January 3, 2024 • 50 mins
Embark on a transformative journey with us and our esteemed guest, Abi Claus, as we celebrate the spirit of growth and new beginnings. Witness Abi’s stunning transition from fashion merchandising to her current role as the Director of Salesforce at Stronghold Technology Holdings. Her story is a beacon for those who dare to leap into the tech world, armed with curiosity and the will to seize opportunities. Together, we uncover the essence of professional development, illustrating how unexpected paths can lead to formidable success in the rapidly evolving landscape of technology.
From the challenges of a solo Salesforce administrator to the thrill of working as a Consultant with multi national enterprise organizations, we get to see how Abi tackled it all. Discover the art of balancing technical know-how with the soft skills that are indispensable for professional advancement, as we share anecdotes and lessons that underscore the power of persistence and learning.
Abi Claus is the Director of Salesforce at Stronghold Technology Holdings, a tech-startup arm of Stronghold Investment Management, a Dallas-based private equity firm. She manages a team of Salesforce developers who implement and administer the company’s CRM and integrations with bespoke applications while developing technologies to transform both the oil-and-gas and land-and-title industries.
Abi shares a passion for building amazing teams and curating company culture, as well as translating complex technical concepts into relatable language, optimizing end-user experience, troubleshooting user adoption challenges, and implementing change management strategies.
Over the course of her career, Abi has received multiple technical certifications from Salesforce for her implementation and administration expertise. Prior to joining Stronghold, Abi was a Salesforce consultant and solution owner at Slalom, where she built and developed breakthrough technologies implemented by Fortune 500 companies and state and local governments. She previously worked in the high tech, healthcare, automotive and finance industries. Abi holds an undergraduate degree in merchandising from Texas Woman’s University.
A skilled presenter and renowned expert, Abi was a speaker at one of the world’s largest tech conferences, Dreamforce, in 2019. She is a user-group leader for Women in Tech, was featured on the Top 50 Women Leaders in Dallas in 2023, as well as a mentor for future leaders navigating their careers.
linkedin.com/in/abiclaus/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
Happy New Year everyone.
My name is Jacob Catalano andwelcome to the first episode of
Admins of Tomorrow of 2024.
I really hope everyone's newyear is starting off well and
you're on track to make a lot ofprogress in all your New Year's
resolutions and planning.
For me personally, 2024 is allabout growth and professional
(00:36):
development.
I've let personal anxieties andfear of failure control and
limit me in my growth for toolong and, honestly, the start of
this podcast has helped meovercome so much of that.
I'm so very excited andgrateful to have made some
progress on all these goals andreally hoping to share some of
that progress and share thatjourney with you, the audience,
(00:59):
in this week's episode.
I'm hoping that we can helpanyone else with similar 2024
goals or just these similar lifegoals in general.
Today we're sitting down withAbby Klaus to dive into their
journey from fashionmerchandising to becoming a
director of Salesforce.
It was an absolute joy for meto hear about Abby's journey and
see that, with a little bit ofpassion for learning and just a
(01:22):
desire to grow, findingopportunities in this ecosystem
is way more attainable than wethink, from starting out with
minimal knowledge aboutSalesforce to leading a team of
admins and growing thedepartment of Salesforce from
the ground up, we really get totouch on what it means to be
innovative as an admin.
So, without further ado, let'smeet Abby.
(01:42):
Abby Klaus is the director ofSalesforce at Stronghold
Technology Holdings.
She manages a team ofSalesforce developers who
implement and administer thecompany's CRM and integrations
with bespoke applications, whiledeveloping technologies to
transform both the oil and gasand land and title industries.
Abby shares a passion forbuilding amazing teams and
(02:04):
curating company culture, aswell as translating complex
technical concepts intorelatable language,
troubleshooting user adoptionchallenges and implementing
change management strategies.
Abby is a user group leader forwomen in tech and was featured
in the top 50 women leaders inDallas in 2023.
So let's not waste any moretime and dive on in.
(02:26):
But yeah, all things considered, it's going well.
I'm glad you were able to jumpon in, so it's nice to
(02:48):
officially meet you.
Thank you for taking the timeto join me, though.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, sure.
Thanks for the invite andthanks to Kiro for connecting us
.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, he's a solid guy.
So, yeah, I was excited when hetold me about your podcast.
I was like, oh yeah, like I'lltalk to anybody that wants to
listen.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I love that.
So I am curious, just kind oforganically diving on in, I
spoke very, very highly of youand I was looking through your
LinkedIn because LinkedInstocking is no longer like a
weird thing anymore.
But you're a Harvard guestlecturer, you've spoken at
Dreamforce in 2019 and you arenow a director of Salesforce.
(03:33):
So I'm kind of curious.
That is a really awesome amountof resume credits right there.
What got you started in theecosystem?
What is your background?
How did you get involved to bean admin.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, so I have a pretty traditionally and
traditional accidental adminstory.
I graduated college in 2008with a fashion merchandising
degree.
I wanted to be a buyer for aneven markets.
I know, and I don't know if youremember what happened to the
(04:08):
retail sector in 2008, but itkind of changed.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
So I got a lot of things tinked in 2008.
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And so I got laid off and I was like what am I going
to do?
And, spoiler alert, salesforcedoesn't come in for a minute, so
doesn't make a cameo just yet.
But I was unemployed for threemonths and I was like, okay, I
need a job.
Right, and one of my reallygood friends had just had a job
at Bank of America and they hadjust filed or just purchased,
(04:41):
acquired countrywide, and sobasically it was foreclosures
were rampant right Everywhereand so they basically were like
if you have a pulse, we'll takeyou for a job.
So I was like I need a job.
I did not want to work at abank, but it was like money's
money.
So I did a job in theforeclosure department and
quickly realized this was soulsucking and I didn't want to do
(05:02):
this for very long at all.
And so I started getting intothe systems behind what the
teams were using, and I joinedthis one team that was
completely remote and they Ijoined and I was like okay, how
are you guys sharing information?
And the VP was like well, we'resharing spreadsheets back and
(05:22):
forth, and I was like you'refunny.
And he's like I'm not kidding.
And I was like, oh well, thispresents an interesting chat.
How do you know which versionis?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
right.
How are data?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
is stale, what's not, and we just try to keep each
other updated on the latestversion.
I'm like, okay, I feel likethere's a lot of process
improvement that's going tohappen here.
So I had in a previous team Ihad built just an easy little
SharePoint site just to help myteam out.
And I was like, well, I've seenthe SharePoint thing, like I've
seen it before, and he was likeI love it, build it.
(05:53):
I was like I didn't say I coulddo that, but it's better than
foreclosure, so I'll figure itout.
So again, salesforce hasn'teven in the space yet, and
SharePoint right.
And so I'm building theSharePoint site and I build
enough of it and my team's happyand we're not emailing
spreadsheets back and forth, soeverybody's happy.
So a couple of months later, thesame VP comes to me and he's
like hey, I love what you didwith SharePoint.
(06:14):
There's this thing calledSalesforce.
I'd like you to sit in on acouple of meetings and tell me
what you think.
So I sat in and it was a coupleof internal consultants,
internal to the company, and Itold them my business process
and I was kind of, you know, abusiness analyst.
I had a business analystassigned to me I was the
business right, I told them myprocess, told them everything
and they started a quick buildout.
(06:36):
They got about a month and ahalf in and the company was kind
of a mess back then.
So these people left and theywere like, oh well, these people
left, we're not going tocontinue forward.
And I was like, hey, wait asecond.
Like the SharePoint thing, likeI figured it out before, if
you'll just give me the keysLike I can, I'll figure it out
right.
So they made me a system admin,flew me out to LA for like a
(06:59):
weekend and this crash coursewith these guys that I had never
seen before and had never seensince.
They taught me about formulas,they taught me about a lot of
information.
I took like pages and pages ofnotes and so I came back to
Texas and was like, okay, I'mgoing to figure this out.
And in hindsight, now it was Ijust I built an object with some
(07:21):
fields and some reports.
Really no automation, no,nothing but what I released.
