I have big expectations! So should you.
October is right around the corner. Yes, the leaves will be turning, children will be back in school, a new season to enjoy. And you've got it!!! SAP Teched is coming. I'm looking forward to it. I'm started at a new company. I have a new outlook. I'm at a new company!!!! Very cool. I'm excited and... well ... I am looking to get different things from my Teched experience, and some of the same "old" expectations.
My Expectations:
- I will hear how other company's use SAP.
- I will walk away from it with some code examples.
- I will get a better understanding of HANA, and what it can do.
- I will know more about SLA.
- I will learn about some new cool tools.
- I will have excellent hands-on training.
- I will be able to explain the value that Teched has given my company.
- I will learn about the cloud, and how it could benefit my company.
- I will make some new contacts.
- I will reconnect with some old contacts.
- I will have a great time speaking at Teched.
Wow! I do have high expectations. Why? Because every Teched I have went to in the past has exceeded my expectations. Teched is a bit of an addiction to me. I try every year to get my company to agree for me to go. I learn so much. I bring so much back with me. I share what I've learned, and in the sharing - learn even more.
I hope everyone goes into Teched with high expectations. The highest expectations are the best! Because then you will work to meet them. Is it work? I mean it's just a conference. Sorry - yes. Yes, it is work. If you are not in those sessions turned on, and ready to learn, then you won't get anything out of them. If you are turned on I bet you will learn at least one new thing. (Bet - it is Vegas)
So work - what do I do to make sure Teched meets (And exceeds my expectations)?
Here's my list:
Prior to Teched:
- Look at the sessions.
- Does the session have anything that relates or could relate to my job?
- What are the session requirements? Too easy? Too hard?
- A lot of the time the ASUG sessions I can use now. The SAP sessions I can use in the future. I keep that in mind when I'm planning.
- Honestly - I look for my favorite speakers. I try to get to their sessions. Sometimes their sessions are not relevant. But I get there, and am so engaged that I have something I can bring back to work.
- Look at the Expert Networking sessions. These are wonderful.
- Go into different tracks. Look at sessions there.
- Get a plan of attack.
- What are my high priorities to make?
- Lower?
- No sessions that are valid in a time slot. Look again. I bet there is something. But don't be afraid to take a break if needed. There is just a lot of information.
- Once the date / times are published set up my schedule.
- Get in for my hands-on early.
During Teched Sessions:
- LISTEN. I get to the sessions ready to listen and understand.
- Question anything I don't understand.
- Get ready for my head to start spinning with information overload
- Phone on vibrate. Should go without writing it down. IF I must answer a call - I wait until I'm outside the room.
- I bring a pad of paper. I like to write myself notes.
- OH NO! This one isn't one that I should be in. I escape out the door, and go to a different session. Or time to take a break to understand other sessions.
- In the evening try to get your thoughts together. Sometimes it helps to write / type summaries in the evening.
Between sessions - lunch:
- Meet people. This is perhaps the hardest thing to do. At least it is for me, I'm a natural introvert.
- I will have my SAP Mentor shirt on! I hope people stop me to talk or ask questions. I love it when that happens. If I have to be somewhere, I'll let them know.
- Trade business cards.
- Write on the back of the card something to remember the person I've met.
- No cards? I don't have any. I'm making some up on my computer.
- I may talk with team mates about the sessions. (Makes it harder to meet people) But easier to understand the sessions.
- Walk around the floor. Get a quick overview of some of the SAP partner solutions. Why recreate the wheel? I may need these at some point.
Wow - Teched is over - what a let down:
- I've got some time waiting for my plane, and riding on my plane. It's approx. 6 hours in total plus 3 hours prior to loading.
- I brain dump. Just write anything and everything that I didn't get a chance to write down while waiting. Of course, I may be too tired to do this, and I just crash.
- Get home. I ALWAYS share the information I've learned.
- I set up some formal meetings.
- I may have meetings in the hall. (Or on the phone at my new job.)
- Yeah, I know I might have been the "one" person sent, and I don't want to brag. It's not bragging to share information. Information can be shared at a high level. For details, they can get in touch with me. I can't give them a weeks + worth of information in an hour.
So what do I do now? Teched is over. I've shared information. Mmmmmm.... Maybe I better use something I've learned. And :wink: work seems easier after running around at Teched. Time to mellow out.
Hope to see you at Teched in Las Vegas! Feel free to e-mail me prior to Teched. I'm a old-timer. I've been to around seven or eight - perhaps more Techeds. And I hope you have BIG expectations. What are some of them you have?
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