The Genesys Meeting Center has been named the product of the year by Internet Telephony magazine.  From this point forward we would appreciate it if you would refer to our flagship product as the award winning Genesys Meeting Center.  Was it the ease of use, the intuitiveness of the interface, the ability to launch meetings with a click or the seamless VoIP integration that led to this big win?  The answer is all of the above.  While this award is great for marketing and PR, it is really about the people who believe in and support Genesys Meeting Center day in and day out.

I’ve noticed a change in the office since this award was announced.  The coffee tastes a little better, the tedious tasks seem a little less mind numbing and stopping on every floor when riding the elevator down for lunch seems more tolerable.  What I’m trying to say is that getting recognition sometimes makes the medicine go down more easily. 

The fact that each employee gets a $1000 bonus for winning this award makes it even sweeter.  What?  We don’t actually get compensated for providing an award winning service?  Well, sorry, I was misinformed, as I was saying it is truly an honor to win receive such a prestigious accolade.  Are you sure we don’t get a T-shirt or something? No?  Ok, moving on.

I think I said it best when I said this award is really about the people behind the product, but Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Editor-in-Chief of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine also wanted to say; “We’re proud to honor their hard work and accomplishments and look forward to more innovative solutions from Genesys in the future.”

Thanks Mr. Tehrani and Internet Telephony Magazine!

Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager

The annual Sales Kickoff was in the “Big Easy” this year, and the agenda did not disappoint.  Every year Genesys gathers the sales and marketing teams together to assess where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going. 

 
Day 1
Driving in from the airport it was hard to tell what areas had been affected by Katrina, because I had never been to New Orleans before.  When you got downtown there were pockets of damage and while the French Quarter and touristy areas had recovered nicely, the remnants of the past were still evident.

 
The day’s agenda was chalked full of speeches from the company’s executives, and the news was positive.  We had a record year for sales and growth and if the dollar doesn’t totally tank in 2008, it should be another good year for the company. 

 
After the speeches it was time for some dinner in the French Quarter.  Everyone was buzzing from being in a new city, seeing old friends from other Genesys locations and getting the good news from the executives.  Regardless of how many times management warns us to take it easy on night one and we’ll do the real celebrating on night two, it never really works out that way.  A live band was cranking out the Zydeco music as we were enjoying some tradition Cajun food and watching the few tourists who braved the cold temperatures and ventured out on a weeknight.  After a few hurricanes and a few awards it was time to call it a night.  The speeches started early the next morning, and the guest speaker was sure to be a highlight of the trip.

 
Day 2
Sir Edmund Hillary’s son Peter was on hand to deliver a speech about both he and his father’s accomplishments in mountaineering and exploration.  Despite his father’s passing just a few days prior, Hillary entertained us with his tales of climbing Everest twice and of his 84 day trek across Antarctica.  I know it was supposed to be inspiring, but I felt like a worthless underachiever after hearing his stories.  I am disappointed when the escalator at the mall isn’t working; I can’t even imagine climbing the mountains that he has conquered.

  
After Hillary finished it was time for our CEO Francois Legros to deliver his state of the company address.  Like his executives before him, he painted a rosy picture of the past year and outlined what we need to do as a company in 2008 to keep this momentum going.

 
Night two started mysteriously as the marketing team went all “Eyes Wide Shut” on us.  We waited in our rooms, dressed to the nines and wearing masks.  A colorfully dressed individual then led us back into the French Quarter where a Dixieland band was playing.  After receiving several beads and colorful boas the band then led everyone out into the street, where we became a Mardi Gras parade complete with a police escort.  The locals didn’t even bat an eye at us, but the tourists watched us through amazed, yet confused expressions.

 
Finally, we finished the night with the traditional dinner and an awards banquet.  Top achievers were recognized and the DJ had the dance floor packed for most of the evening.  A big thank you goes out to the marketing team for providing both an informative and entertaining few days in the crescent city.

 
Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager

“Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head…”  No, not that Day in the Life, I’m talking about the day in the life of someone who uses Genesys Meeting Center to simplify his work day. 

