By Majka Klemmer and Diane Poduch, illustration by Sara Baldwin

What would you do if you got an unexpected request in the middle of your workday to head straight to the office and host a customer?

a. Panic

b. Make up an excuse that you can’t do it

c. Excitedly say yes and make your way there

If you’re Sales Business Development Leader Travis Pouliot, you pick option c.

Travis is a 15-minute subway ride from Cisco’s Penn 1 office in New York City. And he loves making connections with new people.

Since April 2022, Travis has hosted 100 customers at Penn 1.  He does collaboration demos, talks about our business strategy, and leads “walking briefings”— mile-long walking tours around the office showing how Cisco works in a hybrid environment.

“That’s why I often get called to come in the office and help in emergencies,” Travis explains.

Travis hosts at least one party at his apartment every year to meet more Cisco employees. While he doesn’t physically sit with any of his team members, he’s gotten to know some folks around the office.

During last year’s holiday season, he asked two early-in-career employees to manage his party guest list. When his doorbell rang, he didn’t exactly know who was pressing the button.

But it all turned out great.

Travis Pouliot (third from right in the front) hosted a holiday party in December 2022 and met many Cisco employees for the first time.

When he’s not hosting customers or journalists at Penn 1, Travis does Webex competitive analysis and studies interoperability with Microsoft, Zoom, and others.

“I have more non-Cisco gear than Cisco gear in my apartment,” he laughs. “I look at what the industry offers to make sure we are competitively differentiated in the market.”

Travis enjoys the flexibility in how he gets his work done each day, whether it’s sitting in the Grand Community Lounge and absorbing the vibe of the office or working alongside his two French bulldogs in his Greenwich Village apartment.

Travis Pouliot (third from right in the front) hosted a holiday party in December 2022 and met many Cisco employees for the first time.

“The energy in the office is quite high,” Travis shares. “I thrive off that, and I thrive off interacting with people.”

“Even if I just go in the office for a few hours in the morning and spend the rest of the day at home, that gives me energy. No matter what your job is, I think there should be an opportunity to have a human connection. Hybrid work does just that.”

Check out Travis in action and get inspired by how he works. You might be in the mood for this song afterward.

Let’s hear it for Travis and New York.