Why I loved AutoCon 5
Getting NAF and AC0 off the ground with Chris and all of you has been one of the greatest joys and personal accomplishments of my career. This whole journey has opened my eyes to a lot - in automation, in open source, in building and caring for community, and more. And while every AutoCon has been important and unique, AC5 was significantly different for me in the best possible way. Let me give you my personal take…
A Great Start
I just listened to Andy Lapteff’s AONE episode with Chris and me, recorded in Munich right before the start of AC5. Even jetlagged and tired, I heard the joy in all our voices. AC5 simply got off to a great start.
It’s Getting Better All The Time
In the weeks before and at AC5 itself, It hit me that we’re getting our rhythm. With every event, we learn. We’re having our expectations set more accurately, and we’ve tuned in to some of the nuances of how venues and their staff operate.
In realistic terms, there are some clear practical lessons learned here: no hotel can provide fine-grained large meeting room temperature control or perfect Wi-Fi. Preparation and mindset help: dress in layers (I actually just saw this guidance in another conference I just attended), and remember that a slow download at the start of a lab isn't a total outage - it’s, uhm, a “chance to take a breath and chat with your workshop neighbor.” All kidding aside, we’ll never stop working to make these things better wherever we can.
Learning to Let Go
With these and other learnings, it’s become easier for me to let go of the small stuff. I’m realizing that "letting go" isn’t about checking out - it’s about making room for the things that really matter by worrying less about the things that don't.
The Team
This post is a personal reflection, but it’s only one perspective. None of this would be possible without Chris; you really have no idea how much he does behind and around the scenes. Emily keeps things moving with sponsors, venues, and more. And Eva, John, and James all did some heavy lifting in Munich. Jan floats around as the most chill photographer and videographer I’ve ever met. Ivana has done such a great job wrangling the BoF sessions, and the smiles on so many faces make it all worth it.
I Set a Goal: Be Present
The key difference for me at AC5 came down to one intentional decision: I set a concrete goal to be more present with people. If you’ve attended an AutoCon, you’ve likely seen me marching around with my clipboard (a bit of a security blanket, perhaps) obsessing over the next thing to be fixed. But there’s a trap in that: it’s too easy to spend an entire week "doing" without enough time really connecting. I fall into that trap all too easily.
Since one of the fundamental elements of AutoCons is people connecting and sharing experiences, I set my mind to breaking that habit. I mentally committed to spending more time just hanging with people. And the success of that effort wasn't found in a metric, but in a single sincere comment from an AutoCon regular (you know who you are): "Scott, thanks for spending more than ten minutes with me." That moment confirmed that this wasn’t just a personal victory; it was a necessity for my part in the community we’re building.
In the wake of the pandemic and this new, accelerated AI age, I am convinced that in-person gatherings are critical, and taking real advantage of in-person human-to-human connections matters more than ever. This is a foundational element of community, something to be guarded and preserved. I see this with NAF and other organizations I’m privileged to be part of.
Watching it Grow
Watching the NAF community grow has been profound:
The People: It’s never just about the attendee count; it’s about the deepening relationships and the story arc that continue across AC events. Simply put, this is very cool to watch and experience.
The Personality: Each event carries a unique spirit - each collection of talks and workshops, and commentary around them - driving an evolving identity with each next AutoCon. And Slack conversations all along the way provide plenty of opportunity for personality expression and development as well.
The Podcasts: We see more podcasters with Packet Pushers, the Art of Network Engineering, Total Network Operations (a selfish plug), and others doing their own ad hoc reporting at and on the events. Alexis Bertholf motivating us at AC5 was a bit of a step function for us.
The Projects: From the Framework, through the state of network automation survey (go fill it out - do it now!), the hallway track, to people getting hired through AutoCon connections, we are building tangible value together.
The Potential: Chris and I didn’t “plan the Framework” in any way; it emerged organically because of the passion in the community, and the many people that came together with useful commentary to build it together. What else are you interested in for network automation? What are you willing to champion? I can’t wait to see what’s next.
The Future
In the near-term, AC6 is going to be remarkable. We’ll do some new things that we’ll announce in the coming weeks. It’s the next chapter, and I can’t wait to see who we become by then.
In the longer term, I know that everything lasts for a season. As Chris reminded us in a recent LinkedIn post, it’s critical to "enjoy the doing" regardless of the outcome. As long as I am here, I want to keep improving, stay present, and savor every moment of this work.
How about this: let’s sit down and talk about it at AutoCon 6. I’ll make sure I set aside time for you. See you there. 🙂
