Let’s see, that would have been in 2004. I started my career as a chemist, and I spent about two decades as a member of the American Chemical Society. When I switched careers at BMW from laboratory management to quality and Lean Six Sigma, I thought it would be great to find the American Quality Society, but of course I found the American Society for Quality. 

Growing my network. When I first started to participate I was working in a new area and a new field, and learning more about the technical side of things was helpful and learning best practices from others. But then over time, the focus became more on my network, and who it is that I knew who would be able to help in more specific situations.