Realize Your Ideas Tour Blog - Autodesk

The End of the Road Podcast

Autodesk — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:11:45 -0700

Meet Mike and Mike. To wrap up our RYI Tour podcast series, Mike Colombo, Senior Director of Sales Execution and Field Marketing at Autodesk invites Mike DeLacey, principal of Microdesk (a key Autodesk partner) to fly from New York and visit with him in the San Rafael office. They talk about some of the central business challenges Autodesk customers are facing. They also discuss how Autodesk’s partners are integrally involved in helping their customers’ customers solve their business problems. Check out this highly informative podcast if you want to know how to go beyond better designs to better business.

Inspirations: Charlie O'Neil

Autodesk — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:56:30 -0700

Inspiration for me is found in the actions of those who came before me; the men and women who weren't satisfied with what they had accomplished or discovered or created. They are explorers, scientists, athletes, statesmen or maybe most importantly the parents who stood up and changed our world for the better in the face of those who said it can't be done. The courage and dedication it takes to follow a dream an inspiration to us all.

Inspirations: Richard Harpham

Autodesk — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:55:20 -0700

Those of you who haven't heard me speak, may not know that I'm British. What inspires me is living in Boston. It has all of the U.S. history all in one place. Like every great city in the world, it has academics and professionals and blue collar workers and middle Americans all living within a few square miles of each other. To me, all the best cities in the world have a "bohemian" society, which includes Boston. I love the juxtaposition of the best restaurant in town sitting right next to a students' hang out.

Especially this time of year, to walk out on Newbery street and be a part of the vibrant energy of people buzzing around is one of the things I look forward to the most after getting being on the road—coming home to Boston.

Oh yes, and the occasional Jack Daniels and Diet Coke (very American, don't you think?)

Inspirations: Cliff Brown

Autodesk — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 16:39:17 -0700

As a human being, what inspires me is the ocean. I’m a long-time surfer, but that’s just my way of being with the ocean—it’s the breeze, the calm, the water, the quiet, the sea. I have always been lucky enough to live just 10-15 miles from the ocean and am not sure I could live any other way.

As a mechanical engineer, I’ve always loved and been inspired by submarines—as machines they are the ultimate, the coolest machines ever made.

Inspirations: Shellie Smith

Autodesk — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 14:13:21 -0700

I find inspiration from all things that challenge me. In my work life, I am inspired by all new tasks that are thrown my way whether it is a new job, learning new technology, or especially addressing challenges posed by our customers. In my personal life I am inspired by my family, especially my son. He challenges me in ways that my career does not, yet the knowledge and perseverance he teaches me carries over into every aspect of life, including my career!

Life is boring without any challenges!

See You Next Year!

Autodesk — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 14:17:09 -0700

Well the US and Canada Realize Your Ideas tour is over… and I have to admit I was a tad teary eyed as I introduced Guy for the last time. I’ve sat through his presentation 14 times and I still got something out of it every time I heard it! We joked that we could probably do each other’s presentations we’d heard them so many time… he will be missed. The better question is – How could we possibly top this next year?

A good time was had by all – the attendees were wonderful and inviting as our troops landed in each of the cities. I believe everyone left having learned a little bit more about their Autodesk products and hopefully inspired to start the next great thing from Guy's presentation. I loved showing off all the wonderful new features in AutoCAD 2006 – definitely my favorite part of the day.

A big thanks to all the Autodesk folks who made it happen behind the scenes – many hours of invisible hard work went into the tour. On the last event I asked Heather MacKenzie to take a bow as she was there throughout the entire tour with me making sure it was a great experience for all involved. We went through many airports, delayed/cancelled flights, late nights, (along with some nice dinners) together… she probably worked harder than anyone! So I’d like to ask Heather to take another virtual bow for all of you…

I have one more city to go for the tour – in Puerto Rico…and I hope to spend a couple extra days relaxing in the sun after it’s all over! See you next year!

Lynn Allen
Autodesk Technical Evangelist
www.autodesk.com/lynnallen

Last Call to Mechanical Engineers!