And not only did I build it, Itested it, I rolled it out, I
taught everyone how to use it inour remote team before remote
work was cool and ended upsaving my boss specifically like
(07:43):
four hours a day of pullingreporting, Cause like most of
her job was just like mashingexcels together.
And I was like, well, it's adata all lives in one place.
It kind of makes it easier toreport on right.
And so I just figured it outand I rolled that out and
everyone loved it.
And then, like a couple ofmonths later, they came back to
me like well, this otherdepartment heard about this cool
(08:04):
thing you did.
Can you do that for them?
And I was like that was superfun.
Sure, Let me try it again.
And this, this was beforetrailhead, this was before yeah.
It was like 2011.
So, yeah, I rolled out thissecond project for this other
department and then I was likethat's it that I'm hooked, like
that was the Kool-Aid I drank it, I want more.
That's when I decided, like Ican, I could do this.
(08:27):
So I learned more and learnedmore and learned more and kind
of really automated my own jobinside of the company so that
when trailhead did roll out, allI did was trial head.
I had automated my job so muchthat I I was so quick to get all
the badges.
I just ate them all.
Oh, that's awesome.
So finally I got a juniorconsultant role at a company and
(08:50):
then just, it's kind of justthe next thing, the next thing,
the next thing.
Like I left there, I ended upgetting another job at GM
Financial doing you know,learning, my skillset, growing.
It's all literally beenself-taught along the way.
I used to joke that you know IGoogled my way into a career,
because part of it is not justdoing, it's learning how to ask
(09:15):
the questions of Google to getthe answer you want, right, and
it's not just how do you do thisthing, and then you have to
read through everything and makesure it's the right information
and again the.
The Salesforce ecosystem hascome so far since 2014.
That you know.
The information is just so muchmore prevalent now than it was
(09:37):
even back then and Literallyjust kind of figuring my way out
, I was a you know Salesforce,you know admin at GM financial.
Then I left there and I went toa different company and I was a
consultant there and realizedlike the consulting thing for
that in that model didn't work.
Because I didn't work, I didn'tget paid and I was like okay,
we need to find another gig.
And then yeah, yeah and thenbecame a solo admin in a
(10:00):
high-tech company and that'swhere I really grew, because I
had 285 users and they were onclassic and when I joined I was
like, hey, there's this thingcalled lightning, you're gonna
like a lot better.
I migrated 285 users tolightning by myself.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
That's Really impressive.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Thank you.
And I was again solo admin.
I was BA, I was tester, I wasRoot trainer, I was literally
everything.
So I really grew up there andthen Decided to leave there and
actually start consulting and Iwent into I I started working
for slalom, which is one of thebest companies, just they're
(10:41):
amazing they really really greatcompany Yep.
That's a great company, likeeveryone.
They're top-down, justtop-notch, and I really grew up
there, like if, like I hit mystride there, I became a
solution owner.
I did so many cool projectsthere, like I don't know if we
can say this on the air, but I'mgonna say it.
Well, maybe we cut it, I don'tknow.
You know I worked on theproject with at home, the
(11:06):
company at home, the buy onlinepick up in store.
I worked on that.
I did during COVID.
We did Contact tracing for astate government where the data
we generated went to the CDC andthe governor.
I also made a music video aboutit.
Like I'll show you that laterI'll find I Also did so.
Toyota connected theirconnected car.
(11:26):
I Since, after bought a toy, Ihave a Toyota now and so I push
a button in my car and so abutton and the person answers
the screen.
Yeah the that that person'slooking at.
I built it and it was reallycool and that was my first
experience of working withSalesforce and other non
Salesforce development teams, sothat was a really cool we.
(11:48):
I got to learn about CICD,which is how we've come to how I
spoke at Dreamforce.
I got to learn about SalesforceDX because and we'll go into
this because that was theproject where I my my boss at
slalom I walked in and she'slike okay, I'm rolling off in
two weeks.
Here's a list of commands ofBTDubs.
There's this thing calledSalesforce DX, so you can't use
change sets anymore and I don'treally know what all these
(12:10):
commands mean.
But if you do it in this order,the things do what you want
them to do.
And Let me tell you, I havenever cried in the bathroom so
many times Like joking, notjoking, it's funny because it's
true Because I just sat thereand I was like, okay, I, I am
(12:31):
completely out of my element,right, where's my mouse?
Clicks Like I don't know how tomove stuff.
So I and I had ended upspeaking at Dreamforce on this,
but the the backstory here isthat it was so painful and it
was similar to when I startedSalesforce pre trailhead.
Everything I googled waswritten in developer speak and I
(12:52):
didn't know what any of thatmeant, so I had to Google the
words that were used to describethe thing I originally googled.
So I'm just like googling andhelp.
I'm like, okay, if I everfigure this out, I swear I will
give this information away forfree to any admin who needs to
know, because, like, if I cansave one person from crying in
the bathroom, like then it's notin vain, right?
So in my googling I readsomewhere that they were
(13:15):
thinking about doing away withprofiles and moving everything
to permission sets, and backthen I was like that that's.
I was like I put my foot downand I'm literally angry.
Tweeted at Salesforce DXplatform.
I was so mad.
I Was like listen, I know theylisten to center.
I've been in the key notes.
(13:35):
I know they listen to Twittersentiment, so I use that to my
advantage.
And I was like this is notgonna fly.
I need a product manager tocall me ASAP.
And they responded like thesame day, someone actually
responding was like hey, I'm aproduct manager for DX.
Like send, send me your DM, meyour email and let's chat.
And I was like I was shocked.
(13:55):
Honestly, I thought I wasscreaming into the void.
Yeah, but lovely.
Claire Bianchi shout-outsproduct manager for Salesforce
DX I.
What I was trying to do is Iwas and I was telling her.
I was like look, this, thissucks.
This is great, and if you canfix a thing that sucks, like you
will have admin adoption.
(14:15):
But also we need to work on thelanguage, because I Don't know
any of the words that are usedto describe the thing I'm trying
to do.
Like these are different tools,right.
We speak about it verydifferently.
So she and I were two.
I was like I actually becauseI'm co-leader at the time.
I wasn't, but I am nowco-leader of the women in tech
user group in Dallas and my boss, who was rolling off, was one
(14:38):
of the leaders.
She and I have been friends.
We met through that group so wecan come back to a community on
that.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah, yeah and we.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You know I.
She was like I would love to beable to teach this to the women
in tech group.
I was like got you, got you, Iwill have the material like I
will.
I love being able to explainTechnical concepts in a
relatable way, using real peoplelanguage, like the language
that we use.
Right, so I would.
That's, that's really thegenesis of it, and I was telling
(15:07):
Claire this and she was likeyou know, I was like I'd like to
speak at Texas, dreaming onthis, and just like, again, give
this information away for freefor anyone who needs it, because
again I can save someone fromcrying in the bathroom.
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Oh much time, so much strife yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I mean like, and that's how we all move forward,
right?
It's like I learned these hardlessons.
I'm gonna give these to you forfree so you can go solve the
problem.
But so she was like, you know,actually this is something that
would be really great for dreamforce, like, what do you think
about submitting?
And so I was like, uh, veryscared.
So she was like record yourTexas Dreaming presentation,
(15:47):
because I ended up Speakingthere, and so I sent that to her
.
And she was like, I have acouple of tweaks, but this is
really good content.
And so she actually was anadvocate and, you know, helped
me figure out how to even do it.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I've never done any of that before, right, and so
also very scared to speak on atechnical topic that I'm Just
learning that is so fantasticthat you were able to have the
advocates at the sales forceproduct team to come in find you
and Pick you up and say go.
Let's bring you in from a wideraudience.
Let's get this voice heardabout the technical.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yes, and they were so amazing.
They were like we reallyactually care very much about
the admin experience, the ax ofDX, right, and so we work
together and I was like, if youcan just make these certain
things like this is really hardfor me.
They listened, they were soresponsive, like they were a joy
to work with and and everyoneon that side really really was
(16:46):
and and now I, you know, Iactually just did that same
presentation this year atNortheast Dreaming and it was
maybe even more relevant nowthan it was when I did it in
2019.
