Testimonials
Startup Strategy
"Alistair, you are worth your weight in gold! The business development strategy you helped me develop saved me a good $ 200 for every dollar I spent on you. Not a bad return on investment. I hate to say this, but hiring you was the single smartest thing I did in my 1 1/2 years at the helm of Success Behavior LLC."
Chris Leonhard, Founder and CEO, Success Behavior, LLC
Strategy and Marketing
"Alistair Davidson has impressed me with his exceptional strategic thinking.
He is a superb consultant with a deep understanding of how 21st century
global organizations need to work and change. He is a world class strategist, adept at marketing, new product strategy and marketing communications. His ability to provide timely & profound recommendations are astounding. He has a
remarkable ability to develop wide range of customer compelling marketing collaterals.
I would highly recommend him to any firm seeking strategic, marketing,
business development or marketing communications services to gain the
winning edge."
Vivian Shen, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Hewlett-Packard, www.hp.com
Teaching and Mentoring Testimonial
"I want to thank you for a most enjoyable course on strategy. You
inspired, challenged, and even pushed me to understand the complex
nature of strategy thinking and implementation. Not only do you know
what you're talking about, you are not afraid to get your intellectual
hands dirty and "teach." Possessing the ability to actually teach
students rather than merely expounding and expecting everyone to
understand, is a rare quality and you have it. You have been, by far,
the best professor that I have had on this MBA program. Thank you."
- Charles Egner, Norwich University,Vermont, serial entrepreneur and on-line MBA program graduate, 2003
(after he had received his grades and not before)
"I recently read your online “book” “Turn Around”. I want to thank you for writing this document. It has been a great source of information for my colleagues and me. I have read it a couple times entirely and keep a copy of it on my desk as a reference. Thank you very much."
Todd Petersen,
Founder,
Autigent, Inc.
Turn Around! "is very interesting reading."
Martin Bouchard
CEO
Copernic Software
NuxOne, Inc. (www.nuxone.com)
"Consulting advice from Alistair Davidson has effectively helped our business in all aspects. Especially in the areas of product development and marketing, his indepth experience in the IT industry provided us with real and practical guidance which enabled a startup company like ours to promptly enhance the product quality and thus penetrate the market.
Furthermore, I applaud his latest book, "Turn Around! A brief guide to starting, growing and turning around a software or Internet business" for his valuable words of wisdom. This book undoubtedly is a MUST reference guide for anyone wishing to start up a hightech business.
I am honestly glad to have been acquainted with Alistair, and I look forward to much, much, more of his continued precious advices in the future. Thank you very much, Alistair!"
Chris Whang,
VP Marketing
Nuxone, Inc.
"Alistair Davidson has acted as advisor to our firm during the difficult period of start-up. He has been instrumental in helping us change our business model towards a pragmatic self-funding approach.
I am particularly impressed by the depth of experience he brings as an advisor. Many consultants have broad but shallow knowledge. He has both broad and deep knowledge of all the tasks in a high tech firm. Whether it be fund raising strategy, business development, marketing strategy, business model development, sales and pricing strategy, technical knowledge or just plain practical experience in what works, I, as CEO, have found his input exceptionally valuable.
I also find it useful that he is a superb communicator who take the time to put down on paper his advice. I have found his written materials and presentation a very useful reference source. And his latest book, Turn Around! A brief guide to starting, growing and turning around a software or Internet business should be required reading for all senior managements.
I recommend Alistair to any firm needing a consultant, an advisor or member of the Board of Directors."
Daryl Rasmussen
CEO
Reality Capture, Inc.
"Alistair Davidson is one of a few excellent international business strategists and analysts for [the] Information Technology (IT) industry. ... He is an exceptionally talented person especially in the field of IT industry, ... very knowledgeable about IT business and technology. I was also very impressed by his superb and bright ideas and strategies on the marketing and sales. ... I am being reported many times that [IPARK] tenant companies were very satisfied with his advice and consulting. ...I am very confident that Mr. Davidson can play an important role in globalizing firms in Silicon Valley by utilizing his internaitonal business skills and experience obtained from working for many American, Canadian and Korean companies during previous years."
