When I am not configuring portal and salesforce for my clients, I am likely outside on a walk with my dog, Ruby, bird watching, hiking with my wife, or at a beer garden with friends! I love being outdoors and enjoy most outdoor activities especially hiking, skiing, diving, running, camping, and viewing wildlife. If I am not outside then I am likely reading a book or cooking; my two other interests. And when my slack status says PTO then I am likely either on a camping trip with our trailer (affectionately named Betty) crossing off National Parks–we have visited 14 out of 63–or traveling to a new country with my wife. Traveling, relaxing at home, and being outdoors are my 3 favorite things.
I truly find a lot of inspiration from my peers. I am fortunate to work with some of the most driven and talented colleagues I have ever had the pleasure working with. Their success drives me. When I see or hear someone that has success, small or large, that inspires me to take the extra time to elevate a project from good to great. Additionally, I am inspired by the goals that I have set for myself in my personal life and career. I do yearly and decade specific bucket lists which I look at regularly to ensure that my actions are aligning with those goals. Something I have learned is that success is a moving target and it changes over time, and my inspiration and my “why” follows suit.
It excites me to see the year after I have implemented a new solution for a client and seeing how that helped the organization to meet their ambitious goals. Whether it is streamlining existing processes to save time and money or it is creating a brand new process to achieve a new strategic goal, these projects keep me coming to work everyday. Also, I get the chance to continue to learn new things. The challenge of solving new and different problems and the opportunity to continue to learn new things, is why I enjoy working here. The cherry on top that makes ChapterSpot special is the people I work with, from the executive team down to my peers. It is a peace dedicated to achieving difficult goals and changing the landscape of the market we are.
If I didn’t love working closely with all of my clients then I don’t think I would have stayed as long as I have in this role. My relationships with my clients are very special to me. I have enjoyed the opportunity to build strong personal relationships with each of one them as well as seeing them excel. I tell all of point of contacts at my client organizations, that my number one goal is to make them look good. If I improved their job and they are getting the credit internally because my team is developing solutions that are moving the needle for the organization then that makes me very happy. I am dedicated to my clients and am fortunate to have been able to build a level of trust with them and that is something that myself and colleagues do not take lightly.
My favorite feature is a really difficult question and the answer changes every month (sometimes weekly). Our developers work so hard to deliver a high-level output ranging from new products to upgrades that makes it feel like a new product. Since I am being asked this week, I would have to say our ability to do radius searches in our existing table components in portal. It has taken a 40+ hour custom project down to 2 hours for me to implement for our clients in numerous ways. I am excited for this feature since many of my clients have been asking for something like this for a very long time and if my client doesn’t have it currently then it is likely on their roadmap for the spring.
Be open to learn and that change is good. I think the hardest part of this job is knowing what is the best way to deliver a solution. There are so many products and processes out there and it is often difficult to know which is the best for this client for this specific request. Taking the time to learn and be open to finding new ways to solve problems is advise that is crucial for me. Since our company is in the technology space, the best way to solve a problem today may be completely different tomorrow. That is something my team and clients need to be open to that technology, especially now, is changing at an extremely fast pace and it is important to always be learning and open to change.
