Monday, September 2, 2019

90 Days Till Re:Invent 2019 Have you started yet?



Hey all, so we're in the 90 Day count down to Re:Invent.  Are you ready?

Me?  Nope, but it's time to begin training so here we go.

Registration:

Are you registered?  Have you signed up?  Did you forget?  Better get on it.  You can go right here.

Re:Invent Registration


(opens a new window) To get set up, including a hotel.  Good luck finding a reasonable one close this late in the game, but maybe.

The catalog of sessions and all the learning is available here:

Re:Invent Learn

Image result for aws Reinvent picturesNot only will this give you a preview of the breadth of the education available at the show, but I've found it can be used to justify the expense to management.  You can learn and accomplish more in a week at Re:Invent than six months locked in a room with manuals.   The session catalog is particularly useful as you can use it to register for seats in the sessions you just cannot miss.   Trust me I've done, well all the Re:Invents, you want to preregister for the sessions.

Plan Your Meetings: 

Now is the time to get on people's calendar.  The week of madness that is Re:Invent eats people's time from 6am to 5:45 am the next morning (that 15 minutes if for sleep).  Meetings with AWS need to go on the calendar NOW!  Meeting with suppliers, consultants, ISVs, and distributors (Tech Data.com everyone) need to go on those calendars NOW!   Don't just talk about it, don't say "let's get together" or "let's have drink/lunch/dinner."  If you don't plan the meeting now, 91% chance, it won't happen.   If you're planning on dinner, or even lunch,  make reservations NOW.  Really  It's tough to explain how far off the strip you have to go to get food and quiet room if you don't.  Henderson, NV comes to mind.  

If you'd like to talk Tech Data, I can probably help, no promises though. 

The Physical Stuff:

I know most of you out there are Olympic level athletes and probably don't need to train, but I'm not (there was that 13secs 33 years ago, but not since then), I recommend, no matter your regime, at least some sort of training. 

Re:Invent is exhausting, 20+ hour days, coupled with spread-out sessions, the steps add up.  I usually drop four to five pounds the week of Re:Invent and my step counts are in the 20,000s (8 miles give or take). If you're gonna, survive you gotta train. Or I do.   Just consider it.

Week 1 plan:

So, big deal, big conference, overwhelming even.  Not really, 3 simple steps will get you where you need to be. 

Networking:

Hate that term, but it's essential.  Layout your contacts or goals, who you want to meet and start working the phone or email.  Don't have to push it, but build your list. 

Learning: 

30 minutes a day.  Certs are nice (so is the cert lounge), but even if certification isn't in your path.  Learn something about AWS before going, identify a path, and use the learn link to map out your attack.   You'll be glad you did. 

Exercise.

Start with 30 minutes a day, I'm not kidding you'll thank me at 11pm on Wednesday night when you can still move.