What do you want to be remembered for? What is your greatest accomplishment? The picture above was taken on the eve of Dreamforce 2017. It represents what I consider my greatest, most lasting, most impactful accomplishment. These are the people from The Warranty Group who went to Dreamforce in 2017. They represent just about every department in the company, over 75 certifications among them, several speakers, and at least 4 countries. When we started our Salesforce journey in 2013, we had zero Salesforce experience and no certifications. Over the course of four years, we built up a cohesive team that spanned the business and technology areas of the company. Salesforce had become our common language and skill.
Of the people above, one became a Quip expert. Another a wizard in Pardot. Another built an online claims engine using Community Builder. An auditor in the picture above collaborated with another person in operations and figured out how to merge two orgs - without any IT help. One person built a dynamically-branded Community that was reused over and over in different countries. Another became an expert in Financial Force. One left - and then came back as our Platform Manager. One individual became a deployment expert. The list goes on and on. The team above would be the envy of any major company that uses Salesforce.
Every person in the picture learned a valuable skillset in Salesforce and used it to provide value to the company and its customers. More importantly, each person took charge of his/her own career and turbocharged it.
To the CIOs, CTOs, and other C-levels out there who look at a big merger, or a system implementation, or an IPO as their biggest accomplishment - think again. It is the people you leave behind that truly determines your success and legacy. Did you leave them better off? Did you help them personally and professionally? Did you show them the path to career success? Did you share your wisdom? Did you invest in your people? This is what I want to be remembered for. What about you?
The reunion, two years later:
