In the past week we have seen some new possibilities of hope for getting to AU. The Free pass! If you were not one of the people blacklisted by James Wedding for bugging him about the results, then you may not know who won. Don’t worry, it isn’t you. Me either.
The there is the Buddy Pass offered by Autodesk to fill those hotels. If you know anyone who needs a chance to go, maybe you’ll help them out and sign them up as a Buddy for Free!!
Why go through all this? Here is another reason:
#4 Instructors
The community is filled with people who love to learn new things about the industry, and are just dying to tell you about it, and answer questions that you probably have. After the classes, most instructors take questions. Usually there are 20 or so people waiting after class to ask the instructor something about the examples shown during the session. (These are usually the people who are trying to get the most out of their AU visit) Everyone listens to each remark, and then occasionally start pairing off with interest about the information related. This leads to networking. Hey, I’ve heard about that recently….where did I see that? When an issue occurs of a problem can’t be solved quickly, the instructors note the issues and get back in touch with the individuals, and continue to help them simply because they attended the class, and asked for help.
The Instructors selected usually have a fair amount of real world experience with the topic being related. They have been there before, and have decided to bring you solutions to problems that they know you need. You can ask your manager or IT person a question any time, but you are going to hear the same process you have already heard before. There are hundreds of instructor’s at AU, spread across the industry, who have solved similar problems, using a variety of methods. The only way you are going to get an understand of the processes and solutions that are possible, is to go sit in class.
They want to help. They have spent a lot of time preparing a class to deliver, and want you to come away with a smile on your face. They know you need answers, and want to be the person delivering them.
Ok, Let’s drop some names. These are not the only people that were good, but ones that I can say really bent over backward to ensure not only my AU experience was useful, but that problems I had after I returned home were dealt with as well. Dana Probert, Dan Banach, Barbara Bowen, Nancy Tremblay, Matt Murphy, Rickard Lindgren, Angel Espinoza, and Kevin Schneider just to name a few.
Given the opportunity, these people will work hard to satisfy your needs and to really make you feel that the solutions you seek are possible, and more useful than you had expected. Give them the chance, and be sure to thank them when you do.
Check back next time for the next installment, ‘amenities’!!!