Anyone who was at Empower26 will tell you it was a blast. Here are some of my boots-on-the-ground takeaways.
Our Community Provides an Advantage
I really enjoyed (because I'm biased) the times when the topic of the Community came up. I mean, who doesn't like to be seen? (Go us!) I regularly caught myself beaming with pride knowing what wonderful, brilliant people I get to work with. Only just today,
We really have a rare and precious thing in our Qrew. There is an inherent generosity among our Qrew Members, who actively and enthusiastically invest in each other’s success. I'm so privileged to be a part of such an approachable group of individuals, and to be a part of enabling this safe space for all of us. Thank you, all.
Fascinating Talks Around Every Corner
There were numerous breakout session - none of which I got to attend because I was working the booth or scanning at the doors - but I did get to hear what those coming out of the talks were saying. Some of the highlights included:
- Sam Trachy's talk on how AI-powered planning will help teams make faster, smarter decisions about how work gets assigned, sequenced, and executed drummed up a lot of excitement.
- Fantasia Williams and Nick Mangine presented on how to incorporate human-centered design principles to build solutions people will actually use because they're designed to do real work.
- Ryan Haas and Nashmia Burney's "Talk to Your Data: Working with the Quickbase AI Agent" was cited as the "strongest AI talk of the week" by Jose Echevarria.
- Taylor Hardy definitely made an impression during his talk on Advanced Jinja for Pipelines. I heard this talk mentioned the most.
- Marykate Gass and Laura Linssen created buzz with their focus on defining business problems before jumping into solution design
And these are just a fraction of the topics that were covered. In the times between sessions attendees really seemed to be getting a lot out of them. You can revisit the talks by logging into Quickbase University and looking through the presentation slides from the speakers that are still being added to the page so if the one you want isn't there yet, check back later.
Customer Awards (Squeeee!)
My favorite part of the closing keynote celebrated Quickbase builders and orgs that are using Quickbase to drive meaningful transformations. These were the finalists and award winners:
Operational Impact Award
was recognized for transforming operations across more than 2,000 locations while reducing operating costs by more than $100,000 annually! |
Innovation in Operations Award
received recognition for redefining what modern operations can look like by creating real-time operational systems that actively drive work forward instead of simply reporting on past activity. |
Operator of the Year Award
recognized for rebuilding fragmented operational systems into connected workflows that tied projects, field operations, and financial visibility together in real time |
Transformation Leader of the Year
recognized for leading operational transformation in a highly complex, safety-critical environment and fostered a culture where teams actively build and improve solutions themselves |
Mission Impact Award
recognized for improving how essential services reach vulnerable populations through better coordination and real-time operational visibility. |
created a dependable space where Quickbase builders can learn from one another. They solve problems together and they grow their confidence using the platform. Through consistent leadership and mentorship and generosity, they helped transform a user group into an actual community of people helping each other. (See Tammie with another Qrew Legend, Sharon Faust, at right) |
