Above all, these COVID years have reinforced the value of in-person engagements. Not only do you have high-value, high-impact conversations, but it is fantastic to see other people and spend time with them.
I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to travel from Australia to the United States for a multi-part tour. There were three primary reasons for my journey:
- Catching up with InterWorks colleagues at the Summer Bash in Oklahoma
- Attending the ThoughtSpot Beyond 2022 conference in Las Vegas
- Advancing plans to reinvent recruiting at InterWorks with my colleague Kelsey Lee in Denver
Reconnecting with Colleagues in the U.S.
InterWorks is known for its staff meetups. Since our 1996 inception, it’s been an annual tradition that we meet up for a holiday party each December. My first and last InterWorks Holiday Party was in 2019. Whilst we have yet to return to our annual Holiday Party tradition, we’re trying to do our best to make up for lost time, hence our May Summer Bash. This was a jam-packed week full of events with very few meetings as the intention was truly just to give people time to reconnect. Here are some highlights:
- The welcome drinks. So great seeing all those familiar faces after so long (as well as some new faces, of course)
- The kickball tournament. I’ve never played kickball and despite being knocked out in round two, I had so much fun. Definitely a tradition I’d like to introduce to the APAC team now that we’re reaching a size that would fill at least a few teams.
- The planned conversations. Most of these took place walking through the campus of Oklahoma State University. So great catching up in person with people I appeal to regularly across time zones via Zoom.
- The unplanned conversations. This really is the core value of in-person events, in my opinion. Impactful conversations, creative juices flowing. A very fun and effective use of time.
Above: My group tour of the Iron Monk Brewery in Stillwater, OK
Attending ThoughtSpot Beyond 2022
I am a big believer in tech and the impact it can have on how we work and the success of our businesses. Having come from the world of small businesses, I am also hyperaware of the fact that technology investments can and should be impactful, no matter what business you’re in. I am particularly excited about what ThoughtSpot represents—the ability to search your data. Think Google for the inside of your business. It can answer questions like, “What was our sales revenue last week by region?” and more. This capability, combined with the power of AI and ML, absolutely confirms that ThoughtSpot represents next-generation analytics.
My focus for the conference was three-fold:
- Learning more about the tech
- Understanding why customers were attending the conference, i.e. where and why they think ThoughtSpot is or could be ‘sticky’ within their organisation
- Early development of our go-to-market strategy
Without giving too much away, let’s just say I am even more excited about the future of ThoughtSpot and how InterWorks will support that growth and development around the globe.
Above: The InterWorks group at ThoughtSpot Beyond 2022
Reinventing Recruiting for InterWorks
Every time I travel to the United States for work, friends and family are always curious to know where I’m going. When I respond with Oklahoma, I do often get some funny looks and comments:
“Where?!”
“How random!”
“Why on earth are you going there?”
The only other place I’ve travelled to in the United States is Las Vegas. If you know me, you won’t be surprised to hear me say that the place doesn’t do much for me. It’s fun being there for conferences and with colleagues, but I can’t imagine I’d spend much time there otherwise.
In saying that, the stars aligned, and I was able to meet Kelsey in Denver, Colorado, to tackle our recruiting reinvention. More will be revealed in time about our exciting plans for the recruiting function, so please watch this space. I’d be crazy not to acknowledge the opportunity to also attend a concert at Red Rocks during my time in Denver. Do yourself a favour; google it to see a photo, and if you ever get the opportunity to spend some time in Denver, do your best to see a concert there.
Here’s to a Future of Connection
All in all, the last few months have given me numerous fantastic opportunities to reconnect with colleagues, reflect on what has been and strategize and plan with excitement for what’s to come.
