My Take on Adobe Summit

I recently attended Adobe Summit for the first time, and I picked up some things along the way I wanted to share with you. Ahead of the event, I was excited to learn more about the company’s suite of products and services and better understand how our clients use them. And looking back now, the event provided that – and more. The magnitude and sheer volume of information and activities was a bit overwhelming. But, having my team by my side made it manageable. Here are a few standout experiences:

• The opening Keynote by Adobe’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen, set the tone for the event, highlighting the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences in today’s digital world. It was followed by a range of other CEOs talking about their customer journeys and how Adobe helped them achieve their goals. But it wasn’t just how they each used technology that impressed me. Several highlighted the importance of their people, process and governance in driving success with the Adobe tools. It also was not lost on me how much psychology played into everything. For anyone who knows me knows I love understanding how behavior works, and to see how it was being used on me was fascinating. For example…it was interesting how quickly people will abandon a brand due to just one poor customer experience. It drives home how important it is to get it right the first time.

• Initially, I had planned to attend sessions on my own, but quickly realized that having a partner in crime was necessary to gain real-time insights and ask questions. Teaming up with our Director of Strategic Growth, @Paige Gunther, made a massive difference in how much I was able to learn and retain. After sessions, we compared notes and shared thoughts on what we learned and if/how we wanted to bring our new-found learnings to practice. I’d highly recommend this approach.

• As our sales leader, these sessions were particularly valuable to me as they underscored the importance of having the right people and processes in place to maximize the impact of the Adobe Suite. This is where Brooks Bell comes in. As a consultancy with deep experience in digital experiences and organizational transformation, Brooks Bell is uniquely positioned to help organizations leverage the power of Adobe to drive better results. Our expertise in building Centers of Excellence and insight-driven experimentation, coupled with our deep knowledge of Adobe makes us an ideal partner for organizations that want to take their digital experiences to the next level. In fact, we’ve had a strong partnership with Adobe for nearly 20 years.

• This was also the first business trip with my CEO, @Greg Ng, and traveling with him was an unforgettable experience. I had the opportunity to witness firsthand how he cultivated and nourished relationships with his contacts. As a growing leader, this was valuable modeling that I will take with me throughout my career. At the same time, getting to attend Summit in just month two of beginning my role at Brooks Bell gave me the chance to immerse myself in the culture. What really blew me away was how much I understood about Adobe, and how my fresh perspective is going to be extremely valuable to the clients we serve.

Overall, Adobe Summit was exciting and a well-executed event that solidified existing relationships and formed new ones. I’ve attended several conferences, and this one is one of the more impactful because of the multitude of sessions and contacts that were there. I am already looking forward to next year’s event!