Dr. Daniel Lee, President of KIPA, Seoul, Korea
Convergent Engineering Institute
"For several years, the Convergent Engineering Institute has encouraged the development of user configurable software engines, which represent, simulate and execute a model of an enterprise. Such advanced software engines have proven very difficult to develop and bring to market. Mr. Davidson is one of a handful of individuals to accomplish this goal."
Ian Gilmour, Associate Director, Canadian Branch, Toronto, Canada
"Alistair is clearly world class in his understanding of how to start and grow technology companies. His second book, Riding the Tiger, also demonstrates a deep and expert knowledge of best practices in technology. It will be a classic in its field."
Bill Musgrave, CEO, TEN-Net/NASA Incubator
"Why Mindful Consulting Pays
For anyone either practicing Management Consulting OR planning to get into this field, RIDING THE TIGER is probably the best walkthrough of skills requirements you will currently find. Davidson, Gellman & Chung present both such a comprehensive overview AND a depth of understanding of what it takes to succeed in organizational information management [which is what management consulting is REALLY advising on], that its tempting to simply conclude on the spot with "Just buy the book, read it, and then do it!".
But I will make the supreme effort and outline a little more. Actually, that one line of advice is a good angle from which to approach the book. Davidson, Gellman & Chung are pragmatic about advice-giving, which leads to their model of how the process should occur: What they advocate is a continuous cycle of Plan --> Do --> Improve. The substance of that process consists of (1) Leadership; (2) Policies; and (3) Projects. Three variables along two axes creates a matrix, and the book's advice to us is presented via this matrix. So, the book is not only thorough, it is also extremely well organized.
As if those two features weren't enough, there is a Diagnostic Questionnaire, and a case study in appendices at the end which allow you to assess your own organization, AND compare it to a "best industry practices" for ready reference. There is also a Glossary of technical terms for the uninitiated, and a thematic Bibliography for those who want to follow issues further. This really IS the bible of Management Consulting, and you can't do better than review your own practice is light of its perspective. "
William Sheridan
Dansk Teknologisk Institut (www.teknologisk.dk) - Europe's largest technology transfer organization
"His book, Turn Around!, once again illustrates his thorough understanding of ability to work with complex business strategies and IT solutions. Not only does he prove he masters these issues, but also that he can transform them into readable, understandable and applicable material.
Erik Lahn Sorensen, New Product Consulting and Innovation Specialist, DTI, Taastrup, Denmark
CEO, Internet Software Company (current client)
"My company engaged Mr. Davidson as a strategic consultant. We were so impressed with this work that we are planning an expanded relationship between our firm and his Eclicktick....The essential value that [Alistair Davidson] brings to the difficult arena of IT startups is his clarity of fundamental management principals, and more importantly, how indvidual enterprises can articulate and execute effective plans."
"However, it is Alistair's understanding of what it takes to make a startup or technology strategy work that makes him a star. He has consistently shown the ability to work with startup organizations and quickly hone in on the weaknesses in their business model and their proposed implementation strategy. Having been involved with so many companies, he has observed and fixed mistakes that others naturally fall into."
"I have read his book Turn Around and found it very useful. Very relevant to our particular situation. Unlike many ordinary consultants, he forced us to realize that we had to be much more clever in our launch."
Sushama Gokhale, CEO and Founder, CFO Services
"Alistair is a skilled strategic facilitator. I have seen him in action working with difficult management teams to help them address futures that they otherwise would not have been able to deal with. He is very knowledgeable about venture capital firms, having been a venture capitalist and having raised money in two countries."
"Alistair's career in software and high tech startups spans more than 20 years and he is undoubtedly one of the most experienced and knowledgeable executives I have worked with in the field. His breadth and depth of knowledge in the software industry in evident through his published works (books, Riding the Tiger, and Turn Around!). ...
Alistair's expertise in managing and leading companies is strongest in his ability for business strategy in growing or rescuing companies in any situation - whether it is with companies with unfinished products, unsound business models or poor management - Alistair is able to step in, analyze the problems, formulate a strategy, and facilitate the implementation to turn companies around."
