As a new Bluewolfer, I was excited and a slightly anxious about attending my first Off-Site Workshop, the annual company-wide gathering of Bluewolfers from offices worldwide. I didn’t know many people, had only recently closed my first sizable account, and felt apprehensive about being away from clients for a couple of days. Having spent my career in large companies with traditional “big company” cultures, I wasn’t sure what I would gain from this four day event.

On the return flight home, I reflected on my four days in St. Thomas, this year’s location for OSW. I wondered if my colleagues had seen what I’d seen, and if they, too, felt struck by Bluewolf’s uniqueness as an organization.

Firstly, the venue, choreography, and content for this event were all incredibly well-orchestrated. Every detail — from the length of the sessions, to the quality of the food, to the media and entertainment — were top of the line, and all developed internally by Bluewolf teams. Moreover, everyone was genuinely excited to be there. People were positive, supportive, and engaged — so engaged, in fact, that Executive Management was actively participating, coaching, and learning alongside each of us as peers.

The entrepreneurial spirit was palpable the in foyer, as I listened to little “packs” of people collaboratively discussing how they were developing a new solution, or creating new job opportunities for themselves within the company.

There were lots of speeches on the agenda, which, in my past experience, would often evoke stifled yawns. That was not the case at OSW. There was clarity and purpose in their message: a clear vision as to where Bluewolf was headed as an organization, and the sentiment that we were all an integral part of that journey. The speakers — 75% of which were women — were energized, articulate, and motivating.

Among the speakers was Caryn Fried, who spoke about Bluewolf’s investments in it’s employees: most notably, the development of the Employee Engagement Plan and career coaches; each of which challenged us to think outside the box and to take personal responsibility for investing in our own professional and personal development.

Sue Goble highlighted the organization’s commitment to expanding our global reach with new opportunities in Asia and Europe. And Eric Berridge, our CEO, shared his perspective on Bluewolf's recognition by industry analysts as among the top three leaders in the salesforce.com ecosystem.

I left St. Thomas with the realization that I was empowered to create my own journey at Bluewolf, an organization truly dedicated to creating extraordinary employee moments to encourage each of us to achieve our best. This is an organization that practices what it preaches: empowering employees to engage customers. OSW refreshed my perspective on professional methodology, and the importance of proactive engagement — learns that I will no doubt take back with me to existing and future projects.