Top 13 Inspirational Quotes from Wrike Collaborate 2018

We had the privilege of hosting our very first user conference, Wrike Collaborate, October 1-2 in San Francisco. Thanks to all our attendees, sponsors, and speakers, the event was a tremendous success!

There were more than 300 customers in attendance, and our speakers included industry luminaries such as Jacob Jaber, CEO of Philz Coffee; Oded Gal, Head of Product Management at Zoom; and Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Altimeter.

The goal of this user conference was to bring together Wrike-minded “superheroes” who are always looking for new ways to collaborate and innovate. We set out to build a collaboration nation that inspires creativity, curiosity, and confidence in the workplace.

Thanks to all the productivity proponents, we received a ton of inspiring soundbites that we’d like to share. Here’s a list of 13 empowering quotes from Collaborate:

1. "Most people think about strategy and the future by what's happened in the past. This is like driving using just the rearview mirror; rather than looking at the road ahead of you." -- Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Altimeter
2. “Matching the internal teams strengths with the needs of the customer is the most exciting part of digital disruption.” -- Claire Haidar, CEO and Founder, WNDYR
3. "As a CEO, nobody wants to tell you the truth, they want to please you. So having truth tellers on the team is really the key to success." -- Jacob Jaber, CEO, Philz Coffee
4. "Great talent is optimized through really great tools." -- Denise Teti, Director of Marketing and Sales Promotion, Speedo USA
5. “Disruption isn’t about making big leaps. It’s about making small leaps, constantly.” -- Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Altimeter

6. “Automation is about identifying where value is added and building systems around that.” -- Don Harris, Head of Support, PLURALSIGHT
7. “Efficiency is about focusing on something you use a lot internally (email, IM, spreadsheets) and using it as an opportunity to embrace automation.” -- Bryan Helmig, CTO and Co-founder, Zapier
8. “There’s this mix between being very pragmatic and opportunistic about picking the right solution. You can get a massive performance change if you’re using the right tool for the right job.” -- Marc Boscher, Founder and CEO, Unito
9. “Even though we sell coffee, it’s not the most important piece. It’s just one of the key mediums to stop and have a connection. We're not serving coffee, we’re serving people."-- Jacob Jaber, CEO, Philz Coffee

10. "It's not disruption that creates growth. Growth creates disruption." -- Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Altimeter

11. "Good ideas are only good if they make a difference." -- Denise Teti, Director of Marketing and Sales Promotion, Speedo USA

12. “We’re obsessed with mechanisms. Things that are scalable but help nudge behaviors in a way that’s aligned with values. If you have the right nudges, you can encourage the right behavior.” -- Jacob Jaber, CEO, Philz Coffee

13. “The hardest thing for a company to decide on is one future for everyone to chase after.” -- Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Altimeter

What was your favorite quote from Collaborate?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.