My biggest single disappointment about this week’s Lumesse User’s Conference was the missing song. The conference, in the Four Season’s Hotel in weird and wonderful Austin, TX, sat right in the middle of the live music capital of the universe. Great conversation, a well honed ecosystem, amazing users, comfortable culture. While there was an effective homegrown Lumesse jingle, the obvious musical number was no where to be found
The Monkees may be the most underrated pop band of the past 50 years. Often derided for the fact that the band was created for the TV show (shades of American idol). people overlook the fact that they jammed with Frank Zappa, kept Carole King employed and used Hendrix for their tour openings. Dismissed as bubblegummy, lots of people miss the fact that their tunes have been covered and recovered by the greats. The Monkees were, in fact, one of the great talent management stories of the 60s
In particular, the Monkees’ first contribution to psychedelia was the driving “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone“. Covered by the Sex Pistols, among others, the song is about a break away from chains into freedom. What could have been more appropriate for Lumesse who are, after all, the artists formerly known as Step(ing)stone.
That small omission aside, the conference was an intense gathering of about 120 people from Lumesse, the vendor community and the customer base. While there was one previous US Users’ get together about three years ago, this was the first time that the entire clan assembled under one roof.
This is definitely not your mother’s StepStone. The re-branding, designed to communicate the operation’s independence (through a management buy out) from the fabled European Job Board, is symbolic of an inflection point in Lumesse’s trajectory. With dramatic year over year growth in Europe, the company is ready to build on its tireless incremental growth in the United States.
The re-branded Lumesse is an integrated Talent Management company with a huge global customer base, a broadly integrated functional system and an alternative view of the meaning of software and service. The domestic US branch (who were the participants of this particular users’ conference) is a prime example of the company’s abiding commitments to ease of use, good manners, good times and good value.
The conference featured the standard corporate overview and technical roadmap presentations, a very funny talk show send-up, a panel of really seasoned executives talking about globalization issues, a Bersin overview of talent management, a riverboat cruise and the mandatory late night on Austin’s Sixth Street.
Day two was a smorgasbord of customer success stories and demos from Lumesse and the vendor ecosystem. Bright spots included pieces from Merck, Little Debbie, DeLoitte and others.
When most of the audience signed up for the event, the brand was StepStone. Unveiled last week, Lumesse is intended to invoke the notions of illumination, intuition, innovation and easiness. That’s how the event flowed.
Austin is a wonderful place to spend time. Between the local ambiance and the warm sense of family, Lumesse launched it’s new surge in the Americas with a bang.
