"It was an offer like no other offers. The groom asking for Powersoft's hand in marriage was Sybase and the billion dollar dowry offer was very seductive. So a wedding/merger was arranged on February 13, 1995. I hope they took pictures during the wedding ceremony and honeymoon because the "paper valuation" (the deal was done with Sybase stock—worth $904m) didn't last long. The bad news arrived in the form of fabricated (Sybase) sales results. Sybase stock took a tumble, along with the fortune of many Powersoft executives..."
"After going about as far as I could go folding planes, I decided I need to study this other field, this art called 'Origami.' So I worked on that for about ten years..."
The quote sounds like wishful thinking to me (reminiscent of drum-beating realtor-speak).
100% of this customer wants to hear from 0% of the companies with whom he does business.
Then there's this common unsubscribe strategy: "Okay, we've unsubscribed you from all messages pertaining to (some narrowly-defined topic)."
Web 2.0 killed popups and unders and overs for the most part, but these sprung back to life once Mom and Pop were told they could make money blogging and pimping other peoples' products (the new Amway or Avon).
Yes, I'd love to help you, if only you'd let me. Won't you let me?
But you won't, because you can't seem to control yourself--it's like a compulsion to self-sabotage. (Similar to what happens to creative works in the entertainment industries. Too many cooks...)
And it isn't the CEO, who is typically a practical business guy, enjoyable to speak and deal with. He's never the problem (and it's best to deal with him directly when possible, no matter your role). Instead it's the VPs and CTOs and others in lead or similar roles, who are inherently political creatures. Witness there the worst sort of decisions in everything from hiring to "culture" to technical and business strategies.
Personified, the typical company is a capricious and self-defeating entity.
What was the question again? Oh yes, here's me trying to write an app, up against all that...