As Promised, My Corporate Promo

Those of you who follow 'spondence closely (my mom and Dennis) will recall that in my post on April 7 I said,

"Also, the CRM group I work in has asked to interview me about my involvement in “extreme Frisbee”. I am terrified. I will keep you posted."

This post is my following up on that promise. The Customer Relationship Management subset of the Management Consulting & Integrated Markets group I belong to at Accenture sends out a bi-monthly newsletter (via e-mail) to thousands of my fellow employees worldwide. The May-June edition has made me famous with the inclusion below. I had better watch out for paparazzi next time I exit 301.

I think a lot of the comments below are inane and I'm pretty sure my quotes are both accurately captured and grammatically incorrect, so I can't blame anyone else for that but myself. I'll leave it up to the commenters to pull out the most tragic bits, but you know who you are if you are up for this (KT, Liset, Benji).

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Courtney Kelly brings her consulting expertise and Ultimate Frisbee talents Down Under

Courtney Kelly (in orange) has brought American Ultimate plays to her Australian teammates.

"Have suitcase; will travel" is an expression many consultants relate to–travel simply comes with the territory. Yet while traveling for work can pose challenges, it can also present some interesting opportunities.

Take Courtney Kelly, a manager who is recently deployed into the CRM service line. As a competitive athlete, Courtney feels right at home at her current client project in Melbourne, Australia–the sports and outdoor activity of the world.

Courtney is currently in Melbourne to help Australian telecommunications company Telstra transform its infrastructure and its processes. Outside the office, she is an avid Ultimate Frisbee competitor.

Ultimate has helped Courtney in balancing her professional and personal life both at her home base in New York and now in Melbourne. “Getting out of the office on the weekend and focusing on physical exercise helps me to reduce stress and get a fresh perspective on things,” she said.

Courtney is looking at life in a new perspective Down Under. “Ultimate has definitely made my transition to Australia easier,” she said. “Making the team in Melbourne meant that I immediately had 18 jogging pals, and 18 people to ask for advice about how to get around town.”

Courtney’s 18 new friends in Australia on the Ultimate team known as Team Box include a lawyer, a concert pianist, several engineers, mothers and students, among others. “I’m exposed to a wider swath of ‘real Australians,’ rather than all the other expat Accenture coworkers I spend all day with,” she said.

Hailing from the birthplace of Ultimate, Courtney has brought American plays to her Australian teammates. “I’m taking more of a teaching role here in Melbourne,” she said. “Having played against top international Ultimate teams in the United States, I can teach my teammates these strategies.”

With a victory at the Southern Australian Regional Championships under their belts, Courtney and her teammates placed second at the Australian National Championships. In the meantime, the Melburnians have welcomed Courtney to Australia with open arms, exposing her to the excitement of the Australian Football League and a cup of cappuccino that puts Starbucks to shame.

“I’m really enjoying my time in Australia, but I’m surprised how similar things are here, compared to New York,” Courtney said. “I’m working with a diverse, international team, but other than spelling customize with an ‘s’ rather than an ‘z,’ I hardly notice that we have different backgrounds and different passports.”