was the final straw. Here is a link to his comment, the first response to Matt’s post. http://www.dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=7048

This post should be read by PLM World as it is a bit of reality for those who have lost touch with their “customers”

I do not understand why PLM World seems to have this death grip on UGS and the user community. They are supposedly a separate entity from UGS Siemens SE but it seems at times they are not and get away with bad behavior that would not be normally tolerated by an independent contractor.

Consider the following. I have had contact from NX RUGS who have chaired local groups who are totally fed up with PLM World and the solution from PLM World seems to be to marginalize these whiners instead of listening to unpaid volunteers real complaints. Then we have SE which was put into this groups cold clammy hands in 2006 and by 2009 attendance was down from around 500 or so SE users at their own 2005 event in Cincinnati to I believe 37 at PLM World 2009 Nashville. The very first year we have an individual event back for SE users attendance was 250 and the second was double that. Within three years it is my prediction that we will have more than PLM World will have. This is because the SE event is being held and directed by individuals that have a true interest in community and listen to what users want. You know who you are and my heartfelt thanks go out to this small group.

PLM World is part of the legacy, the bad side of the legacy, that has followed UGS into the world of Siemens. It did not have to be this way but I gotta tell you that the very first words out of the PLM World reps mouth at our meeting about lack of SE attendance was they would have to form a committee and study the problem. Really.  He actually said that and does that not exemplify how totally narcissistic and moribund that bunch of losers has become?  If you are from PLM World and you read this please excuse my use of the fictional slang word “gotta”.  I know I let you down with improper syntax and I promise to try to do better.

The best thing that I think could happen to promote the active growth of any Siemens software product user community would be for either the complete externally forced rejuvenation of the PLM World philosophy or just get rid of it and start over.