Which what technical topic isrelevant?
more relevant four years laterthan it was when it originally
was generated, and so I'm I'mjust putting it out in all the
(17:06):
dreamings I'm like here, if youwant this topic fits with your,
your, your topic suite, like I'dlove to Just again tell that
story and teach, and really whatI did with it was I.
It was a mainly it's avocabulary lesson and what this
is why it's cool.
Here's the translation, likeCICD and the command line.
(17:26):
These actually aren't thesescary things.
The command line is somethingyou type into the computer and
you feel like like it's really,you know kind of the shorthand
of it.
Right, these aren't tools to bescared of, these aren't tools
to make our eyes glaze over.
These are tools that we canreally leverage and, you know,
may have a wonderful experienceand and be faster and better and
and integrated.
(17:47):
So I'll get off my soapboxabout DX actually really like it
.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
No, but that I love the passion, I love how
passionate you are about this,because you don't find too many
admins who will go on a Ibelieve you could go on another
hour as I found this topic.
I mean you'll find that passionanymore.
So I mean I want to take thatenergy, I want to take that
insight and kind of translate alittle bit into kind of the next
(18:15):
generation of admin.
What you've done is you wentfrom someone who was Fashion
merchandise, you wanted to be abuyer something that's not even
closely related to technology atall and you hustled and you
learned and you figured out howto get there and then you found,
oh damn, this is actuallyinteresting stuff.
(18:35):
This is like a fun giant puzzlethat I have to solve in this
moment and For other admins, forthe next generation of admins.
What is like a recommendationto help them make it click, but
also make it click in thatthey're helping drive a business
forward.
So know that the work you'redoing is gonna matter in the
(18:57):
grand scheme of it all.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, great question.
I love that you called it apuzzle, because that's how I see
it.
It's like it is this puzzlethat is figure outable.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Just even framing it as figure outable makes it
figure outable, right.
So it's like this is somethingI can figure out.
I know processes.
I know something happens here,it hands off, here, it goes here
, it goes here, and that needsto be streamlined and efficient
as possible, especially ifyou're going to wrap technology
around it.
So one of my biggest things Ialways tell admins when they ask
(19:34):
me this question is ask betterquestions, because if someone
comes to you and says I need acheckbox to do that and you're
just like, okay, I'll give you acheckbox, you're not doing your
job.
That is not the job.
No, that's not the job.
The job is they are saying, hey, I need some way to know
something or kick something off.
Read between the lines.
(19:54):
Listen to the undiscovered needRight.
If your users are coming to youwith a solution, they're not.
It's going to be wrong becausethey don't know the scope of the
tools.
That's your job.
But they are telling you theyhave a pain point they need to
be that needs solving.
I always loved to give thiskind of story.
I have a daughter and years agoshe came to me.
She had this necklace Right andit was all jumbled up in a knot
(20:18):
and she just was crying mommy,mommy, I love this necklace, I'm
going to have to cut it.
It's in a knot, I can't get itout and we're just going to have
to cut it.
And I was like hold on.
I took the necklace, untangleit really quickly and I gave it
back to her.
And I love to say that becausethe moral of the story is don't
let your end user design thesolution.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
You're not wrong.
You're not wrong on theslightest bit and, honestly, I
love hearing all of this stuffbecause I find it so relatable
too.
Because, again for yourbackground, because we are
meeting spending for the firsttime in this wonderful interview
situation I'm a marketer.
I'm a marketer by trade.
Yes, I have admin background,but, like I am the end user who
(20:59):
asks the dumb question and says,oh hey, why can't you?
Well, why can't you just dothis?
One of the first two things Iever learned from my old mentor,
former VP of marketing, wasnever a startup sentence with
why can't you?
Just because you're just goingto annoy someone, Because if you
(21:21):
start a sentence that way,you're already wrong, because
there's always more to thetechnology, but also to the
point you made.
That's the next level questions.
Always ask why.
A colleague of mine has apresentation they do at
streaming events and one of thefirst things is the five why's.
And so just kind of alwaystaking it that next level deep
(21:43):
why, why, why might get a littleannoying, but you're drilling
deeper.
You need to ask betterquestions around what you're
building and how it's going todrive change, drive innovation,
drive overall business andoverall strategy for it.
And the strategy can also belimited by the solutions you put
(22:05):
in place.
You can't innovate and youcan't grow a business if you are
stuck in Salesforce 2012.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Exactly A couple of things I'd love to add on to
that popcorn off of that, if youwill.
So, yes, asking why?
Always ask, why is really, whatoutcome are you looking to
achieve?
And I love to.
I always do this with, likediscovery sessions.
I'm like, okay, unicorns andrainbows, when you're sitting
(22:36):
down in this, look, this is yourideal situation.
You're sitting down at yourdesk.
What does that look like andwhat does that feel like?
Because a unicorns and rainbowsis funny and it just isn't
doing.
But what does that look likeand what does that feel like?
Gets them out of solution.
They're now not doing your joband so, oh, what looks like?
Everything flows together.
It feels like nothing isduplicated.
(22:59):
I don't have to enterinformation twice and then they
will.
Really you can start digginginto their actual pain points.
Unicorns and rainbows just likeI can't promise that I can give
this to you, but if you letthem design the feel of it, let
them design the outcome theywant to achieve, and then you
get to design the solution ofhow you achieve that.
(23:21):
Then one other point I wanted tomake on when you're asking why,
when a technical person isasking a business person, why do
you need this.
It does come across as like Idon't think you need this.
So I always coach don't ask.
Your questions are designed toget the why, but you're not
actually going to ask why.
You're going to ask what aboutthis is important or how do you
(23:42):
feel with like ask what and howquestions to get to a why?
Because if you're going to askwhy, it is type and slightly
defensive kind of question islike well it sounds like you're
validating their need orqualifying their need, and
that's not what.
that's not what you're doing.
But you also get betterinteraction with the business,
because a big part of being anadmin is is is relationship with
(24:05):
the business and understandingthe business and them trusting
you to deliver solutions for thebusiness.
So knowing your businessprocess, knowing your people,
knowing who to go to withquestions or who to really
qualify you know the questionsthat you're getting or the
request you're getting is super,super important.
So leverage those you know,grow those relationships by not
(24:27):
asking why, but asking what andhow to get to the why.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I love that because you're absolutely right.
We as admins are no.
Again back to the thing I'vesaid we're not in Salesforce
2012.
We can't just work inside ofSalesforce and are cubicle and
not talk to anyone.
We have to be personable.
We have to stroke egos as well.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
We have to make sure that people who are buying
Salesforce for us or we have topresent solutions front of we
have to communicate that clearlyand concisely 100% and yeah,
and then if they don't trustthat, you know that you're going
to be able to help them solvetheir problems or they're going
to be interrogated in anuncomfortable way when they
(25:10):
bring you problems.
They're not going to bring youproblems to solve and therefore
you're not going to grow.
The business isn't going togrow.
That Salesforce.
You know they're going to bedisappointed with Salesforce.
It's a whole trickle downeffect right Of just.
You know your relationshipactually isn't just your
relationship, it is.
It is part of the ecosystem ofa company and you know lots
(25:30):
riding on the admin.
That's where you know adminscan make or break.
You know the business use ofSalesforce, not just from the
implementation, but you know theinquiry and behind it.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yep, completely agree With all of that kind of being
said around how you'recommunicating to people and how
you're doing that.
I want to transition a littlebit.
For these up and coming admins,for these new, the next
generation of admin, the adminof tomorrow, what is a piece of
advice you can give them on howto collaborate with developers,
(26:05):
marketers, sales people so thatagain we can grow our work
together and we're not justplaying a game of who's right,
who's wrong?
Let's just tolerate this oneperson Like in your experience,
because you've had an amazingbackground worth of experience.
What would you tell a new adminwho wants to figure out how to
(26:26):
communicate with those differentroles and departments?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yes, that's a great question.
Speak in outcomes.
