Geoff Hucker is an expert in the non-profit, social enterprise sector and a passionate advocate for socially responsible, purpose-built businesses.
Geoff Hucker is an expert in the non-profit, social enterprise sector and a passionate advocate for socially responsible, purpose-built businesses.
How tech can power better travel.
Tal Shalit is the founder and CEO of Betterez. He has been reimagining a human-centric approach to mobility ever since he tried to buy a bus ticket online in 2011. While the attempt was unsuccessful, he ended up starting his own company and hasn’t looked back.
In a world where technology is improving at the speed of light, leading us to the era of 5G, what are the skills interpreters need to improve and focus on, in order to make a difference?
Alessandra Campana is the Founder of Inlingo. She received her degree as an Interpreter and Translator (Italian<>English – Italian<>French) after 5 years of courses in technical and literary translation, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation at the Scuola Superiore per Interpreti e Traduttori of Rome, Italy. Her love for knowledge and her innate curiosity in all types of subjects, from literature to technology, from philosophy to science, lead her to accumulate years of experience in multiple fields.
Nate Brown is the Co-founder of CX Accelerator, the world’s best virtual community for experience professionals. While Customer Service is his primary expertise, Nate is able to leverage experience in professional services, marketing, and sales to connect dots and inspire change. From authoring and leading a Customer Experience program, to journey mapping, to building and managing a complex contact center, Nate is always learning new things and sharing with the community. Follow him also on Twitter @CustomerIsFirst.
Utilizing technology professionally and personally to nurture your social circle and develop lasting and fruitful professional relationships.
Sean Bair is the founder and CEO of ZooWho Inc. He is an entrepreneur, software developer, author, and a former crime fighter. In the early 90’s he developed an application that revolutionized the way law enforcement and the defense industry analyze data. This application pushed boundaries in identifying, analyzing, and resolving crime series and patterns.
BAIR Analytics was formed shortly thereafter and grew to have thousands of police agencies, the defense department, and major retailers such as WalMart, Macy’s, and Target, using its software and analytical techniques to fight crime and neutralize insurgents on the battlefield. BAIR Analytics was acquired by LexisNexis in 2015.
Ways to get better at it when scaling your company.
Heidi Helfand is the author of the book Dynamic Reteaming. She coaches and influences fast-growing companies using practical, people-focused techniques. Her approach is based on experience at highly successful startups. The first was ExpertCity, Inc. (acquired by CitrixOnline) where she was on the development teams that invented GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar. Heidi helped the company scale from 15 employees to 800. Then she was Principal Agile Coach at AppFolio, Inc. makers of workflow software for property management and law verticals. There, she built a coaching group that supported dynamic, cross-functional teams as the company scaled from 10 people to 650.
She is currently at Procore Technologies – a leading provider of cloud-based applications for construction. At Procore, Heidi is in R&D leadership, coaching and consulting on software development and reteaming best practices as this company scales globally.
Visit my website: https://www.heidihelfand.com/
Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent analyst providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel with a focus on the business-level impact of digital transformation in the workplace. Core areas of expertise include unified communications, cloud communications, collaboration, Artificial Intelligence, speech technologies, Internet of Things, future of work, contact centers, customer experience, video, VoIP, and social media.
He has been consulting in many of these areas since 2001, and his independent practice was founded in 2005. JAA is based in Toronto, Ontario, and serves clients across North America as well as in Europe.
Jon’s thought leadership can be followed on his widely-read JAA’s Analyst Blog, along with daily commentary on Twitter and LinkedIn. In addition, Jon produces a monthly podcast – Watch This Space – which is a regular feature in his monthly newsletter, JAA’s Communications and Collaboration Review.
Utilizing technology for Development in Travel and Tourism as it pertains to Cultural Economics.
April Jefferson is the Founder and CEO of Black Space App. an application created specifically for the travelers from the black community. She was born and raised in St. Louis, MO the heart of the Midwest. As the oldest of four, she often held the responsibility to nurture and care for those around her, including those in her Community. Having attended Saint Louis University—one of the most prestigious schools in the Country, after two years at the University and experience culture shock being on of the few Black students on campus she transferred to a Public University. She studied Psychology, until she gave birth to her first son in 2009. She planned to give birth and return back to school immediately however her son was diagnosed with several complications at birth and spent his first month of life in the NICU, with his Mother right by his side. From there she worked in Design picking up contracts with St. Louis Public Schools and several small businesses, and Education working in several capacities from tutor, to registrar.
