User conference…

Over the last few days we’ve posted information about an upcoming User Conference on our Events page and our Press Release pages.  Because this is a joint Hertzler User Group and Minitab User Group, I wondered briefly if we should call it a MUG HUG.  Too cheesy.

Here is some more background.

I’m really looking forward to the conference for several reasons.

First, I’m pleased that two old friends will be giving presentations. Wayne Tollefsen (Omron Automotive) and Jamie Dobravec (Grayhill Inc.) have both been customers for years, and they always have interesting, real-world perspectives. I always learn something when I talk to them. This is the first time (I think) that I’ve heard either of them give formal talks.  They’re definitely worth hearing.

Second, I’m looking forward to sharing something about the learning path that I’ve been on in the last eight or ten months on Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry (Ai) is an exciting organizational change model that is based on the idea that organizations move in the direction of the questions that they ask. It is rich in philosophy and research, and has a well-developed methodology for application. In addition to describing my personal journey in Ai, I’m eager to explore the possibilities of learning together about the best practices for aligning strategy, culture, and tools to achieve optimal results.

Third, we spent the last year hard at work on the GainSeeker Suite Version 8.  We released Version 8 a couple months ago, and my business partner and Hertzler’s Alpha Geek, Byron Shetler, is going to share his perspectives on the new release.  If you’ve heard Byron speak before, you know you’re in for a treat. His insights and ability to bridge technology and the way people work are unique, and for a guy who claims to be uncomfortable up in front of an audience, he is a great communicator.

Finally, I’m looking forward to learning more about what our customers want from the integration between GainSeeker and Minitab. We formed a loose alliance with Minitab over 10 years ago because we didn’t want to get into the advanced statistics side of things, and Minitab is the most important app in that arena. We see the combination of GainSeeker and Minitab as far “more than the sum of parts.” Jay Bronec, whose company, QualiFine, is hosting this users conference, has been a strong voice for that synergy. Here is how Jay describes it:

“Back in 2000 I sponsored a conference highlighting the integration of GainSeeker Real-Time SPC with Minitab.  At the time it was clear to me that integrating these two systems increased the value of both tremendously.  A decade later this innovative approach still ranks at the top of my list of best-kept secrets to thriving in manufacturing. To get full value out of Minitab, a manufacturer needs to implement a real-time data automation solution like GainSeeker. I tell my customers to think of it like this, ‘If your best talent is too busy collecting, scrubbing and creating pivot tables to extract basic reports from Minitab, there’s little to no time left for making sense of the data. You’re reacting, not leading. In the current business environment, real-time data are essential for success.'”

Putting Jay, customers of both Minitab and GainSeeker, as well as people from Minitab and Hertzler Systems in the same room on the same day is a great opportunity to learn. I can’t predict what will come out of it, but it will be good.

Those are my top reasons for attending. What about you? Are you coming? What do you hope to gain? Use the ShareThis button below to mark this page, leave a comment, tweet me, schedule a conversation, or call 800-958-2709.