Always map to the outcome, bothwith, when you're talking to
the business, understanding theoutcome when you're talking to
other departments that you needto integrate with, understanding
and communicating as much asyou understand the outcome to be
, because then it's not a youversus me thing, it is us versus
(26:52):
a problem.
The solution we need toco-design for this ultimate
outcome, the outcome becomes ourNorth Star.
If we have a North Star, thenthat makes every decision.
You just hold that decision up.
Is it in service of this NorthStar, yes or no?
That takes ego out of it.
It's not a me thing, it's not ayou thing.
Then you're also not married toyour own ideas.
(27:14):
You really detach from that ego.
For everyone involved it's like, okay, that's a great idea, but
does it fit this North Star?
There's seven ways to doanything in Salesforce it's.
Which is the most right thingfor this scenario?
Clearly, defining that scenariofirst is number one.
(27:35):
Let's all get in.
What problem are we trying tosolve?
What outcome are we trying toachieve?
Then that is your North Star.
Then again, everything elsejust maps to that.
If you don't know what theNorth Star is, that's a problem.
You need to dive in and do moreresearch on what problem are
you trying to solve?
Because if you just try to gofill requests but don't
understand the underlyingproblem and therefore the
(27:59):
desired outcome, you're going tomiss the mark.
Every time Hashtag been there.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I want to pivot a little bit, though, because we
talked about some likerecommendations and things to
think about as admins whenyou're in the job experience.
I always like to bring theseinterviews back to the community
, because part of the reason whyI started this whole thing was
to find a medium that I feellike I could give back to the
community, and I know we allkind of have that vision as well
(28:27):
.
You mentioned before that inthe DFW area, you lead the Women
in Tech group, which I love, bythe way.
Kind of what drove you to wantto give back to the community?
You're taking this advice andlikely you're giving similar
advice here from this podcast tothat group.
What pushed you to say I wantto be a part of this and also I
want to lead this?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yeah, I'm a co-lead, I have two other leads and I
wanted to give back because thecommunity is how I got here in
the first place.
I remember when I first gotthis Salesforce, I was like I'll
figure it out.
I was like, well, I have tothen go figure it out.
And Trailhead wasn't existingat first.
So I was like I can't be theonly one in this situation.
(29:12):
And so I reached out and Ifound the admin group in the
Dallas area and one of my firstpeople to connect with was
Rebecca Lamers.
She was actually getting herMVP award from Salesforce way
back when and she was one of theco-leads for the Women in Tech
and she was like, hey, comehere's Women in Tech, there's
(29:34):
the admin group.
And I just went to every singlemeeting they had and I sat in
the back and I listened and Iwas like not much of this makes
sense right now, but one day itwill.
And so what I like to liken itto is I just collected little
puzzle pieces every meeting andthen I'd meet people and I'm
like, hey, I just started makingfriends, started seeing the
(29:55):
same people over and over, andone day I realized all these
puzzle pieces I had collectedstarted fitting together and I
was like, oh my God, things arestarting to make sense.
This is so exciting.
And so that's how I got herewas the admin group, the Women
in Tech group.
I even went to a couple ofdeveloper groups Any meetup I
(30:16):
could to meet people, to seewhat they're doing, to talk to
people how are you figuring thisout?
Listening to the questionspeople were asking, the answers
they were being given, and again, just kind of taking that and I
don't know what I'm going to dowith this yet, this piece of
information, but I'm going tostore it away and then one day
I'd be at work and be like, ohmy gosh, I have this puzzle
piece and it makes somethingmake sense.
(30:36):
So I just have always loved,loved, loved this community.
It is unlike any othercommunity I've ever, any
industry, anything I've everexperienced, and the desire for
everyone to want to know better,do better, be better and help
(30:56):
other people be better isunparalleled.
When I first started, when Iwas a solo admin at the high
tech company, I was explainingwell, I don't know the answer to
that, but I'm going to ask thecommunity.
And one guy on the marketingteam who was not in Salesforce,
was like.
But like, what's the advantageof like?
Why wouldn't someone just giveyou a wrong answer to keep it a
(31:17):
competitive edge?
And I was like bro, like you're, you just don't even know Like,
like, that's just not how it is.
I was like people who would dothat would be found out very
quickly and kind of black baldfrom the community, like kind of
ostracized because that's justnot the vibe, that ain't the
vibe Right.
And so I was like, oh wow, likethere are other industries that
(31:39):
don't have a community likethis, this is very, very special
and something that needs to beperpetuated and taken care of.
And so, you know, I went to thewomen in tech group.
That's where I met, you know,my now friend, slash, future
slash ex boss, and I've made somany connections in this space
that I have a foundation ofwe've had, you know, I used to
(32:03):
have a chat group of texts andlike, hey, guys like I'm running
into this issue, who's seeingthis?
And we were all just textingeach other, you know, in the
moment and jumping where wecould, and it's, you know, the
huge reason why I'm here.
So why wouldn't I want to giveback Right?
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Absolutely For you.
What have you done with theseuser groups to kind of keep it
going and have it not feel likewe're just harping on the
technical nonstop?
It's like what can admins do tokind of grow and foster
relationships again so thatwe're making this ecosystem less
about?
How is Salesforce making thecompany and my paycheck better?
(32:41):
How are they helping me grow?
How am I developing as a humanbeing because I'm in Salesforce?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, that's a great question.
We like to what I call keep itfresh.
We like so in our group we'lldo a technical deep dive, like
actually next week I'mpresenting on Salesforce DX for
admins in our group and but wealso will do like we did a fun.
All our October meeting isalways our Salesforce dance.
(33:11):
Our group user group leader,laura.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
I love that she's a.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Halloweeny and so she loves to like just it's like
we've got a Ouija board of likewhat stuff is coming next.
It's super, super fun.
So we keep it fun, we keep itengaging.
We always buy the first round.
You know it's like, hey, comein, come eat, come drink, just
come sit and listen.
But we also I like to keep itfresh in so far as it's
(33:39):
sometimes we don't do Salesforceeasy topics.
I've done a session before atTexas Streaming on the getting
rid of the word sorry and justand how that changed my career.
So self talk, like I did a talkon self talk and you know so we
do personal development andwe've started out with.
(34:00):
We also start out with like themeetings with who's hiring and
who's looking to try to makematches right, because that's
why we're here to connect andnetwork.
I also do you know what are youproud of recently that you know
you want to pat yourself on theback for that.
You might otherwise feeluncomfortable bragging about
like that's that way you get tolearn about what other cool
things other people are doingand you're like, oh, I have a
(34:23):
similar interest, let's connectand make lots of you know lots
of connections that you can growinto a network and so we try to
keep it.
You know we do Salesforce, we doupcoming stuff, release talks,
but also, you know, being awoman in technology kind of
dealing with that, like how doyou negotiate, we've brought in
(34:45):
non Salesforce people like thisis how you can negotiate.
We really try to, you know,keep bringing topics that are
make everyone who attends morewell rounded in a career space
in general, not just Salesforce.
So Salesforce is what broughtus here, yes, but also we're all
working and we have other nonSalesforce specific questions
(35:05):
without a forum.
So we try to be a pretty openforum for whatever topic you
know people are dealing with.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That is fantastic.
I hope that people listen tothis and take this for their own
user groups and for otherthings.
Just because I've, it's so muchfun being in that situation.
We can focus on the technicalall day long.
But you said it a little bitearlier Most of the answers that
we need are a Google searchaway.
(35:33):
These are meant to be a placewhere we can build each other up
, celebrate our wins and talkabout each other.
The technical sure, wedefinitely want to have moments
of talking about the technical,going into a little bit more of
a practical use case, deep dive,which is fantastic.
What you do when you talk aboutSalesforce DX.
I just also love that.
(35:55):
We are finding new ways to talkabout.
How do you grow?
How does Salesforce iswonderful, but they are a
company that helps pay ourpaychecks.
We should celebrate us in theecosystem and have that be
something to build us up.
One of the last questions.
I have two more questions.
One of the last questions Ihave for you is knowing things
(36:19):
in the ecosystem from atechnical side have evolved
dramatically Since 2021 with thebuildup of Einstein and now we
have Genie slash, data, cloudand AI and everything.
