Knowing that BGO Software is turning ideas into successful stories, taking on diverse projects, and earning bigger achievements every single time makes us believe that we are growing as an IT company and becoming a community that supports innovation and creativity. That stimulates us to keep on going and continue to make a difference. The sky is the limit. But what’s also important to us is to keep track of what has happened, what is happening now and what is yet to happen in the near and distant future. Only this way we can maintain our success, back up our integrity and sustain business growth. And for a software company, maintaining, backing up and sustaining are extremely vital processes. Not only when we talk about data obviously… Ask our SysAdmin. Of course, we need to communicate such processes and advancements to every department and team. To do that in the most efficient way, without leaving anyone behind, we held BGO Software Annual Meeting 2016.
Throwback Thursday or where were we, where are we and where will we be?
The environment that surrounds IT businesses is very dynamic and very often things happen too fast. BGO Software is an example of how big changes may occur in no time. All kinds of projects have been completed in less than a year. The number of people who joined the company grew and is still growing. More customers from all around the world trust our products and services. Expectations increase. Requirements multiply. Responsibilities pile up. Standards are raised. And among all of those things, we emphasize on working in symbiosis and try to function as a single organism in order to achieve and deliver the change we wish to see in this world. Because we want, and because we can.
So being the first of its kind, the conference took place near Razlog. The town is situated in the Razlog Valley of which nature is the most beautiful and attractive asset. Rila National Park is north of the town, while the “Mountain of Gods” – Pirin – and the high mountain’s peaks rise to the south. But why was this event so crucial?
In essence, BGO Software Annual Meeting 2016 allowed all of us, from company leaders, through project managers, to every other team member to:
- Review past events
- Make plans for the upcoming months
- Decide on strategic moves that will largely determine the mode of operation of every staff member, team, department and company as a whole.
Having a chance to introduce and meet new colleagues, discuss the work of each member of BGO Software and define the direction in which we would like to develop further, we aligned our three offices (situated in Sofia, Plovdiv and Vratsa), Web Academies and our NGO “With Love for Bulgaria”. As one might understand, we develop various initiatives and involve many people with different skills and talents in order to ensure bigger and positive impact. Thus, responsibilities of each member of the company are very specific. Sometimes it may be difficult for the rest of the personnel to comprehend the big picture and see what it takes to build it. The corporate meeting was truly an opportunity for each team and department to show what they do, how they do it and why they do it. But it was also an opportunity to get familiar with the work of others and see what qualities, skills, efforts, ideas and concepts are invested in and required for someone else’s project too. This is how we build respect and this is how we appreciate professionalism.
How was the annual meeting carried out?
The conference consisted of three panels. Each of them had distinct focus, consistency, context and message to send to others – motivational presentation and speech given by Ivailo Ivanov (CTO) and Ivan Lekushev (CEO); 5-minutes presentations of projects and products delivered by each and every team and department; and finally, workshops with Q&A.
Together, we set out a collective brainstorm session to determine our future goals, defined BGO Software’s mission, vision and system of values, presented new policies and practices that are expected to facilitate the work of everyone, redesigned the corporate trends and techniques in a way that responds to the size of the company, suggested new campaigns such as Sweet Life, introduced the formation of new virtual departments, like “Ministry of Motivation” that will deal with charities, communication across departments, organizing and shedding light on potential events and more.
Following the presentations, the workshop session, set enough time and space to every department to exchange more information about their projects. Some team members visualized their work through live demos, screenshots of products that are still in development and brochures. Others talked about their clients and end-users’ expectations, demystified the magic behind certain software or engaged team players in interactive games. There were those who covered the challenges as well as the difficulties that accompany their daily tasks, but, of course, they didn’t skip the positive aspects which always motivate and inspire them, because that’s the beauty in it.
Lastly, in order to enjoy “la grande finale”, we put some time aside for evaluation, votes and rewards and carried out an official Awards ceremony. The prize for best presentation and performance was scooped by our NGO “With Love for Bulgaria” which has the ideal goal to improve the life of underprivileged children and adults.
By weighing past and future, and swaying the present somewhere in, BGO Software Annual Meeting 2016 proved that having mutual commitment, enthusiasm, patience and appetite for great achievements is all it takes to make a difference.
