The Oops Factor is a weekly video feature created by Microsoft MVP EY Kalman, who is otherwise known as the ‘CRM Ninja’.
I first met EY when he did a telephone interview for me a couple of years ago, and although I didn’t end up working with him on that occasion, we’d got on really well.
A year later, and I met EY again online during Mark Smiths 90 Day Mentoring Challenge and finally caught up with him in person during Microsoft Ignite The Tour at the Excel London. EY had not long started his Oops Factor series and suggested that perhaps I should schedule an appearance at some point.
Fast forward around 6 months and EY was well into his stride with the Oops Factor. There had been some amazing people from the Business Applications space featured and the audience was growing steadily. EY had also developed a really easy going style with his guests that seemed to totally put them at ease.
The premise of the show is that guests are invited on to spill the beans about times during their career that have given rise to an ‘Oops Factor’. Its really quite heartening the way that people often regarded as quite iconic within the Microsoft Community have been prepared to bare all and share their woes with the audience.
I think the show really helps anyone new coming into the Dynamics and Power Platform space to have some faith in themselves and hopefully encourages them to get involved. It shows that everyone, even the apparently invincible Rockstars and Superstars among us are just as vulnerable as each other and, to quote the song are ‘only human after all’.
I’ve watched almost every episode, and think they are all great, but the ones I’ve tended to enjoy the most have been the ones where I’ve felt a personal connection to the guest. This may have been because we’d met at a Community event, or online, maybe at the infamous Badger or during a learning event such as the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge.
One such episode was from our fellow 90 Day Mentoring Challenge mentee Prashant Shukla. In everything he does, Prashant is meticulously prepared and exceptionally professional, so during his Oops Factor, it was lovely to see his softer side shining through as he talked about a time when he’d felt things could have gone better.
After the show, I commented on how much I had enjoyed it, and when both Prashant and EY urged me to come and take part I just couldn’t say no … although I did warn EY I might need a super long episode for all my ‘Oopses’!
Shortly after, we set a date to record a session one evening in August. I was quite impressed at how streamlined the whole process was, EY has made it really easy for guests to book a spot and join on the day. I was even more delighted when EY joined our session with his Glastonbury themed background!
As anyone who knows me will be aware, I am a regular festival goer and disappear to Glastonbury Festival for a 2 week digital detox each year when the festival is running. It was nice to be able to share my festival experiences with EY, who really seemed to take an interest … who was an excellent host … and I guess with anyone who watches the show. I firmly believe that bringing our whole selves to everything we do really helps to break down barriers.
On this occasion, I spoke about 2 of the many times when I’ve made a mistake and how I’ve learned from them, although as I mentioned there have been many ‘learning opportunities’ throughout my career in IT. Having shared my learning points, it struck me that there was a common thread to most of the occasions when I’ve messed up or been in a position where I’ve helped to rescue someone else. That common thread is the empathy and support of colleagues across many different levels of the organisations I had been working in.
Our working relationships are important. Its easy to forget, particularly during times when our interactions are remote, and we are often not even looking at the person we are interacting with most of the time, that everyone we come into contact with is just another person just like ourselves, doing the best they can with the situation they are in.
I really enjoyed taking part in ‘The Oops Factor’ and am still an avid fan, although I have to admit to being a couple of weeks behind at the moment so might need to make the most of a lazy Sunday afternoon to do some catching up!
If you’d like to check it out, the full episode featuring me and my inglorious bloopers can be found here and the CRM Ninja’s full ‘Oops Factor’ playlist is here.