Outsource talked without me!

Posted: 12/07/2016 - 07:17

Regular readers will know that each month I publish a column waxing lyrical about that month’s Outsource Talks webinar (typically a passionate, exuberant piece written from the heart, as I genuinely greatly enjoy hosting these “talkshow”-type events and, along with the audience, tend to learn a great deal from my invariably superlative panellists) and will probably have noticed the absence in November of such a column. Well, those of you who attended that webinar - Outsource Talks #9 - will be aware that not only did I not write the column, but I was unable even to host the webinar, as I was taken ill the previous day – which proved to be quite a boon for the audience, who were treated to the wonderful presence and silky skills of the substitute host, my colleague Eleanor Winn.

Drafted in hastily in dramatic fashion, Eleanor – a veteran of the other side of the Outsource Talks desk, having been a star panellist in our second episode – took to the role of host as a duck takes to water, and expertly shepherded our panellists through, first, their one-to-one sections and then the audience Q&A in a manner infinitely more effortless (not to mention glamorous) than I could hope to manage; I want to take this opportunity to thank Eleanor for stepping in so readily, and at such short notice, when I became ill, and to commend her for doing such a fantastic job.

An equally fantastic job was, of course, done by our esteemed guests, and it’s to my lasting chagrin that I was unable to host Lukasz Lacniak, Business Solutions Architect at Poland-based IT services and software provider Comarch; productivity and outsourcing blogger and expert Chris Niccolls (whose latest article for us can be read here); and renowned Canadian sourcing advisor Peter Ryan (who recently went solo with his new venture Ryan Strategic Advisory): I was thoroughly eagerly anticipating last month’s Outsource Talks and as I sit here listening once again to the recording of the webinar the pangs of regret at missing out on that hosting role sting ever more intensely.

Those regular readers I welcomed at the start of this article will also testify that my monthly bouts of enthusiasm for Outsource Talks never go into too much detail about what the webinar in question has covered, as I don’t want to reduce to a handful of infinitely inadequate words the efforts of our marvellous guests when, instead, readers can listen to and view the webinar for themselves as the recording is now live: simply click here to go to the registration page for Outsource Talks #9.

It’s not simply to push people to the webinar, however, that I’m typically less than forthcoming when it comes to writing up Outsource Talks here; it’s that you don’t have to be hugely focussed on RPA, cognitive computing, cybersecurity, nearshoring, and the plethora of other topics covered by Lukasz, Chris and Peter last month to be both educated and entertained by this webinar series. We try to bring together professionals from different corners of the space and with different perspectives to ensure truly diverse and engaging conversations about the topics that matter to them and you, and our aim is to get people dialling in not because we’re set to cover a topic in which you’ve got an especially urgent interest but because, well, it’s Outsource Talks, and that fact alone means you can expect a thoroughly enjoyable and valuable hour – which Lukasz, Chris and Peter most certainly provided last month, for which I thank them very much, again regretting just as much that I wasn’t able to share it with them on the day.

That hour will be returning in the New Year – we’re taking December off as we’d be going out right in the middle of the festive season – continuing this year’s timetable: mark the third Wednesday of every month (7am Pacific; 10am Eastern; 3pm UK; 7.30pm India) on your calendars and make Outsource Talks a regular fixture. If you have any suggestions for people you’d like to see on the panel, or any thoughts on tweaks you might make to the show, please let me have them at jliddell@sig.org; all feedback is greatly appreciated.

To access the recording of Outsource Talks #9 (November 2016), click here.

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