It seems so very dauntingbecause it seems like a lot and
we don't all fully understand it.
What is your advice for admins?
(36:41):
To stay ahead of the curve, tokeep on the new topics but also
make sure that they can at leastspeak about them well enough so
that their leadership doesn'tfeel like they're losing speed.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
That's a good one, because there's so much.
I always say no one person canknow the entirety of Salesforce.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
I even joke Mark Bini off probably doesn't even know
the entirety of Salesforce in adeep way, I mean maybe he does,
but it's so big that I will markBenny off to find us on Twitter
and make the comments like yes,I do.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Come at me, mark, come at me, mark, prove it,
prove it, let's go.
So I mean, that's something.
That's the eternal struggle,right Is like how do you both
know about it, know what toimplement, then implement it and
like get it rolled out, likethat is the struggle.
So you have to really know yourknowing your business will help
(37:40):
you more than you think it will, because then you can kind of
free screen, like, oh, is thereanything in here that might be
we can leverage because I knowthe business, like that might be
something we're interested, ormaybe that's not something we're
interested because you knowyour business.
So, starting there, knowingyour business and how the
business works, what you'retrying to achieve, all of the
(38:01):
things we talked about knowingthat is is going to be key.
Then, if you're a solo admin,you have to put blinders on to a
to a degree, because if you'reby yourself, you are by yourself
.
So stop trying to be everything, because if you are by yourself
and you have a big word, youshouldn't be.
So the company may have to feelthat.
You may have to let them feelthat because you I'm telling you
(38:25):
right now you need help If youhave more than 50 users and you
are by yourself.
You need help.
And so being able to because Iwas going to say delegate that
like I have a team now and Ihave an admin that I can be like
OK, here's a story in ourbacklog to go research the
release notes, go really search,research this product and
prioritize time to do that.
(38:47):
So you know, having been a soloadmin, like it is so hard to do
all of the things.
So validate that in yourselfthat you're trying to do three
people's jobs, so you have to bevery careful with what you
choose to spend your time on.
And putting out fires andgetting users trained is going
to be more important immediatelythan finding out what the next
(39:10):
cool thing toy might be to playwith.
So it's look looking at yourreality and figuring out how can
you bring it in.
And either that or just lovereading release notes on the
weekends, which I used to likedoing.
There was a time where I was aman Now.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I have a kid.
I'm like I can't.
No, I get that.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
So that is, if you can delegate or ask for time.
If you don't have time, then goto whoever your supervisor is
it becomes a matter priority andsay I've got this work, but I
think this is valuable to bringin.
Are you OK if I prioritize thisover what?
Should I prioritize it?
Prioritization is the key togetting everything done, because
(39:58):
you cannot do everything in aday, you cannot do everything in
a week or even in a month, butover time, with prioritization,
that was something I learned.
I should I wish I had learned along time ago.
It's like I've got so much todo, I'm trying to do everything.
It's like stop set expectationson when things will be
delivered, because settingexpectations is 90% of it.
(40:19):
It's like people deal withwhatever you tell them, as long
as that's accurate and they'rekept up to date.
It's like, oh, I know you needthis, but I, with everything
I've got going on, I can't getthis to you until next quarter.
Ok, now, they're not going toexpect it this quarter.
They're not going to keepfollowing up with you and so you
know, if you, if you're notsetting the priority, going and
(40:40):
asking, you know bringing thisin and bringing that.
I think this could be valuablebecause I think there's some
features in here that can reallyhelp a streamline these other
things.
But I really need some time togo dive deep into it, like, is
that OK if I prioritize time?
Or if you are the prioritizer,then set that time and figure
out where it fits.
You know over what it should beslated in and keep a backlog,
(41:03):
like that's how you develop.
Software in general is througha backlog.
You'd like we've got a thousandthings to do but we have to put
things in order of priority andknock them out and iterate our
way there.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
And to kind of, before I get to the last
question I actually want to, youmade me think of this kind of
in the fly on the moment Wouldyou say that once you kind of
have that organization, projectmanagement, place that and can
start prioritizing anddelegating, if you have that in
place, would you argue that youare more productive and can be
more innovative as an admin?
(41:36):
That an opposed to just, oh, Iknow it, I can work a thousand
miles an hour and just moveforward with it.
I kind of I've seen both sidesof it.
I'm curious here to take onbeing organized, project wise
versus just getting stuff done.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yes, and what to answer that question?
And piggyback off of where Iwas going before is when you
list out everything that needsto be done and you're a solo
admin.
There goes there.
That becomes your justificationfor to bring someone else on
another set of hands.
If you've got this long listand you're like I've got all
(42:11):
these things to do and you can'teven see my hands because it's
so long, then it's like I won'tbe able to get to this for 18
months.
We should probably bringsomeone else on.
That becomes your business caseto get help.
And then that's how you get gofaster.
And then you've already gotyour work organized and it's
like, when someone comes on, Ican take these things, they can
(42:32):
take these things, and then, ifwe bring a third person on,
that's how you grow your team,that's how you become a manager,
that's how you grow your owncareer.
So, absolutely, the individualtiny features may take a little
bit of a hit from beingdelivered this week versus in
two weeks.
However, that two weeks again,that lead time that you're
working on this will set you upand save you a ton of time on
(42:55):
the back end, which is what youreally want.
You're not just looking for thismonth's fix.
You're looking for long termscalability.
And if you don't have your workironed out, if you don't have
your project managed and youdon't know the work to be done,
then how can you?
Where's your business?
And you're like I need help.
And they're like well, you seemto be managing.
If you don't have your work, belike well, how do I manage all
(43:17):
of this?
And then in a request that comesin, you're like okay, where's
it fit?
Well, you want it at the top,Okay, well, that's going to push
everything down because I onlyhave two hands and 40 ish hours
in a week.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
Yeah, it's hard to argue.
It's hard to argue with that.
No, it's so very I mean, it's sodifficult to try to do
everything by yourself.
So, with all of that being said, we've talked a lot about, kind
of again the soft skills, butthey're very important skills
around, yes, some of this workaround learning how to
communicate properly, gettingeverything organized.
(43:49):
It's tedious, it's timeconsuming, but it helps you out
so much in the long run.
The one question I kind ofrotate the final question every
week for you I want to see kindof you've gone through so much
in your career and it's someenvious and like so interested
to learn even more about it all.
What would be the one regretthat you have of saying, man, I
(44:13):
wish when I was first gettingstarted I did this.
If there's an admin goingthrough similar struggles, this
is what they maybe they need tohear to kind of get them to take
that next step.
What would be your one regretfrom your journey?
Speaker 2 (44:27):
One regrets, interesting Probably what we
just talked about not organizingmy work and putting the,
because I spent so long as asolo admin.
Remember, I did lightning, Ineeded a team and the whole time
(44:48):
I'm like I need a team, I needa team, I need a team.
And I was not heard because Icouldn't quantify, I couldn't
make the business case, I didn'tknow how, like I'd never been
taught right.
So like it's not necessarily aregret, because I did the best I
could in any moment but it issomething I wish.
I had been told sooner is.
Take that time, stop whatyou're doing.
(45:11):
What you think are fires yes,everything's a fire, and if
everything's a fire, nothing's afire, right?
So everything's always going tobe a fire.
You need to look out for yourown mental health and if you
want to stay in there,self-worsaken, just burn out and
go get a 7-11 clerk job.
Like, stop right, put everythingon paper, even if it's high
(45:34):
level.
You can be like more detailedto follow, but just brain dump
of everything.
Then look at it, get your oldExcel spreadsheet out and then
put things in order of like Ithink, take a stab at priority
before you go to whoever canhelp you with priority, because
also you want to show initiativeof not just like tell me what
to do, here's what I need to do,here's what I think the
(45:55):
priority is.
Tell me where I'm off.
Then you're like then that'show you think like a manager and
that's how you get yourmanagers to see oh, you could
grow a team, you are thinkinglike a manager.
So you have to think like amanager before you become a
manager, and even some managersdon't think like a manager.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Yeah, and you've ever been there.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
But that's how you think, okay, how am I going to
get all this done?
