SuccessFactors announced this morning that they have been granted a preliminary injunction in their continued lawsuit against Softscape.  Although the update represents an important victory for SuccessFactors, what really caught my attention is the reference to New Millenium Shoe, a Puerto Rican company that allegedly masqueraded as a potential SuccessFactors client in order to gain access to privileged information.  Even more bizarre is the statement by Softscape counsel that CEO Dave Watkins is also the CEO of New Millenium Shoe.

So here’s the latest track of competitive logic if you want to get a leg up on your fellow HR vendors:

1. Create phony woman’s shoe company with “big and beautiful” logo to cater to large sizes, thereby puzzling competition as to whether these are, in fact, from your own private collection;
2. Register for web demonstrations of competitor’s products, because what two person shell company doesn’t need to worry about succession planning and compensation management;
3. Cut and paste any bit of data you can muster into “Truth” presentation document while rubbing hands together and cackling at your own evil plan;
4. Distribute said presentation to all takers, especially competitor’s clients, since clearly a Gmail account rings of credibility and concerned whistle blowing;
5. Sit back and wait for competitor to file for bankruptcy, then swoop in like a band of flying monkeys to gain market share from disillusioned former clientele.

Simply brilliant…  

All joking aside, this lawsuit ensures that truth continues to be stranger than fiction.  I hope we see a quick resolution and can get back to helping HR executives with their talent management issues.

Let’s keep the conversation going. 

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under General Thoughts, Human Capital/Human Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.