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<blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 5758515" data-attributes="member: 64209"><p>I agree that Paizo is the darling of the moment, and inevitably they'll be forced to take some actions that are less than ideal for some customers (perhaps even to please other customers).</p><p> </p><p>HOWEVER, one thing about corporate planning: Paizo is much better than WotC.</p><p> </p><p>I don't know if you mean hiring/firing, business plan, etc type of planning.</p><p> </p><p>I refer to what I as a customer can observe. I know that WotC fails miserably with Dungeon and Dragon planning ahead (why not have a cache of articles done for the month before the month starts?) Whereas Paizo has it's next adventure path laid out well before the current one is fully underway (it varies, I think, but often when adventure #1 of the current path hits, we are already aware of what the next path will be). Whereas WotC is uncomfortable with even having a detailed table of contents because they don't know when they'll have their product, and they cancelled/revised/massively moved even print product dates over the last couple of quarters.</p><p> </p><p>Paizo shows foresight and planning in their publishing schedule that WotC shows they do not have. Another E.G. Paizo's release about their MMO versus WotC's release about insider. If it's tentative SAY it's tentative. If it's already in hand THEN announce that it will be available for release.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Now I'll agree that corporate planning (what will our budget be over the next month/quarter/year and on into the future) is harder to plan for than what a publishing schedule will be. However, I constantly get the impression from WotC that <u><em>even they</em></u> are not sure what they'll be publishing next, or when, or if the'll have the article when they think they will/say they will. This (fantastically poor) planning does not inspire confidence regarding the other planning components of the company. See also the "what's to come from me" article the day before the "I'm laid off" article.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To address your "responsible customer" issue. I am one. I subscribe to Paizo's adventure paths, with the intent to "maybe use them in the future" simply because I want to support the company, and have them continue to put out great products. If those started becoming crappy, I might switch gears and buy more world sourcebooks, or rules splats, or whatever. But I want Paizo and Pathfinder to remain a strong competitor in the market. </p><p> </p><p>The thing is, too, that those products aren't crappy, again, in large part, due not just to the talent of their writers and designers (often the adventures are written by a variety of people). It is due to timing and planning, allowing for excellent review and editing, rather than shoving a mostly-finished, sorta-good product out the door because they've run out of time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, yes, Paizo is MUCH better than WotC about planning. Maybe that's due to their size. Maybe it's due to one or two really competent higher-ups. Maybe it's because they ran a (real paper) magazine and HAD to be good about planning, so that people there developed a set of skills that crossover nicely into other areas. I don't know.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Insofar as buying the crappy WotC products to support them (I'm not stating that all WotC products are crappy, btw)....that wouldn't work. The customer can control how much money he shotguns at the company, but cannot control where in the company the money goes. As MARK CMG has stated...and as we've observed in the US when they bailed out the banks, it's entirely possible that CEOs just get even larger bonuses and people STILL get laid off. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>So, yes, I agree it's about planning (and also failing to plan).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aberzanzorax, post: 5758515, member: 64209"] I agree that Paizo is the darling of the moment, and inevitably they'll be forced to take some actions that are less than ideal for some customers (perhaps even to please other customers). HOWEVER, one thing about corporate planning: Paizo is much better than WotC. I don't know if you mean hiring/firing, business plan, etc type of planning. I refer to what I as a customer can observe. I know that WotC fails miserably with Dungeon and Dragon planning ahead (why not have a cache of articles done for the month before the month starts?) Whereas Paizo has it's next adventure path laid out well before the current one is fully underway (it varies, I think, but often when adventure #1 of the current path hits, we are already aware of what the next path will be). Whereas WotC is uncomfortable with even having a detailed table of contents because they don't know when they'll have their product, and they cancelled/revised/massively moved even print product dates over the last couple of quarters. Paizo shows foresight and planning in their publishing schedule that WotC shows they do not have. Another E.G. Paizo's release about their MMO versus WotC's release about insider. If it's tentative SAY it's tentative. If it's already in hand THEN announce that it will be available for release. Now I'll agree that corporate planning (what will our budget be over the next month/quarter/year and on into the future) is harder to plan for than what a publishing schedule will be. However, I constantly get the impression from WotC that [U][I]even they[/I][/U] are not sure what they'll be publishing next, or when, or if the'll have the article when they think they will/say they will. This (fantastically poor) planning does not inspire confidence regarding the other planning components of the company. See also the "what's to come from me" article the day before the "I'm laid off" article. To address your "responsible customer" issue. I am one. I subscribe to Paizo's adventure paths, with the intent to "maybe use them in the future" simply because I want to support the company, and have them continue to put out great products. If those started becoming crappy, I might switch gears and buy more world sourcebooks, or rules splats, or whatever. But I want Paizo and Pathfinder to remain a strong competitor in the market. The thing is, too, that those products aren't crappy, again, in large part, due not just to the talent of their writers and designers (often the adventures are written by a variety of people). It is due to timing and planning, allowing for excellent review and editing, rather than shoving a mostly-finished, sorta-good product out the door because they've run out of time. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, yes, Paizo is MUCH better than WotC about planning. Maybe that's due to their size. Maybe it's due to one or two really competent higher-ups. Maybe it's because they ran a (real paper) magazine and HAD to be good about planning, so that people there developed a set of skills that crossover nicely into other areas. I don't know. Insofar as buying the crappy WotC products to support them (I'm not stating that all WotC products are crappy, btw)....that wouldn't work. The customer can control how much money he shotguns at the company, but cannot control where in the company the money goes. As MARK CMG has stated...and as we've observed in the US when they bailed out the banks, it's entirely possible that CEOs just get even larger bonuses and people STILL get laid off. So, yes, I agree it's about planning (and also failing to plan). [/QUOTE]
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