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Last Thursday and Friday, I had the extreme privilege of attending Hashrocket’s BizConf down on Amelia Island Ritz Carlton in North Florida. At first, I had some reservations about the conference due to its price and ultra luxurious location. Actually I had some huge reservations. I’m glad I was able to remove those reservations and actually attend this conference.

First things first. This was a conference of business owners and leaders who primarily work around Ruby and Ruby on Rails. But, it wasn’t a Ruby or Ruby on Rails conference in any capacity. The talks were all centered around the building better teams and practices — from sales to management.

My interests revolved around management due to the fact that I run a development team and not an entire company. Imagine my surprise when I realized Esther Derby and Johanna Rothman were leading multiple sessions. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with both of these ladies. Combined they are a huge fountain of knowledge and were both so eager to share what they have learned with everyone else.

Another treat was Jerry Weinberg. As you may or may not realize, this guy has seen it all. He shared some really insightful stories about the state of software development that I was just luck enough to capture with my iPhone. The videos aren’t the loudest (the iPhone is by no means a great recording device), but if you listen closely there are definitely some jewels in here. (If someone has the time to boost the volume on these, I would be much appreciative)

Roy Singham, the ThoughtWorks founder, gave a really good keynote the second day of the conference. It is always interesting to hear tips and tidbits from people who have really succeeded. His insights with no doubt will have some sort of impact on my life. I think the big lesson I took was his introduction of the Connectors, Mavens, and Persuaders concept. I’m going to start actively start developing my Connector skills in as many ways as possible starting with my “Yer Doing it Wrong” podcast starting next month!

Finally, I got the chance to meet so many interesting people doing some many cool things. Always good to get some inspiration from people in the same boat you are.