This is everything I have to do.
This is what I think thepriority is.
Help me solve that.
And then then your boss isgoing to be like oh wow, I had
no idea there was so much to doand with just you doing it, it
is going to take a lot of time.
And then again, every newrequest you hold up to that list
(46:35):
, you're like where does it goin the priority?
Because then it's not on you todo everything.
You know, 80 hours worth ofwork in 40.
Like that becomes.
And then you're like look likethe more stuff keeps getting
pushed in, this stuff gettingpushed down.
Yeah, and it's not just me,because it's not just me saying
it is the data, it is evidence,it is your business case.
Speaker 1 (46:56):
Yeah, that's the.
I love this.
I love this because it's thebest advice.
The best aha moments are theones that make you go Dang.
That's so obvious.
I wish I thought of that,because we're not reinventing
the wheel.
I say this all the time we, asadmins, we are not reinventing
the wheel, but you have to thinksmarter, not harder, and you
(47:19):
just have to think outside thebox and take things to that next
level.
You can't just take what youhave and say, well, shucks, I
got to get it done.
Like, be innovative, thinkthrough the whole.
I love your point of this ishow you grow a team.
This is how you become amanager.
You have to take that nextthought process.
So I absolutely adore that.
(47:40):
I'm with you.
It's not a regret, but you sureas heck wish you had that.
10 years ago when your firstgang started, but I love that
Well.
Abby, thank you so much forjoining today.
Thank you so much for providingall this insight.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
I really hope we can keepconnected and keep growing
together in this ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
Yeah, thank you for having me and yeah, I'd love to
like outside of the podcast evenjust.
I've got hours and hours ofcontent.
I just get in the surface solike I'd love to stay in contact
, grow and absolutely.
Yeah, it's great to have you inmy network now.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
Oh, it's amazing.
Well, thank you so much again,and we will be chatting more
soon.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
All right, have a great one.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
And with that, our first episode of 2024 is in the
books.
A special thanks for our guestAbby, for sharing their
expertise and journey throughoutthe ecosystem.
It was fantastic to hear aboutthe soft skills needed by admins
to help drive innovation.
We've set up before on thepodcast and we'll keep saying it
over and over again we loveexpertise on the technical, but
(48:49):
being able to prioritize yourworkload and effectively
communicate to your admins, toyour team, are equally up there
for overall admin success.
So if you're interested inlearning more, please feel free
to connect with Abby on LinkedIn.
We're excited to dive into thenew year with more amazing
content from the next generationof admins.
So thank you again for takingthe time to listen and support
(49:12):
our podcast.
Again, if you have anyquestions, feedback or topic
suggestions, we'd love to hearfrom you.
So don't hesitate to connectwith us on LinkedIn or Twitter
or email us at info atadminsoftomorrowcom.
Also, if you or someone youknow would like to be on the
podcast, please go to ourwebsite, adminsoftomorrowcom.
Forward slash, share yourthoughts and fill out our form.
(49:34):
Lastly, we'd like to starthearing more from you and shine
a light on the admins oftomorrow.
On our same share your thoughtsform.
We've added an option to give ashout out, so if you believe
anyone in your network should behighlighted as an admin of
tomorrow, please feel free tofill out our form and we'll call
them out on the next episode.
If you've enjoyed this episode,don't forget to subscribe,
(49:56):
leave a review and share it withyour fellow trailblazers.
Once again, I'm Jacob Catalano,your host, signing off.
We really appreciate you forlistening to admins of tomorrow,
trailblazing the nextgeneration.
Happy New Year everyone.
My name is Jacob Catalano andwelcome to the first episode of
Admins of Tomorrow of 2024.
I really hope everyone's newyear is starting off well and
you're on track to make a lot ofprogress in all your New Year's
resolutions and planning.
For me personally, 2024 is allabout growth and professional
(00:36):
development.
I've let personal anxieties andfear of failure control and
limit me in my growth for toolong and, honestly, the start of
this podcast has helped meovercome so much of that.
I'm so very excited andgrateful to have made some
progress on all these goals andreally hoping to share some of
that progress and share thatjourney with you, the audience,
(00:59):
in this week's episode.
I'm hoping that we can helpanyone else with similar 2024
goals or just these similar lifegoals in general.
Today we're sitting down withAbby Klaus to dive into their
journey from fashionmerchandising to becoming a
director of Salesforce.
It was an absolute joy for meto hear about Abby's journey and
see that, with a little bit ofpassion for learning and just a
(01:22):
desire to grow, findingopportunities in this ecosystem
is way more attainable than wethink, from starting out with
minimal knowledge aboutSalesforce to leading a team of
admins and growing thedepartment of Salesforce from
the ground up, we really get totouch on what it means to be
innovative as an admin.
So, without further ado, let'smeet Abby.
(01:42):
Abby Klaus is the director ofSalesforce at Stronghold
Technology Holdings.
She manages a team ofSalesforce developers who
implement and administer thecompany's CRM and integrations
with bespoke applications, whiledeveloping technologies to
transform both the oil and gasand land and title industries.
Abby shares a passion forbuilding amazing teams and
(02:04):
curating company culture, aswell as translating complex
technical concepts intorelatable language,
troubleshooting user adoptionchallenges and implementing
change management strategies.
Abby is a user group leader forwomen in tech and was featured
in the top 50 women leaders inDallas in 2023.
So let's not waste any moretime and dive on in.
(02:26):
But yeah, all things considered, it's going well.
I'm glad you were able to jumpon in, so it's nice to
(02:48):
officially meet you.
Thank you for taking the timeto join me, though.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, sure.
Thanks for the invite andthanks to Kiro for connecting us
.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, he's a solid guy.
So, yeah, I was excited when hetold me about your podcast.
I was like, oh yeah, like I'lltalk to anybody that wants to
listen.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I love that.
So I am curious, just kind oforganically diving on in, I
spoke very, very highly of youand I was looking through your
LinkedIn because LinkedInstocking is no longer like a
weird thing anymore.
But you're a Harvard guestlecturer, you've spoken at
Dreamforce in 2019 and you arenow a director of Salesforce.
(03:33):
So I'm kind of curious.
That is a really awesome amountof resume credits right there.
What got you started in theecosystem?
What is your background?
How did you get involved to bean admin.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, so I have a pretty traditionally and
traditional accidental adminstory.
I graduated college in 2008with a fashion merchandising
degree.
I wanted to be a buyer for aneven markets.
I know, and I don't know if youremember what happened to the
(04:08):
retail sector in 2008, but itkind of changed.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
So I got a lot of things tinked in 2008.
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And so I got laid off and I was like what am I going
to do?
And, spoiler alert, salesforcedoesn't come in for a minute, so
doesn't make a cameo just yet.
But I was unemployed for threemonths and I was like, okay, I
need a job.
Right, and one of my reallygood friends had just had a job
at Bank of America and they hadjust filed or just purchased,
(04:41):
acquired countrywide, and sobasically it was foreclosures
were rampant right Everywhereand so they basically were like
if you have a pulse, we'll takeyou for a job.
So I was like I need a job.
I did not want to work at abank, but it was like money's
money.
So I did a job in theforeclosure department and
quickly realized this was soulsucking and I didn't want to do
(05:02):
this for very long at all.
And so I started getting intothe systems behind what the
teams were using, and I joinedthis one team that was
completely remote and they Ijoined and I was like okay, how
are you guys sharing information?
And the VP was like well, we'resharing spreadsheets back and
(05:22):
forth, and I was like you'refunny.
And he's like I'm not kidding.
And I was like, oh well, thispresents an interesting chat.
How do you know which versionis?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
right.
How are data?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
is stale, what's not, and we just try to keep each
other updated on the latestversion.
I'm like, okay, I feel likethere's a lot of process
improvement that's going tohappen here.
So I had in a previous team Ihad built just an easy little
SharePoint site just to help myteam out.
And I was like, well, I've seenthe SharePoint thing, like I've
seen it before, and he was likeI love it, build it.
