{"id":50089,"date":"2025-03-19T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/americas-partner-blog\/?p=50089"},"modified":"2025-03-14T08:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T15:44:13","slug":"its-time-to-start-thinking-of-your-tech-practice-like-miranda-priestly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/americas-partner-blog\/2025\/03\/19\/its-time-to-start-thinking-of-your-tech-practice-like-miranda-priestly\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to start thinking of your tech practice like Miranda Priestly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Partner Audience:<\/em><\/strong> #AllPartners<\/em>
\nRelevant to:<\/em><\/strong> #AllRoles #BestPractice #GrowYourBiz #CrossSolution<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

No, no. That wasn\u2019t a question.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In one of my all-time favorite movies, 2006\u2019s The Devil Wears Prada<\/em>, the no-nonsense magazine editor Miranda Priestly (played by the legendary Meryl Streep) is ambushed by her publisher.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re trying to push her out of her job so they can hire someone younger and less expensive for the role. Then, Miranda has an ambush of her own.<\/p>\n

(Mild spoilers for the movie ahead. If you haven\u2019t seen it, go watch it. I\u2019ll be here when you get back!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

During her long tenure at the fictional magazine Runway<\/em>, Priestly\u2019s built a vast network of collaborators. Writers, designers, photographers, models\u2014these connections are compiled into what she calls \u2018The List.\u2019<\/p>\n

When the publisher of Runway<\/em> tries to get rid of Priestly, she brings out \u2018The List,\u2019 and reminds him that all these connections in the business are loyal to her, and will follow her anywhere. If they get rid of her, they\u2019re getting rid of all of that talent, too. And, without these talented people, if Runway<\/em> hires someone else, they will fail.<\/p>\n

Recently, I was thinking about this moment in the context of my own work with Microsoft partners. Over the last five years or so, my team has been focused on establishing Partner SuperPowers, those unique talents offered by each business that make them shine and set them apart.<\/p>\n

I like to frame it this way: Sure, you can offer the full Microsoft stack, but you can\u2019t be an expert at everything! So, your SuperPower is your specialty. Miranda Priestly\u2019s SuperPower is her ability to build loyalty with the best in the business and anticipate what\u2019s next in the fashion magazine business.<\/p>\n

But, how do you determine your<\/em> SuperPower?<\/p>\n

By looking at successful client service engagements, the ones where you were able to solve a customer\u2019s problem in a unique way through your deep industry knowledge, training, technology specializations, or time to implementation.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n