I joined ISA because someone told me to join. There. I said it. Work paid for that first membership. Work encouraged me to go to that first meeting at a little restaurant in Joliet, IL. Work asked me to man our booth at the ISA table-top show at the Joliet casino (no clue what name it was going by at the time). I began meeting people in industry at those events. Some of the people were ones that sometimes I interacted with over the phone or through email while in the office. Suddenly I was developing personal connections to these people and the industry I worked in and realized that I had found my people.
A little over a year later I found myself back in my hometown. Sure, I had people and connections in the area, but no industry contacts at this point. I had no professional network in St. Louis to speak of, and by the way for those of you not in sales – it is kind of important to have a good professional network when trying to peddle your wares. Enter the ISA to save the day again – I went to my first St. Louis ISA program and started building my local professional network. After a couple months, I was asked to be a presenter at a meeting on the technology I worked with, and after about a year I found myself on the board as Secretary. Because of the ISA my professional network was exploding. That network enhanced my sales career. The leadership opportunities I took advantage within the Section helped open new professional opportunities to me. Not to mention, these are my people here – more than just colleagues or mentors, but many have become friends.
Now enter March 2020, the face-to-face value proposition went out the window for the time being. Networking was now virtual and differed vastly from those pre- & post-meeting gatherings that often included a favorite product from a local brewery. Without the opportunity to network face-to-face, one might ask me, “What is the value in your ISA experience now?”
First off, not everything changed – access to standards and the content that ISA provides at isa.org and automation.com continues to be of great value. What about the local in person interactions that were so important to my professional growth? How do I get value in the pandemic-stricken world? Let me try to summarize some of the value I have found in the past year now:
Virtual Skills: Attending ISA Board meetings and Programs has forced me to treat virtual meetings differently. Over the past year I have learned to use my webcam, prepare better agendas for virtual meetings, record and publish programs, and probably a whole lot more I am not quantifying.
Industry trends: Not that I didn’t get this pre-Pandemic, but it has been great to catch up on the latest trends virtually, especially ones that have become more important as the world adapted to working from home. Topics ranged from Using Augmented Reality to Best Practices while working remotely.
Leadership Methods: Adapting to working from home also meant adapting to leading from home. From regular virtual meetings to collaborating virtually on files to recruiting new members and leaders remotely – these skills were practiced and are still being honed.
Virtual Networking: Not all ISA meetings are serious; we’ve had some fun virtual networking and happy hour events where we have been able to catch up with new members and longtime members about their unique experiences this past year. Heck a year ago I had a piece of electrical tape over my webcam, and now that camera is on almost all the time!
I am sure I am just scratching the surface with that list. While the world has changed, one thing has not and that is ISA Membership delivers tremendous value. Won’t you consider joining us?
Cory N. Kniepp
ISA St. Louis Section, President
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