(05:53):
I was like I didn't say I coulddo that, but it's better than
foreclosure, so I'll figure itout.
So again, salesforce hasn'teven in the space yet, and
SharePoint right.
And so I'm building theSharePoint site and I build
enough of it and my team's happyand we're not emailing
spreadsheets back and forth, soeverybody's happy.
So a couple of months later, thesame VP comes to me and he's
like hey, I love what you didwith SharePoint.
(06:14):
There's this thing calledSalesforce.
I'd like you to sit in on acouple of meetings and tell me
what you think.
So I sat in and it was a coupleof internal consultants,
internal to the company, and Itold them my business process
and I was kind of, you know, abusiness analyst.
I had a business analystassigned to me I was the
business right, I told them myprocess, told them everything
and they started a quick buildout.
(06:36):
They got about a month and ahalf in and the company was kind
of a mess back then.
So these people left and theywere like, oh well, these people
left, we're not going tocontinue forward.
And I was like, hey, wait asecond.
Like the SharePoint thing, likeI figured it out before, if
you'll just give me the keysLike I can, I'll figure it out
right.
So they made me a system admin,flew me out to LA for like a
(06:59):
weekend and this crash coursewith these guys that I had never
seen before and had never seensince.
They taught me about formulas,they taught me about a lot of
information.
I took like pages and pages ofnotes and so I came back to
Texas and was like, okay, I'mgoing to figure this out.
And in hindsight, now it was Ijust I built an object with some
(07:21):
fields and some reports.
Really no automation, no,nothing but what I released.
And not only did I build it, Itested it, I rolled it out, I
taught everyone how to use it inour remote team before remote
work was cool and ended upsaving my boss specifically like
(07:43):
four hours a day of pullingreporting, Cause like most of
her job was just like mashingexcels together.
And I was like, well, it's adata all lives in one place.
It kind of makes it easier toreport on right.
And so I just figured it outand I rolled that out and
everyone loved it.
And then, like a couple ofmonths later, they came back to
me like well, this otherdepartment heard about this cool
(08:04):
thing you did.
Can you do that for them?
And I was like that was superfun.
Sure, Let me try it again.
And this, this was beforetrailhead, this was before yeah.
It was like 2011.
So, yeah, I rolled out thissecond project for this other
department and then I was likethat's it that I'm hooked, like
that was the Kool-Aid I drank it, I want more.
That's when I decided, like Ican, I could do this.
(08:27):
So I learned more and learnedmore and learned more and kind
of really automated my own jobinside of the company so that
when trailhead did roll out, allI did was trial head.
I had automated my job so muchthat I I was so quick to get all
the badges.
I just ate them all.
Oh, that's awesome.
So finally I got a juniorconsultant role at a company and
(08:50):
then just, it's kind of justthe next thing, the next thing,
the next thing.
Like I left there, I ended upgetting another job at GM
Financial doing you know,learning, my skillset, growing.
It's all literally beenself-taught along the way.
I used to joke that you know IGoogled my way into a career,
because part of it is not justdoing, it's learning how to ask
(09:15):
the questions of Google to getthe answer you want, right, and
it's not just how do you do thisthing, and then you have to
read through everything and makesure it's the right information
and again the.
The Salesforce ecosystem hascome so far since 2014.
That you know.
The information is just so muchmore prevalent now than it was
(09:37):
even back then and Literallyjust kind of figuring my way out
, I was a you know Salesforce,you know admin at GM financial.
Then I left there and I went toa different company and I was a
consultant there and realizedlike the consulting thing for
that in that model didn't work.
Because I didn't work, I didn'tget paid and I was like okay,
we need to find another gig.
And then yeah, yeah and thenbecame a solo admin in a
(10:00):
high-tech company and that'swhere I really grew, because I
had 285 users and they were onclassic and when I joined I was
like, hey, there's this thingcalled lightning, you're gonna
like a lot better.
I migrated 285 users tolightning by myself.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
That's Really impressive.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Thank you.
And I was again solo admin.
I was BA, I was tester, I wasRoot trainer, I was literally
everything.
So I really grew up there andthen Decided to leave there and
actually start consulting and Iwent into I I started working
for slalom, which is one of thebest companies, just they're
(10:41):
amazing they really really greatcompany Yep.
That's a great company, likeeveryone.
They're top-down, justtop-notch, and I really grew up
there, like if, like I hit mystride there, I became a
solution owner.
I did so many cool projectsthere, like I don't know if we
can say this on the air, but I'mgonna say it.
Well, maybe we cut it, I don'tknow.
You know I worked on theproject with at home, the
(11:06):
company at home, the buy onlinepick up in store.
I worked on that.
I did during COVID.
We did Contact tracing for astate government where the data
we generated went to the CDC andthe governor.
I also made a music video aboutit.
Like I'll show you that laterI'll find I Also did so.
Toyota connected theirconnected car.
(11:26):
I Since, after bought a toy, Ihave a Toyota now and so I push
a button in my car and so abutton and the person answers
the screen.
Yeah the that that person'slooking at.
I built it and it was reallycool and that was my first
experience of working withSalesforce and other non
Salesforce development teams, sothat was a really cool we.
(11:48):
I got to learn about CICD,which is how we've come to how I
spoke at Dreamforce.
I got to learn about SalesforceDX because and we'll go into
this because that was theproject where I my my boss at
slalom I walked in and she'slike okay, I'm rolling off in
two weeks.
Here's a list of commands ofBTDubs.
There's this thing calledSalesforce DX, so you can't use
change sets anymore and I don'treally know what all these
(12:10):
commands mean.
But if you do it in this order,the things do what you want
them to do.
And Let me tell you, I havenever cried in the bathroom so
many times Like joking, notjoking, it's funny because it's
true Because I just sat thereand I was like, okay, I, I am
(12:31):
completely out of my element,right, where's my mouse?
Clicks Like I don't know how tomove stuff.
So I and I had ended upspeaking at Dreamforce on this,
but the the backstory here isthat it was so painful and it
was similar to when I startedSalesforce pre trailhead.
Everything I googled waswritten in developer speak and I
(12:52):
didn't know what any of thatmeant, so I had to Google the
words that were used to describethe thing I originally googled.
So I'm just like googling andhelp.
I'm like, okay, if I everfigure this out, I swear I will
give this information away forfree to any admin who needs to
know, because, like, if I cansave one person from crying in
the bathroom, like then it's notin vain, right?
So in my googling I readsomewhere that they were
(13:15):
thinking about doing away withprofiles and moving everything
to permission sets, and backthen I was like that that's.
I was like I put my foot downand I'm literally angry.
Tweeted at Salesforce DXplatform.
I was so mad.
I Was like listen, I know theylisten to center.
I've been in the key notes.
(13:35):
I know they listen to Twittersentiment, so I use that to my
advantage.
And I was like this is notgonna fly.
I need a product manager tocall me ASAP.
And they responded like thesame day, someone actually
responding was like hey, I'm aproduct manager for DX.
Like send, send me your DM, meyour email and let's chat.
And I was like I was shocked.
(13:55):
Honestly, I thought I wasscreaming into the void.
Yeah, but lovely.
Claire Bianchi shout-outsproduct manager for Salesforce
DX I.
What I was trying to do is Iwas and I was telling her.
I was like look, this, thissucks.
This is great, and if you canfix a thing that sucks, like you
will have admin adoption.
(14:15):
But also we need to work on thelanguage, because I Don't know
any of the words that are usedto describe the thing I'm trying
to do.
Like these are different tools,right.
We speak about it verydifferently.
So she and I were two.
I was like I actually becauseI'm co-leader at the time.
I wasn't, but I am nowco-leader of the women in tech
user group in Dallas and my boss, who was rolling off, was one
(14:38):
of the leaders.
She and I have been friends.
We met through that group so wecan come back to a community on
that.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah, yeah and we.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You know I.
She was like I would love to beable to teach this to the women
in tech group.
I was like got you, got you, Iwill have the material like I
will.
I love being able to explainTechnical concepts in a
relatable way, using real peoplelanguage, like the language
that we use.
Right, so I would.
