Let me be frank.

These past two weeks, I’ve done a serious gut-check every time someone kindly reached out with a generous invitation. To travel somewhere, for example, or to share ideas with a group, or to offer Enolytics’ perspective on a particularly relevant and exciting topic.

My default response is almost always Yes. Yes, thank you. Yes, it would be a pleasure to join you. Yes, thank you for thinking of us.

These past two weeks, though, that response has not come easily or in nearly as much of a knee-jerk fashion. Instead, my response has been “Why?” As in, “Why am I getting on this plane right now?” and also “Why am I saying Yes to this opportunity? Why, really?”

This week I’d like to share those “Why, really” reasons with you. Yes, I’d like you to know where we’ll be and where you can catch up with our team IRL. And yes, I’d also like you to know why we (and I) really said yes.

Here’s a peek into the calendar through June, and why we’ll be there. Really.

“Beyond the Glass” Virtual Roundtable Discussion, hosted by Provi and SevenFifty Daily
When: Thursday, April 25 at 1 pm EST
Why, Really: Because of the content and the co-panelists. Content, that is, focused on data and trends shaping the bevalc landscape. And the co-panelists, namely Danny Brager, Rob McMillan, Lester Jones, and me. More details and the registration link is here.

Wine Industry Financial Roundtable, hosted by Moss Adams
When: Tuesday, April 30 over lunch
Why, Really: Simply because Bill Vyenielo, Senior Business Consultant in the Wine, Food and Agriculture group, invited me to participate in Moss Adams’ roundtable. Bill, along with Michael Longerbeam and Ben Salisbury, were the very first industry people to reach out with encouragement when we first launched Enolytics. “You’re onto something,” they said. “Keep going,” they said. And we did. It’s the kind of thing, and the kind of people, you don’t forget. So now, whenever Bill calls, my answer is still that kneejerk reaction of Yes. Period.

WIN Wine Sales Symposium and the session on “Data in the C-Suite: Leading from the Top”
When: Thursday, May 16 in Santa Rosa
Why, Really: To share what we’ve seen about data leadership. Here’s a preview: the data leader in an organization may not be who you expect it to be, and they may not look the way you expect them to look. It’s less about already being educated about data, and more about a willingness to make the effort to get in the weeds and utilize data, every single day.

North Bay Business Journal Wine Industry Conference
When: Tuesday, April 23
Why, Really: I am simply attending the NBBJ conference as a guest. I’m simply listening, simply showing up, simply being there. I’m curious to hear what the speakers have to say, and I’m curious about questions from the audience.

VIP Supplier Summit
When: Tuesday May 28 to Thursday, May 30
Why, Really: VIP is a crucial partner of ours that makes our depletion + DTC data combination work. Also, Burlington, Vermont in early summer is wonderful. Also, omni channel is here, now and for the future, in case you haven’t heard.

Harvard Data Science Review, Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Conference
When: Friday, June 14
Why, Really: I’ve recently joined the Advisory Board at HDSR and my first article, about the synergies between wine and data, is currently under peer review. Moreso, the conference itself will explore the themes of data science and wine, and it will be like living in my Venn diagram.

Here are the common threads through each of these events: We’re showing up respectfully, and we’re listening more than we’re talking. If you’ve got something you’d like me or my team to hear, please reach out. We’ll find a time.

See you soon, I hope –
Cathy