ATUL PATANKAR [ ASUG INSTALLATION MEMBER MEMBER SINCE: 2000 LINDA WILSON [ ASUG INSTALLATION MEMBER MEMBER SINCE: 1999 JUERGEN LINDNER [ SAP POINT OF CONTACT MEMBER SINCE: 1998 [ ] What I like about ASUG chapter meetings and what not so much [ Alexei Merkoulov Mars Information Services Chicago Chapter Meeting October 1, 2010

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 2 Disclaimer: Views and opinions presented here are entirely my own. Welcome! About the Presenter: Alexei Merkoulov has been involved with SAP technology for more than 17 years. He holds MBA degree from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and M.Sc. in Economics from Russian Economic University. He is Certified CPIM by APICS.

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 3  Information from SAP and partners.  Customer success stories.  Networking.  A day away from the office.  Free food! What I like about ASUG Chapter meetings What’s not to like?

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 4  Too much information. Do I care?  Customer success stories make me jealous.  Networking: is there a purpose? And what not so much… Is there something wrong with me?

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 5  Cognitive drift.  Adult learning pattern.  Networking – how? Something to think about

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 6  ASUG Community.  To enjoy company of likely-minded professionals.  To help people.  To somehow help my career. Why I am here?

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 7 Your goals – aligned!  Leadership  Share information  Position yourself as a person with ideas  Networking reconsidered  “Expert” – what’s this?  “I don’t know but I can find out” Help my career Help people Community

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 8 Lessons of change management applied  Knowing but not acting.  Hoping for a “big thing”.  Running out of patience. Your biggest obstacle Me

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 9  No shortcuts.  No silver bullets.  “Organic” growth. The marathon Me

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 10 You vs. The World Me For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie-- deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth-- persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. John F. Kennedy Commencement Address at Yale University, 1962

[ Real Experience. Real Advantage. 11 ]  Thank you.