Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in. ? Isaac Asimov
I have a little story to share that reinforces the age-old adage to keep an open mind. I’m as guilty as anyone for preferring the company of like-minded people and dismissing others. And it’s very hard to go against this. But it’s often hard to predict who you’ll learn from and what they’ll teach you.
A couple weeks after giving a presentation in Boston, I received the following email from Ken Gagne.
Hi, Brad —
I was in the audience of your presentation to the Boston WordPress Meetup. I am not a developer, but I thought I’d stick around to see what you were presenting.
One audience member asked, “How do you provide tech support?” Your answer: “Gmail, though I really wish I’d signed up for Help Scout!”
My ears perked up. Help Scout? I’d just started working at MIT Medical six months ago and was dismayed to find no ticket management process in place to handle all the requests I and my team are expected to address. I’d investigated a couple of solutions but hadn’t found any I liked. Could this “Help Scout” be what I’ve been looking for?
As it turns out — it is! I’ve been testing it for the last two weeks and finally presented it to TPTB this morning. They loved it, and we’ll be signing up for a premium account shortly.
I know this isn’t what you expected your audience to get out of your presentation, but given that I’m not a developer, the fact that you led me to the most valuable resource my team could’ve asked for, right when it needed it most, is priceless.
Thanks so much!