So Craig Cmehil sends out a message saying that he's got this dopey idea of having a SAP TechEd '08 Cluetrain that departs Frankfurt on 12th October to schlep up to Berlin.
So I came up with what some might thing a corny gimmick, which is not the intention at all. The idea was born out of some thoughts last year and the fact that it's just the right thing to do! The idea is about what I do on a daily basis, it's help get conversations started and more importantly empower others to have conversations!
Yes Craig, it's a sort-of-a-stunt but we forgive you and in any event, it's a stonkingly good idea. As it happens, I was planning to arrive in Berlin that day coming via London but as my travel arrangements are at best messy (they are when you live in the back of beyond as I do), I'd not finalized.
Having a captive environment - it's not like you can step out is it - is a great way to get things underway and encourage people to discuss issues that matter to them. As someone who comes from the business side of the house, I find it fun to watch the geeks in action. Yes, I'm one of those weird suit types that think geeks are seriously cool dudes. At least the ones I know and especially the Mentors.
Anyhoo - I've now fixed my travel, much to the bemusement of my agent who knows what I usually do (no I wasn't on any mind bending chemicals unless copious amounts of coffee count.)
So why am I doing it other than to spend time with folk like Craig and Jim Spath? Craig promises that customers and partners will be in the mix. I like that because it gives me an opportunity to bounce thoughts between the three sides of the implementation triangle.
Second, I have an agenda of my own which in part concerns the mentors and the wider SAP community. In recent meet ups both digitally and in meat space, Zia Yusef who manages the ecosystem has asked people like myself to stop bitching and provide ideas. That's fine and we're doing that but I'd also like to say to Zia something like: "On the train up...customers and partners said..." and get some reaction. Fresh thinking delivered in a timely fashion is generally a recipe for good conversations.
Third, I make no secret of the fact I'd like to get thoughts, reactions, feedback and questions about ESME. I'd really like to meet people who have no idea what ESME is about. It gives me a chance to test how the ESME team articulates its story and how that relates to solving business problems. This is really important because as much as I might believe in ESME's goodness, I'm keenly aware that today's business user want a clear bang for the buck.
Finally, I'm hoping I'll meet with folk who can talk about Adobe Genesis and how that fits into the SAP landscape. I've seen some of the videos and discussion that Matt Zeller has generated. His presentation about the future of the desktop and Enterprise 2.0 is particularly interesting. I'll also be at RIA Hacker night (if you're reading this and not signed up, you MUST come. There's an all star cast of RIA rock stars i attendance) so will get more there but again, I'd like to know from customers and partners how they see these new forms of desktop impacting the market.
Four hours is a good amount of time in which to get that done. So gimmicky it may sound, but a great use of my time. And as a business person, that matters a great deal to me. Rock on.
