I am reminded of an anecdote written by Hans Christian Anderson in 1837 entitled, "The Emperor's New Clothes." 

For those who are not familiar with this tale, Anderson describes an Emperor who is so obsessed with his own material gratification (i.e., clothing) that he completely neglects his responsibilities as a leader; such as his soldiers, citizens, etc.  Rather, the Emperor spends all of his time buying new clothes and parading around his city to show them off. 

Eventually, two swindlers drift into town and proclaim to the Emperor that they can weave the most amazing fabric ever created...a cloth that is not only exceptionally beautiful, but is also invisible to any man who is unfit for his office.  The swindlers pretend to work tirelessly day and night to weave this magnificent fabric, and finally present to the Emperor his new suit. 

The Emperor immediately is draped in his new imaginary clothing and proceeds to once again tour the city to show off his new garments.  As the Emperor roams the city not one citizen has the courage to recognize the Emperor's nudity until a child watching the procession comments, "But he has nothing on at all."  The Emperor finally realizes that he has been swindled and proceeds back to his palace with as much dignity as he can muster.

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Now, you might be wondering, "Eric, what does that have to do with anything?"  My answer to that: besides being a delightfully funny story, "The Emperor's New Clothes" offers valuable insight into the world of marketing.  Specifically, the story shows us the value of honest public/customer opinion and feedback.  One can not possibly expect to develop long-lasting customer relationships without having an open and honest dialogue with one's constituents.

I have had the chance to chat with many of you lately regarding eteamz: who you are, how you found us, what you like about our service, and what you dislike about our service.  I would like to personally thank all of you who have participated for the wonderful mix of positive reinforcement and constructive criticism that has been offered thus far.

The more feedback you give us here at eteamz, the less naked we feel; and being a particularly modest individual, I would appreciate as much feedback as you can give!  Feel free to email me at eric.damassa@active.com with your thoughts and feedback and we can work together to make eteamz the best it can be!

Cheers,

Eric