Pink Elephant Blog
Opening Remarks From Pink15
In case you weren't there, or in case you just don't recall, here are the remarks made by Pink Elephant CEO, Fatima Cabral to kick off the 19th Annual IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas last week. (The stage is set like the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie and Fatima manages to escape the big rolling ball as she recovers the golden elephant statue!) “Hey - they say for a woman to be successful in business she needs big balls….. but, that was ridiculous! Hello!! And welcome back! On behalf of everyone here at Pink Elephant, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Pink15 - our 19th conference. We are so very proud that this is still THE largest gathering of IT Service Management professionals in the world! Thank you very much for being here. I want to extend a special thank-you to those who have travelled from abroad — and there are many! This is truly an international event — we have attendees here from all corners of the globe. Africa, many parts of Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, the Middle East, many parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand … and of course, from here in North America — Canada, Mexico and the US. Thank you very much for making the long journey here to join us. Our conference theme this year is "Snakes and Ladders", and Pink Indy is on hand to symbolize this theme, and the ups and downs of today's business life. You know, I just love that scene from the movie where Indy says 'Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?' Well, Indy, it's good you're not here this week, because we have a lot of snakes (yes, real ones!!) — and some ladders too. So why did we chose snakes and ladders for our theme this year? Well, we think they represent the risks and rewards and opportunities we face in our everyday lives, including at work. Let me explain — every time you're faced with a challenge, whether it's a project, or a deadline, or a change, there's always risks. And risks need to be assessed because there's always something that can go wrong, even with the smallest change. There's always something that can get in the way. And if you don't think things through, or you make dangerous assumptions, then those risks come back to bite you — so these are the snakes! Risks that go un-checked. But every challenge has the opportunity of a successful outcome, especially if you leverage the right tools, knowledge, experience and other resources to help you. Often you have more going for you then you realize. These are the ladders. Find the ladders, put them in the right place and climb them. Understanding where the snakes are, and dealing with them before they get in the way; and making good use of the ladders — that's what you need to increase the likelihood of success! You may be thinking that the way I explained it makes it seem all too easy; and of course YOU know it isn't all easy. Often you don't really know where the snakes are. And some ladders don't take you very far. Worst of all - sometimes that ladder you were counting on turns out to be a snake! So it's good to have a guide. And that's where Pink comes in. We've got a lot of expert guides for you this week. You know who they are — just look at the fantastic program. As usual at this time I urge you to make the most of the wonderful expert guides we've assembled for you this year. And don't forget those who sit next to you. We're all in this together and we all have different levels of experience — so don't be shy. Listen to the guides, but don't forget to share too. You may be a guide to someone else! If we all commit to helping each other avoid the snakes, and climb the ladders, then it should all turn out well in the end! The Indiana Jones movies are real favorites of mine. I want to show you now one of my other favorite scenes." (Video plays of the scene from Raiders where Indy is in the Cairo marketplace and is confronted by the bad guy wielding the huge sword. Instead of getting involved in a hand to hand fight fight with an expert swordsman, he simply pulls out his pistol and shoots him.) "So, the lesson learned is - sometimes the most obvious answer is right in front of us! Before I close off, I want to leave you with an inspirational quote for you to take back to work as you manage through the snakes and ladders of IT and your business lives …… When you get back to work, set Pinky down on your desks, and look at him for inspiration - Stay Calm and Indy On!! Have a great conference! And now please welcome the President of Pink Elephant, David Ratcliffe.” Fatima leave the stage and David enters. "It's great to be back, believe me - it really is great to be back! It's amazing to think this has has been 19 years. Time has just flown by. You know, from the very beginning our goal has always been to deliver relevant, practical education programs in a fun and entertaining setting, and with a generous portion of inspiration. Because if we don't inspire you - nothing gets done. So good luck this week! But first - I'm really here to tell you about the exciting plans we have for Pink Elephant in 2015. We're presenting 13 major conferences in 8 countries this year. That's more than double what we did last year. Unfortunately I don't have time to explain everything, but I do want to tell you about 1 particular major event we're presenting in Washington D.C. in June. The 1st Annual Pink Elephant Cyber Risk & Resilience Summit. Doesn't it seem like every day we wake up to news of yet another high profile security breach? Household name companies suffering the double-whammy of a cyber attack and loss of customer confidence. It's a big problem. It's a big, serious problem. And this isn't just an IT problem. It's a business problem. There are already businesses that have not survived the effects of cyber attacks. And unfortunately, they won't be the last. Someone said 'There are two types of organizations. Those who know they have been hacked. And those who don't know they've been hacked.' It's no longer about 'If'. It's no longer about 'When'. It's no longer about locking the doors and trying to be cyber secure. It's about being cyber resilient. That's minimizing risks through PREVENTION measures. DETECTION measures. CORRECTION measures. And RECOVERY measures. Our aim with the Cyber Risk & Resilience Summit is to tell you what can be done to minimize the negative impact of these increasingly diverse threats to our cyber assets. How to be cyber resilient. I hope you agree this is one of the most pressing problems we're facing today, and I hope to see you in D.C.! As I said, it's going to be a busy year. And before you know it we'll be in 2016! You're probably thinking 'Why's he bringing up 2016? When we've only just started 2015!' Well, 20 is an important number, it's bigger than 19 and we want to make next year's conference even bigger than this year's. Believe me, it's going to be a big celebration. You only get to be 20 once! And we want to get as many people as possible to experience our 20th anniversary celebration. SO next year we'd like you all to attend Pink16 for free! That's right - no fee for attending. All we ask is that you bring a buddy. Buy one, get one free. Pink's BOGO offer! You'll be hearing more details in the next few days days. As we get in touch to make sure every organization in this room takes advantage. What do you think" Is that a good deal or what? Well, let's get on with this year's Conference. To help us get things moving along I'd like to introduce you to your Conference host for the week - Executive Vice President at Pink Elephant, Mr George Spalding!"
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