Autodesk — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 16:05:32 -0700

Our team had a great time on the Tour, especially those of us who had a chance to visit beautiful downtown Arlington Heights outside of Chicago -you know who you are and you know what I mean! (wink wink).

Over 4500 people attended these events and got an "up close and personal" view of the latest and greatest Autodesk technology developed specifically to help mechanical engineers get more done in less time and (here’s the most important part) have fun doing it.

If you missed the Tour or if you simply want to learn more about Autodesk Inventor, this is your lucky day. Next week, Lynn Allen is hosting a webcast focused on helping AutoCAD users in manufacturing answer the often-asked and thought-provoking question: Why are my peers moving to Autodesk Inventor?

It's a 45-minute, down-to-earth, no-nonsense presentation that includes live demonstrations of the things you do today done faster and more reliably with Inventor. Lynn starts the session by addressing the common questions about adding 3D to a 2D design environment, such as:

What do I do with all my AutoCAD files and what happens to them?
How long is it going to take me to be more productive than I already am with AutoCAD?
What makes you think my company is better off with 3D?

I know what you're saying! "Not another webcast shilling Autodesk products!" Come on, I’ve got to make a living too. As I blogged a couple of weeks ago, I've got to pay for my daughter's cheerleading camp.

But the truth is, we all love design -and our products, like Inventor, really help us spend more time doing what we love- if that interests you, then go to www.autodesk.com/inventorseries-webcast and register for the webcast. The show starts at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday July 14th

And many thanks for your continued support of Autodesk.

Post-Tour Blogs and Podcasts

Autodesk — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 16:52:30 -0700

The Realize Your Ideas Tour might be over, but be sure to stay tuned to the Blog and keep your Podcast subscription open for a little while longer. Over the next couple of weeks we'll be talking to some of the participants to get their thoughts on life after the Tour, and gather a few more insights to inspire you to Realize Your Ideas!

A few thoughts at the end of the tour.

Autodesk — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 16:38:49 -0700

Well, this was my last day on the Autodesk Realize Your Ideas Tour, and I must admit I am a bit saddened. Listening to all the attendees over the last 2 months has truly been an inspiring experience. All of the entrepreneurial spirit out there gets me fired up!

I'm thrilled that I was able to speak to all of you and, as some have said, give you a "shot of Viagra for the entrepreneurial mind". It's truly one of my greatest pleasures in life and I thank you and Autodesk for allowing me the opportunity.

I hope that you will take my Top 10 list and incorporate them into your daily life, at both work and home. Doing this would increase the quality of life for all of humanity. I'm not in any rush, and I'm sure you aren't either, but I hope to see all of you on that first class flight on Singapore Airlines!!! There is a great little event company out there called Hummingbird Events, they create the most memorable events...I'm sure they could arrange it for us! ;-)

Realize Your Ideas by following these 10 ideas:

Make meaning not money
Make a Mantra
Jump to the next curve
Get Going
Niche Thyself
Let 100 flowers blossom
10/20/30 rule
Hire Infected People
Lower Barriers to adoption
Don't let the Bozos grind you down

Thank you again for all of your emails, well wishes and compliments.
Very sincerely,
Guy Kawasaki
-No Longer A Bozo!

PS, I just heard that the blog and podcasts will still be rolling in over the next couple of weeks as the Autodesk team wraps up the tour, so don't forget to tune in.

Alberta Podcast

Autodesk — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 10:52:01 -0700

The Realize Your Ideas Tour finishes off in the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. In this all-Alberta Podcast, Guy offers his email address for listeners who would like a PDF version of his "Art of the Start" presentation. Lynn talks about her favorite features in AutoCAD 2006 and mulls over the fate of the command line. And finally, Kelly Miller discusses his experiences teaching the Migration and Customization Best Practices workshops.

Stay tuned for post-tour wrap up Podcasts over the next couple of weeks.

