The transition to our updated community site has been new and exciting. There is more to a community than a fancy layout, new widgets, leader boards and fancy profile pictures, and that is you. All of our outstanding members is what makes this community special. With that said, let us take a moment to revisit our previously recognized Members of the Month! Their hard work and can-do approach to community questions has helped many of us resolve our issues and implement new ideas.
Who were/are the Members of the Month?
- August 2013: Mark Stanger from Crossfuze
- September 2013: Abhiram Diddigi from Infosys Limited
- October 2013: Jace Benson from Fruition Partners
- November 2013: David Legrand from DevoTeam
- December 2013: Terri Welch from Cloud Sherpas
Our Members of the Month were highlighted for their willingness to help answer questions on the community and their knowledge of the ServiceNow product. The members of the month were, and still are, the movers and shakers of the community. You might consider friending/following them on the site.
The Member of the Month program is currently on hiatus as we build out new community features and programs. We are certainly endeavoring to create new and meaningful member recognition programs so you'll be recognized and empowered for your hard work and expertise. Until then, check out some of our most esteemed community members below:
Member of the Month August 2013: Mark Stanger
What is it like on the other side? Being a partner of ServiceNow rather than an employee?I left ServiceNow just over a year ago to start Crossfuze Solutions. I really enjoyed my time working at ServiceNow and still have a lot of good friends from my time there. Going out on my own and becoming a ServiceNow partner has been an incredible experience. I love being able to work with some of the smartest ServiceNow minds to find new, innovative ways we can help our customers on a daily basis. I've felt all along that if we hire intelligent, hard-working people who care about the success of their clients and co-workers that we could be successful and love what we do every day. So far, that philosophy has rung true and we've had the privilege of working with some wonderful people, creating a ton of new ServiceNow innovations, all resulting in some of the most satisfied ServiceNow customers anywhere.
Can you give us some insight to why you chose your quote? I like this quote because it gives me some hope...because I've failed more than a time or two. I admire people who have the ability to keep trying and keep a positive outlook. Anyone who is willing to try is going to experience failure at one point or another. There's usually something positive that you can pull from it that will help you in the future.
What would your super hero (or super villain) name be and what would be your special power? I love Superman because he's just a good, honest, guy. The laser vision and superhuman strength don't hurt either I guess :). I hesitate to come up with a specific name for fear of that actually becoming associated with me in the future! I think my super power would probably be the ability to fly or read people's minds. It would also be cool if you had the ability to absorb super powers from the people and things around you...the possibilities there are endless! In the end, I hope I'm the kind of person my kids can look up to and pattern their lives after.
What keeps bringing you back to the ServiceNow online community? I love ServiceNow and I love trying to learn something new every day! I think community involvement is a great way to continue to challenge yourself and think about new ideas. I owe a lot to great ideas that have come from people on the ServiceNow community and much of my ServiceNow knowledge comes from trying to solve problems that people present here. My blog, ServiceNowGuru, is largely a result of that type of interaction. It's fun to know that you've made a difference in somebody's day, and even more fun when you get to meet them in person at a future ServiceNow event!
Follow Mark Stanger on Social Media
@SNCGuruhttps://www.facebook.com/ServiceNowGuru
Member of the Month September 2013: Abhiram Diddigi
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
- Albert Einstein
What is the most important lesson you have learned since transitioning from Systems Engineer Trainee to Technical Consultant to Senior Technical Consultant?The most important thing was, never write code today, that you cannot maintain tomorrow. This is really very much valid in a ServiceNow scenario because you don't know who else might work/maintain your ServiceNow project after you leave. Hence, it is always advised to stick to the 20-80 rule of ServiceNow. ALWAYS write ample comments/description so that people understand what you wrote. Everybody can code, but your ability to code responsibly will make all the difference.
Can you give us some insight to why you chose your quote? This quote has a lot of historical significance. It is said that Einstein could explained almost any complex phenomena(physical and astronomical) in simple terms. I like this quote a lot because, there's so much truth to it. The simpler your code or implementation is the easier it is to read, follow and maintain. You should really know what you are doing. I've always felt there is always a simplified way of doing things.
If you could play any character in a movie, what movie would it be and what character would you play and why? Batman any day. Everybody can relate to him. He probably knows around 7 languages, he is very good with deception, and he mastered 127 styles of martial arts. His powers are not supernatural, he trained and worked hard to get to that level. Lastly, the Nolan/Bale/Zimmerman trilogy took Batman to a whole new level.
What keeps bringing you back to the Service Now online community? Ideas. The ServiceNow Online Community really gives me food for thought. It helps me learn new things. People post interesting topics, questions, and case studies. What makes the ServiceNow Community different from other communities is that here you have ServiceNow employees (and ex-employees) to help you. What more can you ask than to learn things from people who created ServiceNow? Most of the code I write is a result of me reading a lot of code done by and mark.stanger.
Follow Abhiram Diddigi on Social Media
Abhiram Diddigi on the community
Abhiram Bharadwaj Diddigi on LinkedIn
Member of the Month October 2013: Jace Benson
Jace Benson - Fruition Partners
"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." - Dr. Seuss
Can you give us a little insight into the quote you have chosen to be featured with your Member of the Month spotlight?Generally, if you can word your question so everyone can understand it you might answer your own questions simply. If you can't get that answer, now you have the right question to post and get helpful answers. Post it and get some interactions.