 
7:30 – I arrive promptly at work and settle in for the grind.
7:45 – Ok, this is really when I arrive at work, because my wife couldn’t figure out what shoes to wear with her new skirt.  Boots or pumps? Heals or flats? Brown or black?  I have no opinion, for me work isn’t a fashion show, but that apparently isn’t the case for the Mrs. 
8:00 – I skim through my e-mail and realize that I missed a web development meeting in Singapore last night at 2:00 a.m., my time.  Luckily, they recorded it for me and with one click of my mouse I see and hear everything that went down.
8:45 – Instant Message my brother that he needs to download the Matt Costa single.
9:00 – Time for my monthly global marketing meeting.  Two clicks and I’m connected to folks in the UK, Sweden, Germany and France.  The Genesys green initiative is the hot topic along with the upcoming Sales Kickoffs in Lisbon and New Orleans and the Better Meetings program.  Productive meeting, but it runs a bit long.
10:44 – I ponder my lunch options and decide that nothing sounds good, so I table my thoughts for another hour.
10:47 – I’m working with a sales person on creating a custom website for a new customer and we need to finalize some specifics. I open up a Genesys Meeting and invite her using MSN IM.  She joins and I use the application sharing tool to show her specifically what changes we need to make to get this site up and running.
11:58 – Getting hungry, but still nothing sounds good.  The two usual options rear their ugly head, I can go downstairs and grab something boring at the deli or head across the street to the mall and get a nice big helping of badonkadonk butt with a side of love handles.  It’s Friday, so badonkadonk butt it is. A nice big juicy Five Guys burger hits the spot and my brain rejoices while my heart gets another heaping dose of cholesterol. 
1:04 – I connect to Ron & Fez on XM via the internet for background entertainment, as I finish up a training document on how to upload PowerPoint presentations.  “Browse out to the presentation on your PC and click the ‘upload’ button.”  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  “Some benefits to uploading your presentations are: we pre-cache the slides into the temporary internet directory, so they will load quickly regardless of your connection speed.  The slides will adjust to various screen resolution settings; if you have one participant at 800×600 and another at 1024 x 768 the slides will fill both of their screens.  Finally, you can access the presentation from any PC.”  There that should do it. 
2:21 – My boss stops by to ask why my candy dispenser is filled with green M&M’s.  She goes on to explain the mystical power of the green M&M.  After learning of their powers, I promptly eat a large handful.
2:37 – The phone rings, and I ignore it because it’s that one sales guy who thinks I am his personal assistant due to that one time I went the extra mile for him.  Not today, Mr. “I can’t do anything for myself” guy.
3:01 – Demo time.  I fire up Genesys Meeting Center for a quick one-off demonstration.  The customer has several questions about capacity, scheduling meetings via the Outlook calendar and launching meetings from his desktop.  It goes well, and the customer is ready to come on board.  I dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back.
3:41 – Shut it down.  It’s time to pick up my daughter from daycare and start my second job as official bottle washer for the Crawford family.

Another work week in the books, and I met with colleagues from around the world without leaving my office.  Now, it’s time to put the kid to bed, open a cold one and throw in a flick.  I’ll shout at you all next week.
 

Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager

Are you still making the same New Year’s resolution to eat healthy and lose weight?  Then by February you find yourself in the McDonald’s drive-thru racked with guilt, but justifying it because you made an effort to exercise for 3 weeks. Take some advice from the guy who on more than one occasion received the following note on his school work; “Erik has the ability to excel he just needs to apply himself.”  I like to set the bar low and gain a sense of achievement though meeting goals that are so easy anyone can do them. 

 Here are my resolutions for 2008:
#1 – This year I will take my full lunch hour at least twice a week. 
#2 – This year I will hopefully see Led Zeppelin in concert.
#3 – This year I will take my daughter to the zoo for the first time.
#4 – This year I will beat my wife at bowling on the Nintendo Wii.
#5 – This year I will leave work before 6:00 pm everyday
#6 – This year I will donate all of the clothes I haven’t worn in a year.
#7 – This year I will watch all of the Steelers and Penguins games.
#8 – This year I will spend the 4^th of July on a raft in a pool with an adult beverage.
#9 – This year I will take a day off and go to the movies alone.
#10 – This year I will spend time with friends and/or family at least one night a week.
 

I will have the time and ability to achieve all of these goals because I won’t be wasting time traveling to meetings.  Instead, I will use the Genesys Meeting Center to meet virtually during business hours.  I can hook up the web-cam for face-to-face interaction and transfer documentation instantly, so there is no need for me to travel hundreds of miles to do what I could in seconds with a mouse click.  Any meetings I am unable to attend can be recorded, so I can view them later.  No more nights alone dining at the Red Lobster in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, or sitting at the hotel bar in Des Moines, Iowa second-hand smoking Marlboro Lights.  I will be at home on my couch with my family enjoying the things I like to do. 

Now if you’ll excuse me I have Wii bowling practice.
  

Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager