With my #CommunicationsContentConnections antenna up, I returned to business travel this month. Have you been business traveled yet? For me, May meant an Orlando excursion to attend the SAP Sapphire and ASUG Accelerate events, for my day job. The gathering, held for in-person for the first time in three years, offered abundant communications, content and connection moments for me—a first-time attendee amid, oh, 6,999 others.

Allow me to take a few moments to share a few of those moments.

When it comes to message discipline and focus, well, the SAP executive leaders were fairly disciplined and focused, whatever the stage and topic. #SAP CEO Christian Klein, CMO Julia White and others regularly honed in on three themes: the unparalleled pace of business and technology change that challenges organizations seeking or amid business transformations; disrupted supply chains; and sustainability, particularly shortcomings in sustainability transparency across suppliers and for buyers.

Klein has said it before and said it again in his keynote: “The ‘green’ line is as important as the top line and bottom line” for business.

‘Stay Curious’

New to me from Klein’s mind was his answer to a reporter’s question about career advice to those entering the workforce. The 42-year-old’s counsel? “Stay always curious. There’s always something to do better and to learn.”

The who, what, where, and how of another CommunicationContentConnection moment came to me as I watched and listened to #ASUG CEO Geoff Scott’s keynote. Scott started to talk just steps from his chair, amidst SAP customer and ASUG member attendees. That was connection one: Scott was an SAP customer and he now represents customers as CEO of the largest SAP user group on the planet.

Scott sounded a second connection when he began his remarks by recognizing the person behind the voice that has introduced Sapphire speakers for years. “The voice that introduced me a few moments ago has a name and that name is Bill Buxton. Bill say hello to the crowd,” Scott prompted. And Bill did.

Learn, Connect, Grow

And Scott skillfully reinforced several ASUG key messages, including the organization’s Learn, Connect, Grow, business pillars when he noted, “Inside ASUG you will find tons of ways to learn, connect and grow your professional career.” And hundreds of thousands of SAP-savvy pros do just that every day, every year.

But the most powerful CommunicationContentConnection moments came in ASUG’s own Power Peer Groups, designed, architected, and arranged to play out in cozy, casual quarters across three days. Topics included technologies, as you’d expect, and much more. I co-hosted two groups—under the ASUG WomenConnect banner, both focused on increasing the presence, leadership, role models and mentorship of women in technology. WomenConnect: Nice, huh?

Together with my co-host colleagues, we planned, prepared, and role-played prior to the events. We contemplated questions, tackled talking points, arranged comfortable seating to underscore peer parity and arrived ready to power through with our peers.

And what happened? The groups were SRO. Attendees spilled beyond the walls. And after only a question or two the energized, authentic exchanges took off. In each group experiences were shared. Advice advanced, as did agreements and alternative views.

These were empowering peer groups, rich in communications and content, where new connections happened, and previous connections rekindled.

#CommunicationsContentConnections
#Communications