Your ServiceNow videos are quite popular, what is your process for selecting topics for your ServiceNow-related YouTube videos? Are they community or wiki inspired?The process for making these videos is this: can this be explained better with a video and will it take a few minutes to put together? If both answers are yes, and if I have time I'll try to make one, but it's not all the time as I try to keep up on the community site and most of the time it wouldn't really help the very specific questions posted. Most of the time these videos are made specifically to answer a question on the community site.
So you recently got married, what has been the biggest challenge transitioning from single to married life?Making decisions for us as opposed to just me. This hasn't been difficult but a challenge nonetheless. Open communication is the key to any relationship to manage expectations and to keep everyone happy. We are looking forward to building memories and expanding our family.
What keeps you coming back to the ServiceNow Online Community?I like that feeling I get when I reply to someone and they tell me that it helped. I feel like I made a difference and that is why I come back. Without the community, I would have never looked beyond the Service Catalog. I am glad I can contribute like those before me who answered my questions.
Follow Jace Benson on Social Media
ServiceNow YoutTube videos by JaceBenson
Member of the Month November 2013: David Legrand
"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." ― Yoda
Can you give us some insight to why you chose your quote? Apart "a geek I am" do you mean? It's because of the Code, the Code never lies but we have to pay attention to not go on the dark side of the Code, it's dangerous :D.
Well, in personal or professional life, my philosophy is to take the necessary time to decide (and do some tests) and then it's time to go forward without giving up. But as usual, it's necessary to be more balanced than the quote is so, we should add: "at any second, question yourself you shall." Because if your decision is the wrong one, you have to accept it and fix it. That is who I want to be, both "agile and unwavering."
To make an example, I'm French and working in Paris and a year ago my Danish colleagues asked me to design and build a complex Web Service Integration. During the two months that I lived in Copenhagen, I told myself "yes, I could live a while in Copenhagen because life and colleagues are great." So when I was asked to stay for a year, I did.
If you could be the main character in any movie, who would it be and why?I'm more of a book guy but I would be V from "V for Vendetta" from The Wachowskis, I found this character very interesting for several reasons.
He's patient, focused and unwavering. During decades, he flew under the radar to prepare the "performance" he considered as necessary. The domino scene is one of my favorite in this film, the big picture is a set of tiny dominoes added one by one, I see it as we have to consider each seemingly meaningless event in life in order to see bigger picture.
I could add that he is not selfish. If I had the choice between making something easy for me and without value for others, and making something harder for me but could benefit others, i would choose the latter. I'm just the builder and I want the users to think that this is the beginning of the new normal.
What keeps you coming back to the ServiceNow Online Community? Helping people comes naturally to me. My colleagues and I across EMEA work together to help answer question on the community and amongst ourselves, each individual has a different perspective on who to solve a problem. When I come on the community, I'm able to see new ideas, new enterprise contexts, new constrains, new limits... I could say "questions feed me" and this diversity is interesting. For example, last month I rediscovered the Data Lookup for Service Catalog, I totally forgot about it. As Michelangelo said, "Ancora Imparo."
What was the most valuable piece of information you and your team took from the NowForum event?We met up to talk about everyone's experience and we concluded that NowForum is fantastic. The prospect curiosity and the customer satisfaction are high and meaning that ServiceNow isn't a platform users have to use, it a platform they want to use. We want to build something bigger on ServiceNow platform with "Service Relationship Management."
Follow David Legrand on Social Media
David Legrand on the community
Member of the Month December 2013: Terri Welch
"I invite everyone to chose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal ambition." -Jean-Francois Cope
Can you give us some insight to why you chose your quote?Life is a team effort, not an individual one. Division has no place in a team, thus forgiveness and participation is needed by all. After all, it is better to celebrate a team victory with others than celebrate a personal victory by yourself.
How has Implementation changed since you started back in 2008?ServiceNow Implementations started with core modules; Incident, Change, Problem, Service Catalog and perhaps CMDB. The ServiceNow platform has grown significantly in the last 5 years. Implementations today have much broader scopes and involve more complexity. Many enhancements have been introduced to the ServiceNow platform: Workflows, Release, SDLC, PPM, Discovery, Orchestration & CMS to name a few. ServiceNow and partners have done a good job at providing 'EXCELerating' tools to speed up and streamline Implementations.
What is an interesting fact that not too many people would guess about you? I enjoy facilitating trips for high school students to discover the world. Each year my ******* and I take a group of about 20 students on a Discovery trip, not be confused with ServiceNow Discovery . We have built homes in Mexico, worked in the dumps of Nicaragua and put on sports camps on the beaches of France. I Iook forward to future opportunities to serve in orphanages, schools and churches around the world.
What keeps you coming back to the ServiceNow Online Community? I have gained more than I have given in terms of the community posts. I have utilized the WIKI and community to gather information over the years; posting on the community is a new found interest. I have found that I may not always have the best solution but I can spark others to 'be the best they can be', by sharing my experiences. As it is said, 'Iron sharpens iron', contributing on the community sharpens my skills daily.
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