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Former Member
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Disruptors, influencers, innovators, ideations!

These are not words typically heard on a regular basis and some might not even hold a spot in your thesaurus, however they all have three commonalities; you, me and the future.

What is an innovator when it comes to our generation? Where are the influences coming from? Who is going to help us disrupt the status quo? The answer is not necessarily simple, however simplicity is a part of it.

Allow me to back-track here. In fact, let’s take a two and a half hour flight back plus over month even before that to clear the air and introduce myself. My name is Will Archer and I am a journalism graduate, soon to hold a degree in my Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

My academic life has brought me into a new world of how to communicate but not what or where I could develop those skills. This is where AboutFace, a non-profit organization which advocates on behalf of individuals with facial differences comes in. My path intersected with them while I was a timid fifteen year old however, that is a long story. The important point to note is their impact has been profound. My admiration for AboutFace goes beyond support, it’s an endearing bond.

So you can believe me when I say, being invited to attend a conference on their behalf was not a slow, mulled over decision. I think I left the runway before the plane did!

There is nothing nearly as valuable to me in communications as the ability to compassionately reach an audience or a reader. However it’s not about the audience you’re reaching, or the readers because those are categories and what I care about are people. It would be foolish not to remember that in the grand scheme of things, categories exist. Of course it makes it efficient and easy when organizing people, places, events etc. This is unavoidable as nothing is perfect but what if there was a way, rather an effort to reach out to the individual to customize an experience, to develop a relationship.

As a customer, a student, a disruptor if you will these are the values I look for not in the job or service being provided but in the commiseration and collaboration that comes with it. This is what my experience with SAP’s Sapphire Now conference has been and I was absolutely thrilled to be welcomed into the fold for the three day event. If I was to explain to a friend the basis of SAP I would say this; Basically it's one company that utilizes many other companies to consolidate business activities into a central location. What comes next in that explanation is not further elaboration of what they do business wise, instead I would reflect upon the nature of their presence and impact on individual lives.

Their motto is "Simplicity" which after talking to the various partners and subsidiary branches of theirs I realize it is about simplicity but not without the complexity of collaboration with others. That’s also another core value; they want a community not a competitor.

Anyone reading this might be asking themselves at this point “Where is this kid going with this” the answer has a lot to do with my earlier statement about the commonalities of innovators, disruptors and ideation. Another, point raised by SAP has been the issue of complexity. They have their own perspectives on that, however I believe the next generation of workers (my generation) lives and breathes complexity. To rework a phrase on of the keynote speakers said, Complexity is our cry! Let’s change that.

Welcome to my blog on my experience at Sapphire Now, an experience that began with innovators, not unlike me or my colleague as we explored the possibilities of “Simplicity” over three lively days.  My time at Sapphire Now has instilled a drive and determination to make simplicity my way of doing, well anything.

In brief three innovators some even younger than I, demonstrated that there is no goal that is intangible so long as you know to strive to know more than you already do. A Vice president with a storyteller presence can show mindfulness of the person behind the job and the role. As well as a plane ride can connect you to more than just a another flight or airports. The sky’s no longer a limit.

All this and more will be elaborated on in the following posts, I am happy to be a part of the SAP blogging community.