Source: SAP
SAP Mentors 10 Year Anniversary
A highlight of 2017 was the SAP Mentors 10 year anniversary. We celebrated this in style at SAP TechEd Las Vegas.
I am so glad that SAP Mentor founder markfinnern returned.
Source: SAP TechEd Photographer
Of course, seeing jelena.perfiljeva2 and chris.kernaghan (pictured with katarina.fischer ) on the keynote stage with "the" Captain Kirk (aka bjoern.goerke ) is a certain highlight.
24 Hour Mentor Magic Marathon
Right after SAP TechEd Las Vegas, there was the shooting, and many felt compelled to help. Kudos to rafael.guimbala for organizing the 24 Hour Mentor Magic Marathon. I attended julia.dorbic2 session, dj.adams session, Steve Guo's and many more. I presented as well, although I lost half the audience coming after jose.nunes. All the sessions I attended were amazing - kudos to all who presented.
BI+Analytics in Nashville
I was very skeptical before this conference and the good news it was a fantastic event. Not only did I think so, but others approached me at SAP TechEd Las Vegas saying the same thing. What stood out to me was Jessica Buchanan's moving keynote and Jorgen Rasmussen's keynote (see more about Jorgen here).
“It’s a community, not a conference” - this is very true.
Social Media media review is here
I hope you'll consider joining us in Huntington Beach, California next month.
SAP TechEd Las Vegas
I wrote about my SAP TechEd experience here, but it didn't end there. Attendance was very high for the SAP Community sessions curated by moya.watson. I had a chance to talk with a few of the speakers and they were very happy with their sessions
We had amazing numbers too on the ASUG side, particularly for abapGit: Modernizing ABAP Development with graham.robinson - so high, he kindly agreed to repeat it as an ASUG webcast.
ASUG Maryland-Virginia Joint Chapter Meeting, Washington, D.C.
I was very reluctant to hold an ASUG meeting in Washington D.C. For one, parking is not free - it is expensive. The last time (as I understand it) the ASUG Virginia Chapter paid for attendee parking the cost over $3K. Being a trained accountant, frugality is my nature.
Fortunately ina.mutschelknaus persisted, along with a few ASUG Community Coordinators, and thanks to Richard Gillespie of the Maryland Chapter the meeting was a success, with 109 in attendance. I was glad to be so very wrong about this event. See the recap here. Special thanks to SAP's marlyn.zelkowitz for her ongoing, non-stop support of the ASUG Virginia Chapter; the SAP Public Sector content she provides is outstanding.
Join the ASUG Virginia Chapter in April - see the 2017 survey results.
SAP Community Calls "Mentor Monday"
Usually these calls are moderated by chris.kernaghan and they are all fantastic but the one I remember the most was moderated by greg.myers3 - SAP Veteran to Work Program. SAP's diane.fanelli is the SAP Executive Champion for the program and she is very passionate about it.
How to Become SAP Mentor Stories
This question comes up a great deal, so I am very grateful to Colleen, Moya, Raquel and Jocelyn for sharing their stories earlier this year:
m.lee says “Don’t compare yourself to the other Mentors. Mentors are chosen for diversity.”
moya.watson (happy birthday to Moya today by the way): The diversity theme continues - I re-read a 2007 blog from Moya that still applies today. She also says "You have to bring your own self – be the very best of that special thing that only you can be."
raquel.cunha is a great role model and dives into the qualities of becoming a mentor:
– see in yourself some of the magic foundations
– be passionate about what you do
– be really willing to help others
– be interested in helping SAP to deliver better products and better services giving your sincere feedback and positive criticism
– be available to Mentor others and lead by example
– share your knowledge and experience
– be inclusive. Be pro-active. Be amazing if possible!
jocelyn.dart says "In other words, be a mentor before you become a Mentor."
SAP Community
I tried periodically posting SAP Mentor Magic Moments but I confess, I didn't always keep up. It was great seeing so many Mentors win the SAP Community and SAP Community appreciation awards.
In the past year the SAP Community has made some great improvements, two of which I helped test, with great help/support from oddss caroleigh.deneen - try them out:
Mastering SAP South Africa
The true high point for me last year was meeting the lovely Ntombi, a cheetah in South Africa:
Ntombi was a hiking guide too. If you asked me a year ago whether I would go to South Africa, I would have said no! I am grateful to my teen niece who told me "YOLO" - you only live once - that pushed me to go.
But now, I am so glad I went. Everyone was amazing, the food was amazing, and the conference was fantastic. I am so glad I got to meet louis.degouveia3 in person and so many others. I miss the coffee and rusks already.
What will 2018 bring? Did I miss anything in 2017?
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