Susanne Dansey’s Blog

On my return from the WWPC I am now on a count of four people who are re-thinking what they want to do with their businesses and personal lives. I know that there are no doubt hundreds of others out there in the same position.

I have to say that the impact of this conference has gone far beyond the goals I set out for myself initially. Meeting so many people in a short space of time has exposed me to hundreds of ideas, many more friends to add to my IM list, and a very positive mindset after what I now realise was much more than a platform for the Microsofties to applaud themselves.

The chance to catch up with Vlad and Chris since last September at SMB Nation was a weird yet a very fun experience and I am confident the SBS Show will be the better for it… watch out for Vladfire video footage from the conference to be released shortly.

I also got the chance to meet many more of the Microsoft UK team who help determine the partnership we as accredited partners have with those that play an influential part in our business lives. They listened, we talked (and moaned), and there are more meetings set up on our return to make sure that change is realised for everyone involved.

In addition, yours truely met Allison Watson who is Corporate Vice President for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Group! I have to say, dressed up with blue eyeshadow, a star on my cheek, and my hair tied up on the side of my head at the Microsoft UK 80’s party wasn’t my ideal onsemble!

One of the most pleasant surpises from the conference was to see the effect it had on Vlad. He’s normally busy doing deals and focussing on his work but because he lost his phone he had to stop and sit still (well almost). So we chatted… and chatted… and chatted… and I even taught him a few things! The guy took time out, rethought some strategies, got some new ideas, confirmed a few more, laughed, and generally had a good time and focussed on what was important to him.

Don’t believe me? Well have a look at his post.

I also got to know Tom and Mark a lot better and I’m so pleased I had the opportunity to - six days together is a long time and I hope that we all helped each other in some way.

The WWPC is not cheap but it’s not expensive if you know what to get out of it. My friend Matt Dickerson who received the Partner of the Year Award for best Small Business Specialist in the World knows that the Conference is what you make of it. You can sit down and absorb in the workshops (which were very good by the way) and stroll round the exhibition (which was smaller than I thought) but networking is key.

To everyone I met and to everyone I got the chance to catch up with again; thank you for making the last week a cracker!