The entire ServiceNow sales team, which is almost triple the size it was when I started, gathered in Las Vegas in January for our annual sales kickoff. We do this each year so that we can gather as a group and learn about the things that are important to making our customers incredibly successful. I’ve attended many of these kickoffs over the years, and I always come away energized about the opportunity to make real and lasting impacts on our customers’ organizations, and this year was no different.

We trained

Our solution consultants spent two days as a team sharpening skills around workshop facilitation. Why dedicate a half day for an entire organization to learn this kind of skill? Because it is critical for us to focus not on just our products, but how the capabilities we provide with this product can help achieve the business outcomes that are aligned to strategic goals for the leadership teams at the companies we partner with. The skills that we use in these workshops unlock a different way of thinking and new ways of getting to the heart of those things that are holding an organization back and harnessing the things that are propelling them forward.

We learned

Not only did we learn new skills but we also discussed how large a percentage our total solution consulting organization is and more importantly why. Simply put, we represent you. In order to do that effectively, we need to have the right number of people to support our customers in a way that gives them all an equal level of access. This access allows you to participate in the feedback cycle with our product management teams. This access allows you to help us maintain our industry-leading NPS and CSAT scores. This access ensures you get timely updates about how our roadmap continues to grow and expand. By scaling our solution consulting organization, you gain the knowledge you need to ensure success, and you receive the right level of access to our leadership which is mapped directly with peers in both organizations. This investment is being made because of your investment in us.

We Inspired

We heard from our leaders who challenged us to be comfortable being vulnerable. My mom died at the end of 2018, and that loss has been a key factor in the things I do at work each day. Though she isn’t here to see my success directly, the influence she had on who I have become is felt in every interaction I have with our customers, partners, and everyone in my personal life. I strive to make her proud if only to preserve her legacy and root her memory even firmer in my mind. I heard so many other stories about the purpose that drives each of my peers at work. I’m a real person, with real feelings and so are our customers. We must remember that we are humans interacting with other humans and treat each other with the respect that we each deserve. We want to build stronger relationships not so that you will invest in more products, but because we want to truly partner with you and drive your individual success.

We Transformed

Lastly, we talked about Digital Transformation. I’m actually stealing a modification from one of my customers that started calling it Digital Empowerment. I recently read an article in the WSJ about workers at TMNA’s factory in Ontario using exoskeletons to assist them with routine tasks that they must complete where their hands are frequently over their head. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/industrial-exoskeletons-give-workers-a-lift-11547730001) The strain this causes leads to a high occurrence of work-related injury, but with the exoskeletons in place, workers are more productive and less likely to be injured. Our platform is similarly positioned to empower your workers by giving them a little extra lift. When we talk about Digital Transformation or Digital empowerment, we focus on three main themes. First, velocity allows us to outflank our competitors and bring products to market faster. This ability to innovate quickly is key in the ever-changing landscape our consumers have grown accustomed to. It is also the key to survival. We help unlock this velocity by automating the tasks that are required to support the infrastructure driving this innovation. Whether it is the human capital infrastructure completing back-office tasks, the data center infrastructure-related tasks, or even the seemingly simple process of bringing on new staff. Automation is built into the Now Platform to drive automation for all of these tasks. The second component of digital empowerment is introducing intelligence to our decision making. Machine Learning and other AI technologies are no longer just great ideas, they are being put to practical use. With ServiceNow it’s not just a piece of the applications that you use, it’s a core component of the platform that can be used in ANY digital workflow app that you build. Need to more effectively route requests based on similarity? Done. Need to correlate a number of incoming events and group them logically? No problem. Create requests and automate fulfillment. This intelligence is just like the exoskeletons that empowered those workers in the plant. The machine intelligence empowers the workers across the enterprise. Lastly, we need to change the experience we give to both our customers and employees. 92% of CEOs that were polled are asking for their CIOs to provide a digital experience. (https://warren-knight.com/2018/01/28/ceos-embrace-social-media-2018/) Forbes recently wrote about Winnebago’s CIO Jeff Kubacki, and his mission to drive new digital empowerment and create these new experiences. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2019/01/28/winnebagos-cio-is-transforming-the-digital-experience-for-the-connected-consumer/) He’s doing this by increasing automation, modernizing his infrastructure, and driving out risk in IT which allows him to transform the experience for his customers.

We Returned

We’ve gathered to learn, grow, and energize, and now we’re back home ready to bring everything that we’ve gained to a conference room, office, lunchroom, sports field, or hallway near you. Bring us to the table and let’s work together to make something special happen. Let’s make the world of work, work better for you.