Love the smell of SKO in the morning. Smells like optimism

My favorite vendor event format is the analyst summit. A close second is the annual Sales Kick Off.  That is where the vendor gets the entire sales and marketing team offsite to prepare for the new year. This time of the year, I get invited to a couple of SKOs.

I love the optimism at these events. Executives set stretch goals for their teams. They are unusually honest about what they did well or screwed up in the previous year. New product launches are discussed. You  can see the genesis of new products and the planned conquest of new markets.

Partners, customers, analysts like me get to banter in a relaxed setting. The fact that I am there means they want to hear about changing market dynamics. They want honest feedback on competitive positioning.

I do not blog from SKO events. Too much NDA stuff is shared.

I do appreciate being invited to such events. It is a good, positive way to start most years.