Courtney, Lauren and Paige reflect on Season 2 of the Aspire2Ascend podcast, share their own super powers and share their upcoming Real Customers of SAP virtual event series. 

Aspire2Ascend

Season 2 Recap

Jack Werder talks to Ascend Source about his unique career path and what he learned throughout his journey.  Jack has reinvited himself several times through his career including running a family business. Jack believes anyone can re-invent themselves at any age by being humble, checking their ego at the door and a willingness to learn. 

"Anyone has the ability to re-invent themselves" - Jack Werder

Ascend Source is joined in this episode by Paul Kurchina, who is a true customer advocate and SAP Ecosystem Accelerator. Having spent over 25 years within the ecosystem, he has dedicated his career to improving business operations with SAP, but more importantly, taking that experience and knowledge to others. Paul has lived his life and his career by freely giving and investing into people without expectations in return and finding true joy and personal satisfaction in connecting with others. With this lens, Paul shares with us his advice to others on how to survive, but more importantly thrive, in this SAP ecosystem. 

"Don’t sell. Educate. Education is the best form of selling." - Paul Kurchina

Ari Seelinger is not your typical SAP Account Executive. Unlike some sales individuals, he is not motivated by the paycheck, but rather the person he is working for. He started his career at Oracle, then moved to a small start up, and finally landed at SAP. With this experience, Ari is no stranger to navigating both small and large organizations. Ari talks to us about the importance of hustle and attitude and how a bad day rarely knocks him down.

"You can control two things in life, hustle and attitude."- Ari Seelinger

Ascend Source is joined in this episode by SAP Vice President in the Midwest, Brian Moores. Brian shares with us his SAP journey and how curiosity fuels his motivation. We discuss his vision and transition from being an individual performer versus leader.  He has learned the importance of knowing when to step in and when to listen.  When growing and investing in individuals on your team, he expressed the importance of understanding and accepting that individuals are just that - individual people.

"My style, as an individual, needs to be tweaked in order to be effective and scale as a leader." - Brian Moores

Join Ascend Source as we speak with Josh Milos, Head of IT Applications for Birkenstock Americas. At the forefront of SAP technology, Josh shares with us the importance of partner selection and what he looks for when choosing vendors. As an active ASUG member, he shares the benefits of tight-knit SAP Communities and Special Interest Groups and how they have provided him value and guidance throughout his career. 

"You can't fake knowledge." - Joshua Milos

Amy and Wizzie deep-dive into their viewpoints of professional friendships and the importance of commroderie. The best relationships are built on respect, vulnerability, and integrity. These are not just buzz words - they are truly a way of life. They also address the not-so-simple challenges we are all facing during this pandemic and touch on how they have had to completely redefine their own sales strategy, hustle and grit. "It&apos;s time we all become unapologetic and authentic, especially during this difficult time." 

"Respect is earned. You don't just get respect when you have a title." - Amy Spruill / Wizzie Carrier

Amy and Wizzie deep-dive into their viewpoints of professional friendships and the importance of commroderie. The best relationships are built on respect, vulnerability, and integrity. These are not just buzz words - they are truly a way of life. They also address the not-so-simple challenges we are all facing during this pandemic and touch on how they have had to completely redefine their own sales strategy, hustle and grit. "It's time we all become unapologetic and authentic, especially during this difficult time." 

Juan Albelo started his career with a degree in engineering. However like many, he landed in a completely different field. Now with  over 25+ years in software industry, Juan walks us through his journey of entrepreneurship and some of the challenges he faced. He shares some of the best practices from his career as he has worked on both the software vendor side and partner side. He will share his definition of ‘hustle’ and his own personal leadership perspective on teamwork, with many thanks to the example his mother set as a young immigrant forced to provide for her family, instilling hustle at a young age.

"Never underestimate likability. Likability is key." - Juan Albelo

Ascend Source co-founders, Courtney Byrd, and Lauren Reinhertz started their company by passionately wanting to give SAP and SAP Partners a voice that showcased their value. Now they’re continuing their mission by bringing industry leaders comprised of SAP Partners, User Groups, End-Users, and SAP employees to sit down and chat about their journey within the ecosystem, their personal passion statements, and how innovation within SAP is changing the game for businesses across the globe.Join Aspire2Ascend for a light-hearted and refreshingly honest discussion with people who ascend our channel daily.

hubhopper

Aspire2Ascend

hubhopper