From Biochem to CRM: One Salesforce MVP’s Story
Learn how Salesforce Hall of Famer Rebecca Lammers leverages her community and embraces the mindset of giving back.
“Pay it forward.” It’s a familiar phrase to all of us — the practice of passing on the benefits of a stroke of luck or a good deed to another. But can it really help your career?
I sat down with Rebecca Lammers, a longtime Slalomer and recently inducted Salesforce Hall of Famer, to learn more about her success. During our conversation, a theme emerged: the best way to grow is often not by investing in yourself, but by investing in those around you.
Salesforce: A cloud-based business platform providing enterprise applications focused on customer relationship management, customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development.
Salesforce MVP: Individuals in the Salesforce ecosystem who are recognized annually for their product expertise, leadership, and generosity in helping others learn Salesforce and connect to the Salesforce Trailblazer Community.
Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame: A special community of the most dedicated, longtime Salesforce MVPs who showcase the pillars of expertise, leadership, and generosity. You must be a Salesforce MVP for five consecutive years before being considered for this lifetime status.
Firstly, I’d like to say that in addition to her Salesforce MVP and HoF-er status, Rebecca is an all-around cool person. A director in Slalom’s Salesforce practice, Hawaii resident, and avid scuba diver, Rebecca has been a personal role model for me. When she was inducted into the Salesforce Hall of Fame, I couldn’t wait to chat with her to learn more about what helped get her there.
Rebecca found her way to the Salesforce ecosystem somewhat accidentally. After completing her BS in biochemistry, Rebecca decided to take a gap year prior to applying to medical school — her plan at the time. She became a call center manager and then, while researching better technologies for her current company, she discovered Salesforce in 2013.
Like many people I’ve connected with who found their way to a thriving Salesforce career, Rebecca was instantly hooked and wanted to learn more. She became intrigued by the idea of connecting business and technology, and wanted to start down a career path that would allow her to improve that connection for other businesses.
So, how did Rebecca go from learning about Salesforce via Google search to becoming a highly effective consultant, team leader, Salesforce MVP, and Hall of Famer?
Rebecca told me that her first step was to connect with the Salesforce community. At the time, she was located in Dallas, and she started attending community group meetings. She focused on absorbing information and building relationships with those who might be able to help her.
“If you go to user group meetings and connect with the community, you’ll find people who want to help you,” she said. “And eventually you’ll become the person who is paying it forward and helping others.”
This is my first piece of advice for people I speak to who are interested in branching into Salesforce: connect with your local Trailblazer Community group! Salesforce community groups are filled with people who have been there, done that, and want to help you do it next.
Rebecca says now, in her leadership role, she’s focused on ensuring that others who are currently coming up in the Salesforce ecosystem can have the same opportunities that she did, and that she can leave space at the table for the next generation of leaders.
It’s clear in speaking with members of Rebecca’s team that this servant-leadership approach and pay-it-forward mentality is part of what helps her team work so well together. (That and General Colin Powell’s 13 Rules for Leadership — Rebecca has both of his biographies and maintains that if you’re struggling with a leadership decision or challenge, consult Gen. Powell.)
In a time of economic uncertainty, it was energizing and comforting for me to hear career advice prioritizing connection over isolation, and to focus not on what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do to help elevate the community as a whole.
A common phrase at Slalom is “a rising tide lifts all boats.” In fact, when I asked Rebecca what keeps her at Slalom, she referenced this sentiment. She said that she loves that everything we do is oriented around positive outcomes for our consultants and clients alike. In other words, we use connection and community to pay it forward — knowing that a rising tide lifts all boats — and we all benefit at the end of the day.
So the next time you ask yourself what you can do for yourself to better your career, to get to that next step, or to build an important relationship, consider asking what you can do for others around you first.
Slalom is a global consulting firm that helps people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Learn more and reach out today.
