I spent last week working with four brilliant technology analysts in Chicago. It was -40 degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill. Who would schedule a meeting in Chicago mid-winter? Even in the conference room it was cold, and we were all wearing coats and scarves! It made for a great adventure and after a brief 36 hour delay in my flight, I am back in the home office. What did I learn last week? For starters, more words to add to my vocabulary. I learned how to use words like gravitas and nascent. Two words rarely used in Boise, Idaho. “That potato farmer has both expertise and gravitas, and he is always looking for nascent varieties of spuds.” Sorry, can’t say I have ever heard that said. I did, however, learn a great deal about how real analysts work and organize their research projects. They taught me much about where technology is today, and where it is rapidly going over the next two years.