Cary Sherburne:  Hi, I’m Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor at WhatTheyThink.com, and I’m here with Susan Moore from DPI in Atlanta.  Welcome. 

Susan Moore:  Hi, Cary.  How are you today?  

Cary Sherburne:  Good.  We’re here at DScoop 7 and, wow, what an event.  

Susan Moore:  Wow.  

Cary Sherburne:  You know, at your business at DPI, I’ve been following you guys for a long time and you’ve really, I mean, have been putting a lot of effort and work into transforming your business, yet here you are at DScoop putting in hours and hours of volunteer time.  How and why do you do that?  

Susan Moore:  Well you know, I have an old saying, personally, is whatever you give, you get back.  So in the core that where it starts.  But in reality, I think our community has needed this and of course, that’s why I started seven years ago with it.  But it becomes a fever.  You get to know the wonderful people in this industry; you get to know the partners that are investing thousands and thousands of dollars and the changes that are happening in this industry.  And you just can’t help but to want to just roll up your sleeves and put your hands in there and say, you know, what’s good for the whole, will in the end be good for us as well, so, you know, that’s really where the impetus comes from.  

Cary Sherburne:  And what are you hearing from the attendees here.  I mean, there’s over 2,000 of them, you probably haven’t had a chance to talk to everyone individually, but what are you hearing in general from people?  

Susan Moore:  You know, a lot of positive, especially in a lot of the sessions.  We’ve upgraded a lot of our sessions, tried to get more advanced sessions as our community matures.  Obviously our content has to change and has to be more spot on, but the key is, keeping the community involved in those sessions, having panels and customers talk, that’s really what people come here to do.  They come to hear from other people who have either done it or going to do it.  

So, we’re hearing positive things.  Of course, by today, which is the third day, I’m already starting to thinking about next year.  

Cary Sherburne:  Next year.  

Susan Moore:  So, you know, every year I think how do we raise the bar again next year.  And thanks to the fabulous team we have, you know, at DScoop, Eric Hopkinson and his team have, of course, the volunteer board and the volunteers in the community and we have over 100 volunteers in the community that are daily interacting with DScoop.  So it really is not – it’s so much a team effort.  No single one of us could really pull this chain.  So I really am very excited about the community and how we’re all just pushing it forward.  

Cary Sherburne:  You know, as I’ve been talking to people, I’ve asked the question, you know, so have you picked up anything yet that, you know, you’re going to take back that might change your business?  And I can’t tell you how many of the CEO’s and leaders have said, “I’ve already called the office and instructed them to do this and that, you know, because of things that I’ve learned today.  I’m not waiting till I get home.”  So that’s a real testament to what you guys have done here.  

Susan Moore:  Well, thank you, Cary.  It’s something we need to keep doing.  This is the first DScoop where I’ve brought six people from our organization.  

Cary Sherburne:  Wow!  That’s great. 

Susan Moore:  And what I’ve learned over the last couple of years, it’s not just important for me, but it’s important for my own community under our roof to feel what we feel and get them exposed.  So I think what you’re going to see in DScoop’s evolution is the same thing.  You’re going to see business owners and General Managers say, you know what, I got a core people that I need to bring to DScoop.  And that’s really where we’re headed.  We’re headed to really trying to develop tracks to expose the whole cord of this fever that we have.  And of course, the big challenge is keeping the community involved and feeling like it still is what it’s always been.  

Cary Sherburne:  Yeah, ‘cause, you know, as you get bigger you don’t want it to get so big that it’s impersonal.  

Susan Moore:  No, no.  And you know, every time we get to – we talk on the board together in all of our committees our absolutely main mantra is maintaining the brand, which is the community of sharing.  And so everything we do we say, what is the value that we’re bringing to our community?  And if we cannot answer that question, we move that off the peg.  So, I think if we can keep that in check as we grow, we’ll be successful at it.  

Cary Sherburne:  Well, congratulations.  You’ve just done a fabulous job.  

Susan Moore:  Thank you, Cary.  Thank you and it’s great to have you around.  

Cary Sherburne:  Thank you.  

Susan Moore:  Thank you.