Rules of engagement

Let's hear it.

We covered a lot of ground regarding the rules of engagement today.

Next time you are analyzing a network, perhaps in a lab environment, and your scan reveals a highly vulnerable, unpatched port sitting wide open, pause and ask yourself two things before you touch your keyboard again.

Okay, two things.

Dr. John Peckham, author of the book Why We Pray: Understanding Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict.

He describes what he calls rules of engagement.

Rules of engagement.

Notice what he writes, "The devil could never oppose the all-powerful God in terms of sheer power." It's no match.

"The devil, then, must have been granted some significant power and jurisdiction over this world within some specified limits or rules of engagement, which, given that God has agreed to them, morally limit God's actions." You see, Paul, for example, reports in 1 Thessalonians 2:18- That he wanted to visit the Thessalonians.

He wanted to visit them again and again.

He expressively says, "I wanted to see you again and again and again." Why did Paul want to see them? For good.

But, but the verse adds, "But Satan blocked our way." Other translations say, "Satan hindered us." And therefore, Paul did not go.

Reading is looking, writing is leaving something behind.

And there is not a rules of engagement document on this planet that lets a tester write to a system you sent them to, to go look at it again.

So this is an important part.

This is-- and it's not what it saw, it's what it left.

Those need to be understood in documentation, and everybody needs to understand and play in those rules.

And if the answer is when you're dealing with the scope aspects, "Well, we've got a vendor, and they said they'd send us a report," that's procurement.

That's not rules of engagement.

That's the problem right there.

You know, our firm, we have to have this." Whereas we, if, if the seller had known that, we never would've gone into the deal.

So is, is an LOI more of a, a roadmap, or is it more like rules of engagement for the rest of the transaction?

It's both, really.

Um, but I, I really th- You know, in all candor, if we do it right, and I tell clients this, if we do it right, it's, it's papering the deal, and there's really no changes to get it papered.

What do you mean Steven's selling?" You know, that would be bad, right? [laughs] So, um, but it, it...

So it is a little both.

It's rules of engagement, and it's the roadmap.

But truth be told, if you, if you spend the time on that LOI, and there's a lot of buyers that push back on us that like it-

Well, today we explore how the right partner-to-partner model can help Microsoft partners pursue larger opportunities, enter new solution areas, and scale with greater confidence.

You'll also learn why clear rules of engagement, realistic expectations, and a commitment to deliver more than you promise may be the real foundations of sustainable partner growth.

Welcome to IMCP Profiles in Partnership, the podcast that showcases how Microsoft partners and IMCP members boost their businesses by collaborating with other members and partners.

I'm your co-host, Anthony Carano, and in each episode, I'll talk with some of the most innovative and successful leaders in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Okay.

And another quick follow-up.

So have you developed those rules of engagement so your team understands that, what the rules of the engagement are, and also what the partner understands what the rules of engagement are? Because that's something I ran into in the past.

So our team and our partners, they both understand that.

Absolutely.

I mean, I-- whi- while, again, I don't associate with, with, uh, that outfit anymore, I can, I can say that there, there's very, very serious thought put into rules of engagement with, with, um, with a, with a, a specimen.

And I think that...

I mean, where I stand personally, I, I can't, I can't say.