Interview with Nina Giovanelli, VP of Business Operations @ TripActions during the TRAVERSE 19 Conference.
During TripActions’s TRAVERSE 19 conference, Tullio Siragusa chatted with Nina Giovanelli, VP of Business Operations at TripActions. When asked about the ‘secret sauce’ of an awesome company, here’s what Nina had to say.
“Our mission at TripActions is to empower the human condition,” Nina revealed. “We have a set of values that are all about the user.” Nina is a firm believer that having a clear vision and set of values that the company can rally around. She also stated that creating a great company culture is indeed what should be done if they are to attract equally great people to join their team.
Tullio also asked Stephanie what she thought the most important ingredient of the secret sauce was, to which she responded: “…I’ve seen our company grow from 80 employees to over 800, and I’ve discovered that culture isn’t just one thing that starts from the top and flows all the way down. I think it’s something that everybody is responsible for.” She highlighted how important it was to create an environment in which everybody shows up and they know, without hesitation, why they’re there and what they’re trying to achieve. “They are the ones contributing to the culture this way,” she stated.
“Move people, business and ideas forward. This is exactly what TripActions is for,” Stephanie elaborated, when asked about the company’s three-pronged mission. What this means, in a nutshell, is that TripActions is a company that enables other companies and their travelers to get where they need to be to have that meeting or in-person sales conversation by focusing on creating great travel experiences that allow them to travel hassle-free and achieve their business objectives in a seamless fashion.
Tullio also touched on the topic of TripActions being an environmentally conscious company, and on whether this is something that most team members shared along, to which Stephanie responded: “…with our carbon data impact product, we really foster this joint idea and effort to make sure that travelers, travel managers and their companies have the data they need to make decisions that are aligned with their company culture and their beliefs, as it pertains to their impact on the environment.”
TripActions recently announced that they will openly share their satisfaction scores publicly. They are the first company in travel to implement this, when Tullio asked why they were doing this, Stephanie made it clear that this is an extension of their culture of transparency and no need to hide anything mindset. What a refreshing approach to building trust with customers!
Finally, Tullio asked Stephanie what sort of lessons learned had been encountered during the journey of building TripActions. Stephanie said that ‘proactively encouraging vulnerability’ is essential in the pursuit of becoming aware of what needs to be learned in order to improve and grow – both personally and at the corporate level – in every imaginable way. “Having these human moments when we reflect on what we could’ve done better makes you want to support your colleagues, thus fostering an environment of wanting to learn and grow together, regardless of “who happens to be in the room.”
A compilation of views on what it means to build trust from interviews by Tullio Siragusa during Traverse 2019 Conference.
During TripActions’s TRAVERSE 19 conference, Tullio Siragusa had the opportunity to ask some representatives and principals of companies attending the event what they’re doing to build trust with employees and with their customers.
Tullio had been wondering why it was so difficult to find companies that would allow employees to speak to the press. Luckily, he did find some gems that very openly spoke about co-participating and co-creating their place in their respective verticals by talking about their companies and their culture, and specifically, how to build trust with customers, co-workers and employees.
So… join Tullio along for the ride and let’s see what he discovered!
Tullio chatted with Sarah Dandashy, Founder of Ask A Concierge . After having worked in the hotel space for over 15 years, Sarah decided to go ‘beyond the desk’ and reach people that aren’t just at the hotel, but everywhere, and even globally. “As you can imagine, as a concierge, trust is of the utmost important for me, and when it comes to reaching my customers, my viewers, integrity is paramount, as is being genuine.” Sarah also highlighted the importance of being real and open with everybody, since she believes this indeed helps to build rock-solid trust.