Best Practices: Customization and Migration

Autodesk — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:37:42 -0700

Hi, Kelly Miller logging in from the beautiful city of Edmonton (much nicer than our people from Toronto led me to believe ;> I have been presenting to the real die hards who will stay to the end of the day just to hear about our recommended best practices for Migration and Customization. I have been sharing with them our recommendations and the new features in AutoCAD 2006 that will make moving from an older version of AutoCAD to AutoCAD 2006 as easy as possible. In addition, I go over licensing technology and best practices for network deployment. All of these tools were created to help customers “ease the pain” of moving to a new AutoCAD version.

We are always posting new white papers on this and other subjects up at the AutoCAD product center. If you are interested, check them out here. They cover everything from network licensing and deployment, the best way to author a dynamic block, to detailed instructions on how to create custom tool bars and menus using the new customization interface.

Don't let the Bozos drag you down!

Autodesk — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:07:08 -0700

Checking in from Vancouver to warn you: Don't let the Bozos drag you down. Watch out for the rich dude in the BMW wearing the big, shiny gold watch and wearing high priced suits. These are the guys that will say "it can't be done". Don't make the mistake of assuming that just because they are rich, they are smart!

A few years ago I passed on a job interview because I didn't want to drive such a long way to work and I just couldn't see how the company I was interviewing with could possibly make money. The position was as CEO of a company called Yahoo! Ever heard of it? At the time, I couldn't jump to the next curve...I was a BOZO!!!

Vancouver Podcast

Autodesk — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 10:52:50 -0700

The final leg of the tour begins with a stop in Vancouver. Lynn has 3D on her brain after a visit to Barcelona, and discusses the relationship between 2D and 3D in the new Autodesk products. Guy offers tip #10, suggesting that "you should never let the Bozos grind you down". And finally, Caesar Ruest talks about his experience on the show floor in Vancouver.

Caesar reports from Vancouver.

Autodesk — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 12:13:08 -0700

What a day in Vancouver. This is the third to the last city in the Canadian tour. Great new software and a cloudy day helped the attendance numbers. Our architectural crowd was stunned as we went through the products. The best Architectural Desktop tour piece has consistently been the Details Component Manager. Snickering and giggles are consistent at every city when people see how easy it becomes to insert symbols like steel beams and angle iron, then to have the linework show as hidden with the click of a button. Bricks and mortar joints appear just as you pull the cursor from one point to the next. This is detailing automation at its best.

The Revit Building demo still has incredible audience engagement and excitement, but I can’t help but think that our audience must feel like they’re drinking from a fire hose. After doing Revit presentations at least a gazillion times, I have to keep emphasizing that Revit can do all the schematic design, design development and construction drawings for any size projects. We covered Design Options in the model and how you can do more design concepts while I let the system develop a large chunk of the working drawings. In addition to that we demonstrated the process of working with consulting partners who use DWG and showed then how to hybrid a DWG and Revit file.

In the end many of the people thought that it all seamed really simple and looked like a lot of fun. I have to admit, working with either of these tools can be a great deal of fun.

Cliff Brown Podcast #2

Autodesk — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 10:55:22 -0700

What do cheerleading camp and design data have in common?

Hi, Cliff Brown again. I’m not on the road at Realize Your Ideas tour this week because this week I’m at home and focused on two very important things.

Number 1, trying to figure out a way to get my daughter gets into cheerleader camp this summer. It seems that the enrollment papers were in my pocket and I forgot to mail them. As you can probably guess, I’m not too popular at home right now. Number 2, I’m trying to make sure that everyone knows about Autodesk Vault and Productstream for design data management.

So what do engineering design data management and cheerleading have in common? Well nothing really, except for the fact that I placed a very important piece of data in my haphazard filing system of suit coats and in-box trays in my home office and when I needed the data (i.e., the dates and forms for cheerleading camp) I couldn’t find it!

The same thing happens all of the time with our design data. We store it on a server or in file cabinets and spend hours trying to find it when we need to reference or reuse the data. Autodesk Vault and Productstream are simple-to-use design data management solutions that eliminate the time spent finding design data or managing version control. To learn more just attend the controls design or mechanical design sessions during the Realize Your Ideas event in your area of attend the online webcast at www.autodesk.com/Vault.

So long for now and please, wish me luck on the whole camp thing. I think I’ll need it.