I’ve always admired those who are able to think simultaneously in terms of both the present and future. Some people get wrapped up in how things are done now and struggle to see how changes will be successful down the road. Others are pure visionaries, imagining the future without taking into consideration the practical steps involved in getting from here to there. It’s these thinkers, engaging with the present while also reaching for the future, who usually seem to find success under any circumstances.

This week I had the pleasure of visiting one of our customers, the Office of the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, to meet with senior members in order to discuss how pam can help them achieve their goals. A review of the Police & Crime Plan made it evident that the PCC and her colleagues are forward-thinking, and we discovered that the delivery of this plan is definitely pamable. Like Alliantist, they have a vision for how multi-agency partnerships could revolutionise the way results get delivered within this ecosystem. And the OSPCC also sees the steps needed to get there. By managing successes within their office on pam now, they are building towards a future where they can share all their work in one place with their partners.

I suppose this way of working is in line with divergent thinking (a problem has many solutions and there are many ways to achieve them), as opposed to convergent thinking (a problem has only one solution). A successful end result is usually the product of a dynamic approach. This week, for example, we released the new Contracts Register enhancement within Accounts. This new development will allow us to better manage our relationships with our customers by creating more visibility around account details. It will also enable those customers who have opted for the enhancement to manage contracts in a way that feeds into the work they are already doing on pam. The way we arrived at this final development didn’t involve a single person looking at a single need, but rather it was the result of our team collaboratively looking at what could be better – and how.

And that’s just the beginning. Our technical team always have their eyes on the future, and I get excited when I talk to them about pam’s upcoming enhancements. I like the positivity that emerges from thinking about how things could be. But to be honest, as a Customer Success Manager, I get even more excited when I see how my customers are making changes right now. Perhaps it’s because these successes are tangible for me: I can see the passion in their eyes and hear it in their voices, and I know they’re building towards something great.