Stephanie Nissen decided she would endeavor into creating TravelPort after having the bitter experience of losing her luggage. Coming from a fashion background, Stephanie discovered she could come up with a solution to provide a personalized wardrobe waiting for her at her destination to avoid these awkward situations. When asked about what was important for her during her journey building her company, Stephanie stated: “one of the most important things for me is sustainability, since our clothing options are rental.” Additionally, Stephanie highlighted the fact that she had realized that “reducing luggage also decreases CO2 sent out to the atmosphere, and that’s something we’re really passionate about at TRVL Porter.” When asked about what TRVL Porter did to build trust with their clients, Stephanie said that it was all about the personal touch. “We get to know your personal style and also your itinerary. We love that inner connection with our clients”, she concluded.
Randy Figueroa, Director of Global Alliances at Appzen , also had the opportunity to talk about what building trust meant for him and his company. Tullio asked Randy to elaborate a bit about Appzen. Randy responded: “…in a nutshell, we use AI to help customers audit 100% of their spend before that spend occurs.” Asked to touch on the topic of building trust, Randy said that “When you walk around Appzen, you can clearly see that everyone at the office is excited to be there. It’s a fun culture that is focused around how to improve the customer experience and how to help them to minimize spend leakage. Our team’s overall well-being permeates all the way up to our customer, which indeed helps us to build trust amongst them. We look forward to the future,” Randy finalized.
Allison Dean, VP of Operations for Theorem , an L.A.-based tech consultancy firm, also threw in her two cents on what building trust meant for her. She told Tullio that the way they built trust at Theorem amongst their employees and clients is all about continuous open and honest feedback. “We actually have an internal product to foster this called Honesto , which will hopefully be deploying throughout all the big companies of the world soon.” When asked to specify what she thought that helped Theorem build trust the most, Allison stated that “being connected and bonded was of the essence. This also helps to build not only the best technologies but the best companies.”
Finally, Tullio spoke with Elizabeth Abreu, Store Designer and Project Manager at Chubbies Shorts, men’s’ lifestyle brand based in San Francisco. He had the opportunity to ask Elizabeth what building trust meant for her and her company. “Trust and autonomy are key. We trust all of our teammates until proven unworthy or undeserving. We put the customer first and the company second. And if we are all operating in that manner, we’re all operating in that manner, then we’re doing the best job that we can,” Elizabeth concluded.
How to turn one video into all of the marketing content you’ll ever need.
Todd Giannattasio is a veteran marketing expert who has been featured by Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Huffington Post for his proven systems to grow brands, generate leads and increase sales in our constantly evolving, digital world. His combination of fundamental principles and modern marketing strategies are what create a force multiplier for clients.
Todd has worked in digital communications and marketing since 2003. He is the founder of Tresnic Media and of Growth Suite, and Advisor for Propelify. Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world from Universal Records to BASF, and with growing startups and small businesses.
Using the power of intention with integrity as a one-prong approach for success in the tech and entertainment industries.
A fifth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate, Erik Passoja lived in Japan for a year and was brutally beaten by men far smaller than he.
Besides being a tech entrepreneur as the CEO of Seventh Planet, a web development company in Los Angeles, this classically-trained actor is a graduate of Yale University and a lifetime member of the Actors Studio. He recently starred in the Actors Studio West production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Barbara Bain. He also recently originated the role of Claude in Cheyenne, written by Liz Tuccillo (Sex and the City, He’s Just Not That Into You).
The DojoLIVE international frontline team shares what it’s like to turn a humble internal hangout into a full-fledged digital media company that seeks to bridge cultural gaps for tech companies across the globe.
Six energy habits that you can use to leverage the road and that will help you to improve your work, health, and home life, leading to a mastery of the business travel life.
Bryan Paul Buckley is a business traveler performance expert and a domestic and international experienced road warrior. He’s traveled as a bottom of the barrel manager to the height of a vice president and knows the challenges of both worlds. He pushed so hard on the road he was sidelined with major health issues that could’ve been avoided. He also found himself 40 pounds overweight and struggled with his energy until one day “had enough” and made major life changes that produced tremendous results in every area of his road life.
Reasonable but often-ignored tips on how to increase closing rate and advancement in negotiations by selling yourself first.
Alex Rodriguez helps successful companies raise their visibility, transform their brand, and attract more business. His specializes in attractive launch campaigns for brands, events, products, and ideas.
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