What has been your business/work highlight of 2024 so far?

Co-organising and building out the best and largest Comms vNext conference gathering yet. While the conference has not yet happened, registration has already surpassed past years, and this year is shaping up to be an amazing one for the Microsoft Teams community at large!

Who is your business hero and why?

I can’t honestly say that I have a “business hero”; I respect and admire so many people in the work world for a wide variety of reasons. However, I will say that those who are able to take their real passions, and against all odds, turn those into a full-blown healthy and fulfilling business – those people are the ones that likely fascinate and intrigue me the most!

What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?

In vague terms, taking on too much responsibility at one time. Especially when you are creating community content and balancing your work/personal life as well, it can be very hard to say no, or to limit yourself to the things that you have time for and that will be the most valuable in your life.

Sadly, I have had to learn that perpetually saying ‘yes’ and taking it all on does not do very well for any of those things: the community, your work life, and especially your personal life.

Only take on what you need to meet your work responsibilities, give ample time to those in your life that you love (and that love you), and rest. If there is time left over after all that, cautiously allow yourself to take on more, but be discerning about what those things should really be.

What’s the most inspirational book you’ve ever read and why?

Books. Oh yeah – I remember those.

I’m not much of a book reader, especially leadership-style / inspirational types of books. I would have to say, however, that the Bible has had the biggest impact on the way that I treat people, the way that I conduct myself professionally, and the way I seek to do business ethically and fairly. It has inspired me in many ways, including professionally, and I hope that the results of that inspiration have spurred others to grow in positive ways in their own careers.

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role in 2024?

My role requires a lot of creativity in reaching a wide and growing social audience. However, the increasing noise on those social platforms, largely spurred on by the proliferation and ease of podcasting and content creation (not to mention how much AI is helping there now) makes it a continual struggle to cut through the noise with your message. Fostering a tighter and more meaningful connection between myself and my audience with future content is definitely a big challenge that sits in front of me this year!

What technology will have the greatest impact on your business this year and why?

Whether I like this to be the answer or not, AI – in various forms – will likely have the biggest impact on my business, as well as the businesses of most others. It is already changing the way that content is made, and the AI within UC platforms is driving the hardware design & creation.