Elevate

I just wrapped up 5 intense days of team building, 2019 planning, training and socializing at Return Path’s Elevate conference.  It was a great week with all the go-to-market teams from all over the globe descending on Broomfield. I presented each of the three days and really enjoyed watching the teams bond with each other, have some fun, and learn (and sing karaoke together). I’m exhausted and have lost my voice, but I’m energized for the year ahead. I got compliments from team members on my energy and my presentation style. Our EVP of channel told me that he has things to learn from me and our CEO and I had a discussion about how I was just the right level of crazy. All in all, a great week. And I will Wrap Up with two things: 

Our CEO sends an email every Friday, an excerpt of his email is below. And my friend is amazing - dinner was waiting for us in the crockpot when we came home Friday night. Truly fortunate. 

The venue for the large event - 280 people. My prep paid off! 

My partner services team

Awards dinner at the Aquarium 

Karaoke - nothing like singing Barbie World with your boss (listen to the words!) 

Dinner is ready!

Email from our CEO: 

RP Nation,

It was so great to see so many of you this week at Elevate and the unRoadshow!  Everyone knows what I did this week, so I thought I would send an early weekly email out telling you the story of Larry the Bus Driver.  

Larry drives the shuttle from the Marriott and Hyatt where we held the Elevate conference to our office – many of you who were visiting Colorado this week probably saw or met him at some point.

Anyway, yesterday morning, Larry was nice enough to drive me over to the office super early, so it was just the two of us in the bus.  Here’s how our conversation went:

Larry: So you work at Return Path?

Me:  Yes

Larry:  I don’t know what you guys do over there, but it seems like you *really* treat your people better than any other company in the area 

Me:  Really?  Why do you say that?

Larry:  Well, I drive your people all of the time – you hold your bootcamps here at the hotel all year round.  People from Brazil, from Australia, from Europe, from the East Coast.  And you know what?  I drive other companies’ people too – Oracle, Google, Twitter, SendGrid.  And I have to tell you, there’s something different about a Return Path person.  They like their jobs more, they are happier, they are more social, and they are nicer to me and the rest of the staff 

Me:  [Quietly beaming on behalf of all 425 of us]

Larry:  Anyway, your HR lady was on the bus yesterday, and I asked her if I could come work for you.  It doesn’t sound like there are any jobs that are a good fit for me, but my son is a computer programmer at some company downtown, and my daughter is about to graduate from school and look for her first job, and I am telling both of them to apply for jobs with Return Path.  You guys rock!

And on that awesome note, with Elevate and the unRoadshow behind us, let’s go MOVE THE NEEDLE in 2019!!!

Happy Thursday (and Happy Travels),

Matt