I was at SAP TechEd Las Vegas a few weeks ago, and I had a great time (just ask the mechanical bull) (yes, I said mechanical bull). Some highlights?
- Deep conversations with thorsten.franz regarding the entrepreneurial spirit.
- Catching up with my ASUG Volunteer and staff buddies (looking at you, karin.tillotson, gretchen.lindquist2, and susan.keohan).
- Rubbing elbows with SAP Mentors like martin.gillet and chris.solomon and SAP employees like jayne.landry and laure.cetin
And I've only mentioned approximately 1% of the people I actually interacted with - it was a pretty breakneck pace most of the week.
But I think one conversation I had really encapsulated the event for me, and the reason why I never tie of going to shows like SAP TechEd or the ASUG SAP BusinessObjects User Conference. Basically, I ran into someone who I hadn't seen in years, sharone.slakman. Why did this conversation in front of the burger place stand out?
- This was completely random. Ran into him in the Palazzo shops as he was headed to the show and I was headed to my room. One in a very large number chance that this never could have happened.
- This was a serious reconnection. I hadn't seen or talked to Sharone in years. Literally. We got to catch up on loads of personal stuff - he's moved and we've both changed jobs since the last time we saw each other.
- Got some work done, too. I had a very specific software question which he was able to answer.
- Sharone and I still look exactly like we did in 1978.
In short, this was the sort of personally and professionally rewarding 5 minute conversation that can only happen at these sorts of events, which is exactly what keeps us all coming back.
Hope to catch up with you all next year...