OpenWorld: the Chaos Begins

Kudos to Jake and the Mix team - I loved seeing the Mix on the front page on Friday. Yes, this is shameless promotion. OpenWorld is insane, and incredibly energizing. I love public speaking. I especially love it when I haven't prepared... So if you want to see me doing my best job of "winging it", join me Tuesday afternoon at Moscone West. We'll have fun. And you can make fun of me. I promise.

Meanwhile, I'm more focused on the main reason I enjoy OpenWorld: the customers. While there are other opportunities to meet with customers during the year, the meetings at OpenWorld have their own flavor. These aren't customers who've sat through a full day at the CVC and are sick of Powerpoint. These are customers who are here to learn, and want to spend 1/2 hour to an hour to address very specific questions, and get a sense of what they need to do next. It's a time to really engage 1:1, and talk not in generalities, but specifically about what they are trying to achieve, and how they are going to do it. I always leave OpenWorld exhausted, but full of stories about the people I met and the challenges they're facing, and I hope this year will be more of the same.

Can't make OpenWorld? Got a good story to tell? Sound off below.