May Question of the Month - Join the conversation and receive a badge

Rebeca S.

Last month, we asked you to share something you would try if you knew you couldn’t fail, and the responses showcased the beautiful diversity of our Community. 

As some of you pointed out, failure is an important part of learning and improving, but it’s still amazing to know what you would pursue if that wasn’t a concern. I would love to see you perform on Broadway, flying planes, curing diseases, and succeeding with your crafts, and business projects — I believe in you. 😄

Are you ready for a new question? Here’s another opportunity to earn badges and points while getting to know your peers.

How did you discover the Smartsheet Community?

We would love to know how each of you found your way here. Be that you were looking for the answer to a question, introduced by a colleague, or stumbled upon it entirely by chance, let us know in the comments below. ⬇️ 

About Question of the Month:

We kick off each month with a new question. These monthly ice breakers are just one way to help you get to know your Smartsheet peers and rack up some badges and points in the process.

Everyone who participates by answering the question prior to the end of the month will automatically receive a unique participant badge once the question closes at the end of the month.

In addition to the participant badge, the top three answers based on Community member votes will receive the Top Answer badge. To vote on an answer click on the upvote icon associated with an answer in the comments below. Multiple votes allowed and encouraged!

Will Duplex

I discovered the Smartsheet community after over a year's worth of use of the Smartsheet platform. I found myself constantly googling questions about Smartsheet and trying to replicate found solutions and apply them to my own workload.

I noticed after a while that my search results would constantly point me back to the Smartsheet Community forum, which was full of helpful answers and users. I learned that I wasn't alone and that many other people usually had my same (or similar) questions. This caused me to want to learn more about the community and forum. Upon joining, I discovered a group of people with a wealth of knowledge that are always willing to help and who have a success mindset.

Like the saying goes, "A rising tide lifts all boats" and that is the perfect example of what the Smartsheet Community exemplifies. People who are willing to share knowledge, ideas, and solutions, so that we can all win together!

Monique Odom-Stearn

When I first learned about Smartsheet, I had to dive head-first into my own learning, as there weren't many folks at my then-company that used Smartsheet. It didn't take me very long to start googling my Smartsheet questions, and the community discussions always had the answers I needed and more. I eventually created my own account and started posting, using the learnings, interacting more… and it's been a blast ever since! I absolutely love the Community and would never have been able to teach myself or have the career I have today if it weren't for this amazing Community.

adam.b

When I joined, my current company was using Microsoft Form for our Intake Process that fed into Excel. My wife was using Smartsheet. She made the suggestion I learn about it. It took my 1 week to learn the system, and converted our business org to using Smartsheet. Now I have 7 different Smartsheet ecosystems, that have reporting, dashboards, automation through workflows, and I am looking to convert other teams to using the product.

Laura McDonald

I learned about the Smartsheet Community through my employee onboarding experience. Smartsheet is a large part of my team's day-to-day, and we were a small group with not a lot of internal resources to rely on. We often go to the Smartsheet Community to find answers, learn how others are using the various features, help others where we can, and ask questions when we're stuck! The usage of Smartsheet has evolved within our company over the last few years, with multiple departments now using it and building solutions. We share about the Community in our own internal "Smartsheet User Group" Teams space and often reference it as a great resource to search for answers!

Joanna C.

I was asked to learn this new online project management solution that the organization had purchased and try to evangelize Smartsheet throughout the organization instead of it being used just inside of IT. I have experience explaining IT solutions and tools to non-technical staff and users. I started playing around in Smartsheet and immediately was captivated by the templates. Then I went to my first Smartsheet ENGAGE conference. That's when I realized that there was an entire community of Smartsheet users. Some, like me, weren't solution architects but served as Smartsheet advocates.

I first learned about the Smartsheet community during ENGAGE and have found this to be extremely helpful. I very rarely have to ask a question because someone has already asked it before.

I find the Community to be one of the few positive spaces for discourse and that is very rare in the times we live in.

JenniferTorres

I found the Smartsheet Community when I clicked on the "Get Help" button on the Smartsheet navigation pane. It's been a wealth of great information! I also must admit I love trying to collect all the badges! 😊

Cassi

I was introduced to this amazing community by @Deanna Vandermeer . She showed me the amazing things Smartsheets has to offer, including the community. She shared with me the way this community comes together for one another. It changed my thinking about the different functions. I used to go straight to Google for sheets or forms and now my first words are oh I can smartsheet that!

Rowena

During my work experience, I gained knowledge about advanced spreadsheets and dashboards that Smartsheet offers.

Erika Sajdak

I discovered the Smartsheet Community after a few months of using Smartsheet for project management. After the excitement and information available, I have become the Smartsheet guru for new tools and ecosystems in my company.

Linda Barker

I found the community via the Smartsheet get help button if gives you an opportunity to go to the community rather than submit a ticket. And if you enter search criteria you typically get a great list of prior discussion on your topic with solutions.

BecH.

I was the first in my function to use Smartsheet and had to learn on my own. I started with Smartsheet University and that is where I first heard about the Community. As I wanted to continue to advance in my knowledge, I would continue in SU, YouTube, and many Google searches. I learned quickly to look for search results that pointed me to the Community where I almost always found an answer (even if I didn't like the solution 😊). Now that I have brought many departments and functions into my Smartsheet world, I always recommend the Community as a complement to SU & YouTube.

Frank S.

Once upon a time, I was an inexperienced Smartsheet newcomer, lost in the world of sheets, reports, and dashboards. I was unaware of things like INDEX/MATCH and stuck with VLOOKUP. My journey to enlightenment began, as many do, by wandering the vast world wide web in search of answers through obscure and poorly worded searches.

Fortunately, during my search, I eventually found my beacon of light, called the Smartsheet Community. It welcomed me with open arms and helped me understand what I was missing. It became a source of help that was tailored to my specific needs.

Despite my lack of real knowledge, I was warmly welcomed into the community and provided with judgment-free assistance in dealing with what seemed like world-ending obstacles to me.

Since receiving help as a newcomer to Smartsheet, I've made a conscious effort to pay it forward by assisting my colleagues and other members of the community whenever possible.

Jen Lawson

I had just started at a new company and they wanted me to be innovative in tracking our production orders. Prior to my arrival, they used white boards, and then excel. My husband said- try Smartsheet… and I jumped right in. I started with a trial period, wanted to see if it would work for our application, then after that- I asked for my own license. I started working through formulas and conditions- and needed so much help. So, I joined the Community and I started taking all the courses.

Whenever I have any issues, questions, or concerns- I scour the Community pages. Now I'm the company "expert", much to my dismay. Regardless of my status, I know where to get help!

Tammy Sutton

I actually stumbled onto the Community. I was looking for answers and help along with education and poof here we are. The badges are what made me participate. I'm a sucker for a badge, sticker, t-shirt, patch, and swag. That is what brings me here……oh and the awesome folks I get to interact with!

Thank you for being such a great community!

Dakota Haeffner

I joined my team as a capability analyst tasked with developing an intake process using Smartsheets. While my leader had some familiarity with the system, I was tasked with becoming the organization's expert. Despite encountering numerous roadblocks and questions along the way, Google led me to some relevant but not quite perfect solutions in previous posts. Though I'm not usually one to engage online, I found the Smartsheet community exceptionally user-friendly and decided to give it a shot. It proved to be an invaluable experience—I began not only asking questions but also providing answers and diving into others' inquiries to broaden my understanding of different solutions. Now, when I train others in Smartsheets usage, I always emphasize the community as an essential troubleshooting resource. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone navigating Smartsheets challenges.