31 December 2017 - Review of 2017
Its the final day of the year so it only seems fit to take a look back across 2017. I'm also feeling a little nostalgic as I've just listened to Mike Gerholdt's last ever Admins podcast and in the final few minutes of the recording you can hear how much doing the podcast had meant to him. Fret not, Mike has lovingly handed it over to his sidekick Gillian Bruce so the show will go on.
Anyhoo, back to my 2017 memoirs. As a London Admins User Group Leader one of the highlights of the year started in January when we held our largest gathering. 127 members turned up for the first show and maybe it was a combination of new year resolutions or the draw of holding it at Salesforce Tower that encouraged the big crowd. Our happy average is 70 so it was a significant uplift for the night.
February saw one of my favourite Community Events return; London's Calling. Having spoken at the inaugural event the previous year and been crowned their top speaker (aside from the Keynotes) I had my own big footsteps to follow. Coming up with a talk that someone will want to listen to, and take something from it is no small task. I was happy when the formulation of the 4 C's came together with the last one being, The Theory of Cake. If you want to learn more about cake then here's the link to the recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3r1KRROE3g&t=197s
I'm pleased to say that London's Calling is back for February 2018 and I've been asked to speak again. My brain is already buzzing with snippets and my new content is already formulating. Come along and see!
In March I volunteered to help Salesforce with their Amsterdam World Tour. The UK and in particular, London, is a mature market so its really interesting to see how others are embracing this force. Everything was presented in English so managing a booth to help with any general Admin questions wasn't an issue and it was great to listen to a variety of questions and do my best to help direct to the answers they needed. As with any World Tour the range of experience was vast from seasoned customers looking to extend their capabilities to new prospects. Ending the day co-hosting the Admin quiz with John Stevenson was super fun and we gave away a monster Astro to a lucky winner at the end. I'm hoping she didn't need to take a flight home.
Skipping to May and the Salesforce World Tour came to London. I always get so excited about this week as there is a hive of activity for days. Mine started on the Tuesday as I was invited to speak at my partner's (Brightgen) Media dinner on the subject of implementing Salesforce CPQ which we were in the midst of.
The next night me and the team hosted the London Admins User Group, once again at Salesforce Tower and with special guests Mike Gerholdt and LeeAnne Rimel in attendance. Another great turnout which was lucky as we had 2 whopper cakes to celebrate World Tour to munch through. You'll be pleased to know we did manage it. It was also a night where we talked about what the User Group meant to us and why we contribute. For me, the User Group helped me through a tough time and got me back into working direction that I felt happy in. I regained my confidence and my self belief. It was therapy for me. I've met genuine friends and we are there for each other. Being asked 1.5 years ago to be the group's co-leader was just the icing on the cake on this emotional journey.
And then for the World Tour day itself. The buzz and excitement still gets me. This year I volunteered to welcome delegates into the Trailhead Zone to start them on their quest to gain a prized Astro and some learning to boot. I may have got a little over familiar with the wildlife in the meantime.
Fast forward to September and I decided to start writing this blog, Diary of a Saasy Girl and put my thoughts onto paper (digitally). I went back through the year and created entries from January, all the way through to present day. Its been a useful exercise for me to reflect on situations and I have tried to give you (my reader) a real impression on what I was thinking and feeling at the time. You've been on a journey with me, thank you.
In October we celebrated the LAUG 3rd birthday in true cake style with a unicorn version so large that everyone was feeling the sugar rush for hours. We were certainly powered by cake that night. Its special to celebrate the birthday's; it shows just how far the User Group has come in a short time. I love seeing the regular faces at every meetup and wanting to contribute. Its amazing to think that our group has over 900 members in the Success Community with a good sized attendance every month. I'm even setting up a Mentor/Mentee scheme for group members to share their knowledge with others.
And then came Dreamforce. If you think I get excited about the London World Tour then this week in San Fransisco is like a trip to Disneyland for me. I love the magic, the shear scale of the event and how everything is just so slickly put together. It was my second trip so this year I wanted to give back and volunteered in the Trailhead Zone for 2 shifts; one in the Community Cove and one in the Mini Hacks Basin. It was a great opportunity to speak with so many other visitors and share stories and experience.
Back in Blighty and one last volunteering turn before the year was up, helping out Will Coleman in Salesforce.Org for a Not for Profit day promoting the benefits of Trailhead, User Groups and Community Events. I may have also had a moment for a bit of fun at the photo booth with Sergey Erlikh.
Meanwhile, in my work life its hardly been a quiet year. I moved 100 Users into the world of Salesforce CPQ with DocuSign integration and onboarded 150 new Users from 2 separate businesses into the same Org. Did I mention keeping continuous delivery of BAU going too?
So that was my year in the world of Salesforce. Busy and rewarding. Good times had and better ones to come. We approach a New Year, new beginnings. No resolutions from me, just this.
Don't be afraid of change. Go big or go home.
Cheers
Anyhoo, back to my 2017 memoirs. As a London Admins User Group Leader one of the highlights of the year started in January when we held our largest gathering. 127 members turned up for the first show and maybe it was a combination of new year resolutions or the draw of holding it at Salesforce Tower that encouraged the big crowd. Our happy average is 70 so it was a significant uplift for the night.
February saw one of my favourite Community Events return; London's Calling. Having spoken at the inaugural event the previous year and been crowned their top speaker (aside from the Keynotes) I had my own big footsteps to follow. Coming up with a talk that someone will want to listen to, and take something from it is no small task. I was happy when the formulation of the 4 C's came together with the last one being, The Theory of Cake. If you want to learn more about cake then here's the link to the recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3r1KRROE3g&t=197s
I'm pleased to say that London's Calling is back for February 2018 and I've been asked to speak again. My brain is already buzzing with snippets and my new content is already formulating. Come along and see!
In March I volunteered to help Salesforce with their Amsterdam World Tour. The UK and in particular, London, is a mature market so its really interesting to see how others are embracing this force. Everything was presented in English so managing a booth to help with any general Admin questions wasn't an issue and it was great to listen to a variety of questions and do my best to help direct to the answers they needed. As with any World Tour the range of experience was vast from seasoned customers looking to extend their capabilities to new prospects. Ending the day co-hosting the Admin quiz with John Stevenson was super fun and we gave away a monster Astro to a lucky winner at the end. I'm hoping she didn't need to take a flight home.
Skipping to May and the Salesforce World Tour came to London. I always get so excited about this week as there is a hive of activity for days. Mine started on the Tuesday as I was invited to speak at my partner's (Brightgen) Media dinner on the subject of implementing Salesforce CPQ which we were in the midst of.
The next night me and the team hosted the London Admins User Group, once again at Salesforce Tower and with special guests Mike Gerholdt and LeeAnne Rimel in attendance. Another great turnout which was lucky as we had 2 whopper cakes to celebrate World Tour to munch through. You'll be pleased to know we did manage it. It was also a night where we talked about what the User Group meant to us and why we contribute. For me, the User Group helped me through a tough time and got me back into working direction that I felt happy in. I regained my confidence and my self belief. It was therapy for me. I've met genuine friends and we are there for each other. Being asked 1.5 years ago to be the group's co-leader was just the icing on the cake on this emotional journey.
And then for the World Tour day itself. The buzz and excitement still gets me. This year I volunteered to welcome delegates into the Trailhead Zone to start them on their quest to gain a prized Astro and some learning to boot. I may have got a little over familiar with the wildlife in the meantime.
Fast forward to September and I decided to start writing this blog, Diary of a Saasy Girl and put my thoughts onto paper (digitally). I went back through the year and created entries from January, all the way through to present day. Its been a useful exercise for me to reflect on situations and I have tried to give you (my reader) a real impression on what I was thinking and feeling at the time. You've been on a journey with me, thank you.
In October we celebrated the LAUG 3rd birthday in true cake style with a unicorn version so large that everyone was feeling the sugar rush for hours. We were certainly powered by cake that night. Its special to celebrate the birthday's; it shows just how far the User Group has come in a short time. I love seeing the regular faces at every meetup and wanting to contribute. Its amazing to think that our group has over 900 members in the Success Community with a good sized attendance every month. I'm even setting up a Mentor/Mentee scheme for group members to share their knowledge with others.
And then came Dreamforce. If you think I get excited about the London World Tour then this week in San Fransisco is like a trip to Disneyland for me. I love the magic, the shear scale of the event and how everything is just so slickly put together. It was my second trip so this year I wanted to give back and volunteered in the Trailhead Zone for 2 shifts; one in the Community Cove and one in the Mini Hacks Basin. It was a great opportunity to speak with so many other visitors and share stories and experience.
Back in Blighty and one last volunteering turn before the year was up, helping out Will Coleman in Salesforce.Org for a Not for Profit day promoting the benefits of Trailhead, User Groups and Community Events. I may have also had a moment for a bit of fun at the photo booth with Sergey Erlikh.
Meanwhile, in my work life its hardly been a quiet year. I moved 100 Users into the world of Salesforce CPQ with DocuSign integration and onboarded 150 new Users from 2 separate businesses into the same Org. Did I mention keeping continuous delivery of BAU going too?
So that was my year in the world of Salesforce. Busy and rewarding. Good times had and better ones to come. We approach a New Year, new beginnings. No resolutions from me, just this.
Don't be afraid of change. Go big or go home.
Cheers
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