Trailblazer Ecosystem: How Salesforce & Partners Create a Platform for Change
Capitalism is changing, and with it, the expectations we have of our CEOs and businesses.
When I was a journalist, I had the opportunity to meet and interview leaders from around the world. I was able to ask the tough questions and learn the underlying inspiration that guided these voices to make change in their countries and companies. But one thing that often surprised me was just how many folks in business were driven by a narrow idea — what was best for their bottom line was best for business.
One of the rare exceptions? Marc Benioff. Seeing the growing inequalities in our communities and urgent global challenges like climate change, Marc started calling for a new capitalism, ushering in a new era of CEO activism. He built an entire company around the idea that there is a more equal, fair and sustainable way of doing business. The idea that every business, and everyone, can be a platform for change. Marc has challenged everyone around him to lead with the understanding that who we are is as important as what we sell, that stakeholder return is as important as shareholder return.
It’s this big idea that inspired me to leave journalism and see what kind of change I could make at Salesforce. My first mission as a Trailblazer was to help share this big idea with the world. I’m proud to say that we’re doing that today with the release of Marc’s new book, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change.
As a co-author of the book, I have an admitted bias to the power of the story. But let me be clear: it’s not a sanitized memoir by Salesforce’s founder and co-CEO or a dull corporate history of this fast-growing and innovative software company.
This book is a testament to the entire Salesforce ecosystem that inspires us to be Trailblazers — together, we echo loudly that anyone, from the CEO to an intern, can bring their values to work and change the world.
Trailblazing at Scale
The Trailblazer movement wouldn’t be possible without partners who are using technology coupled with innovation to take on both local and global challenges in our communities. Partners help us drive change at scale.
Just consider how many of our partners aligned with us on a philanthropic model and joined Pledge 1%. 561 partners have pledged to donate 1% of their product, 1% of their time, and 1% of their resources help improve communities throughout the world.
Take Conga, a Salesforce partner that’s joined Pledge 1%. They’ve created company programs all designed around giving back. Their global offices run volunteer days in their respective cities where they team up with local organizations. Not to mention that employees get three workdays of time off to volunteer.
In Trailblazer, Marc invites us all to imagine a future where CEOs around the world apply the same focus and innovation they bring to solving their most complex business problems to solving our most complex social ones. Our partner CEOs make this future a reality today.
Look at what Jennifer Mercer is doing as the CEO of Metazoa. Metazoa is a female co-founder-led company with 60% of its leadership team being women or multicultural. Jennifer is a role model for other women in tech, as she builds an inclusive workplace that embraces a diverse company culture. That makes her a Trailblazer.
Our partners remind us, too, that being a Trailblazer doesn’t only apply to the C-suite. Changing the world is everyone’s business and it can — and should — come from all levels within a company.
Donald Bohrisch, currently a Senior Salesforce Architect at MST Solutions, was one of the very first individuals to graduate from the Vetforce program and has been blazing trails in the ecosystem ever since. He joined the Air Force directly from high school, deployed as an Infantry Team Leader in the Army National Guard, and later became a multi-certified Salesforce champion by way of Trailhead. He blazes trails by helping other partners understand what outstanding resources the Salesforce Certified military Veterans of the Vetforce and Merivis programs are.
Share Your Story
Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change is a book about how Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners, employees, customers, and communities are creating a platform for change in businesses around the world. The book is on shelves NOW so you can read more about the trailblazing vision that started and guides our ecosystem. All of the proceeds from this book will go to Salesforce Foundation to focus on public education and workforce development.
We hope this book starts an even bigger conversation about how business can be a platform for change. We invite all of you to join that conversation today. We want to hear from YOU, our partners, about your trailblazing moments. How do you lead with values? What gives your work meaning? Follow us on Twitter, @partnerforce, and share your story.
Learn more about the book at trailblazer.com.