That's, that's really thegenesis of it, and I was telling
(15:07):
Claire this and she was likeyou know, I was like I'd like to
speak at Texas, dreaming onthis, and just like, again, give
this information away for freefor anyone who needs it, because
again I can save someone fromcrying in the bathroom.
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Oh much time, so much strife yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I mean like, and that's how we all move forward,
right?
It's like I learned these hardlessons.
I'm gonna give these to you forfree so you can go solve the
problem.
But so she was like, you know,actually this is something that
would be really great for dreamforce, like, what do you think
about submitting?
And so I was like, uh, veryscared.
So she was like record yourTexas Dreaming presentation,
(15:47):
because I ended up Speakingthere, and so I sent that to her
.
And she was like, I have acouple of tweaks, but this is
really good content.
And so she actually was anadvocate and, you know, helped
me figure out how to even do it.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I've never done any of that before, right, and so
also very scared to speak on atechnical topic that I'm Just
learning that is so fantasticthat you were able to have the
advocates at the sales forceproduct team to come in find you
and Pick you up and say go.
Let's bring you in from a wideraudience.
Let's get this voice heardabout the technical.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yes, and they were so amazing.
They were like we reallyactually care very much about
the admin experience, the ax ofDX, right, and so we work
together and I was like, if youcan just make these certain
things like this is really hardfor me.
They listened, they were soresponsive, like they were a joy
to work with and and everyoneon that side really really was
(16:46):
and and now I, you know, Iactually just did that same
presentation this year atNortheast Dreaming and it was
maybe even more relevant nowthan it was when I did it in
2019.
Which what technical topic isrelevant?
more relevant four years laterthan it was when it originally
was generated, and so I'm I'mjust putting it out in all the
(17:06):
dreamings I'm like here, if youwant this topic fits with your,
your, your topic suite, like I'dlove to Just again tell that
story and teach, and really whatI did with it was I.
It was a mainly it's avocabulary lesson and what this
is why it's cool.
Here's the translation, likeCICD and the command line.
(17:26):
These actually aren't thesescary things.
The command line is somethingyou type into the computer and
you feel like like it's really,you know kind of the shorthand
of it.
Right, these aren't tools to bescared of, these aren't tools
to make our eyes glaze over.
These are tools that we canreally leverage and, you know,
may have a wonderful experienceand and be faster and better and
and integrated.
(17:47):
So I'll get off my soapboxabout DX actually really like it
.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
No, but that I love the passion, I love how
passionate you are about this,because you don't find too many
admins who will go on a Ibelieve you could go on another
hour as I found this topic.
I mean you'll find that passionanymore.
So I mean I want to take thatenergy, I want to take that
insight and kind of translate alittle bit into kind of the next
(18:15):
generation of admin.
What you've done is you wentfrom someone who was Fashion
merchandise, you wanted to be abuyer something that's not even
closely related to technology atall and you hustled and you
learned and you figured out howto get there and then you found,
oh damn, this is actuallyinteresting stuff.
(18:35):
This is like a fun giant puzzlethat I have to solve in this
moment and For other admins, forthe next generation of admins.
What is like a recommendationto help them make it click, but
also make it click in thatthey're helping drive a business
forward.
So know that the work you'redoing is gonna matter in the
(18:57):
grand scheme of it all.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, great question.
I love that you called it apuzzle, because that's how I see
it.
It's like it is this puzzlethat is figure outable.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Just even framing it as figure outable makes it
figure outable, right.
So it's like this is somethingI can figure out.
I know processes.
I know something happens here,it hands off, here, it goes here
, it goes here, and that needsto be streamlined and efficient
as possible, especially ifyou're going to wrap technology
around it.
So one of my biggest things Ialways tell admins when they ask
(19:34):
me this question is ask betterquestions, because if someone
comes to you and says I need acheckbox to do that and you're
just like, okay, I'll give you acheckbox, you're not doing your
job.
That is not the job.
No, that's not the job.
The job is they are saying, hey, I need some way to know
something or kick something off.
Read between the lines.
(19:54):
Listen to the undiscovered needRight.
If your users are coming to youwith a solution, they're not.
It's going to be wrong becausethey don't know the scope of the
tools.
That's your job.
But they are telling you theyhave a pain point they need to
be that needs solving.
I always loved to give thiskind of story.
I have a daughter and years agoshe came to me.
She had this necklace Right andit was all jumbled up in a knot
(20:18):
and she just was crying mommy,mommy, I love this necklace, I'm
going to have to cut it.
It's in a knot, I can't get itout and we're just going to have
to cut it.
And I was like hold on.
I took the necklace, untangleit really quickly and I gave it
back to her.
And I love to say that becausethe moral of the story is don't
let your end user design thesolution.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
You're not wrong.
You're not wrong on theslightest bit and, honestly, I
love hearing all of this stuffbecause I find it so relatable
too.
Because, again for yourbackground, because we are
meeting spending for the firsttime in this wonderful interview
situation I'm a marketer.
I'm a marketer by trade.
Yes, I have admin background,but, like I am the end user who
(20:59):
asks the dumb question and says,oh hey, why can't you?
Well, why can't you just dothis?
One of the first two things Iever learned from my old mentor,
former VP of marketing, wasnever a startup sentence with
why can't you?
Just because you're just goingto annoy someone, Because if you
(21:21):
start a sentence that way,you're already wrong, because
there's always more to thetechnology, but also to the
point you made.
That's the next level questions.
Always ask why.
A colleague of mine has apresentation they do at
streaming events and one of thefirst things is the five why's.
And so just kind of alwaystaking it that next level deep
(21:43):
why, why, why might get a littleannoying, but you're drilling
deeper.
You need to ask betterquestions around what you're
building and how it's going todrive change, drive innovation,
drive overall business andoverall strategy for it.
And the strategy can also belimited by the solutions you put
(22:05):
in place.
You can't innovate and youcan't grow a business if you are
stuck in Salesforce 2012.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Exactly A couple of things I'd love to add on to
that popcorn off of that, if youwill.
So, yes, asking why?
Always ask, why is really, whatoutcome are you looking to
achieve?
And I love to.
I always do this with, likediscovery sessions.
I'm like, okay, unicorns andrainbows, when you're sitting
(22:36):
down in this, look, this is yourideal situation.
You're sitting down at yourdesk.
What does that look like andwhat does that feel like?
Because a unicorns and rainbowsis funny and it just isn't
doing.
But what does that look likeand what does that feel like?
Gets them out of solution.
They're now not doing your joband so, oh, what looks like?
Everything flows together.
It feels like nothing isduplicated.
(22:59):
I don't have to enterinformation twice and then they
will.
Really you can start digginginto their actual pain points.
Unicorns and rainbows just likeI can't promise that I can give
this to you, but if you letthem design the feel of it, let
them design the outcome theywant to achieve, and then you
get to design the solution ofhow you achieve that.
(23:21):
Then one other point I wanted tomake on when you're asking why,
when a technical person isasking a business person, why do
you need this.
It does come across as like Idon't think you need this.
So I always coach don't ask.
Your questions are designed toget the why, but you're not
actually going to ask why.
You're going to ask what aboutthis is important or how do you
(23:42):
feel with like ask what and howquestions to get to a why?
Because if you're going to askwhy, it is type and slightly
defensive kind of question islike well it sounds like you're
validating their need orqualifying their need, and
that's not what.
that's not what you're doing.
But you also get betterinteraction with the business,
because a big part of being anadmin is is is relationship with
(24:05):
the business and understandingthe business and them trusting
you to deliver solutions for thebusiness.
So knowing your businessprocess, knowing your people,
knowing who to go to withquestions or who to really
qualify you know the questionsthat you're getting or the
request you're getting is super,super important.
So leverage those you know,grow those relationships by not
(24:27):
asking why, but asking what andhow to get to the why.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I love that because you're absolutely right.
We as admins are no.
Again back to the thing I'vesaid we're not in Salesforce
2012.
We can't just work inside ofSalesforce and are cubicle and
not talk to anyone.
We have to be personable.
We have to stroke egos as well.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
We have to make sure that people who are buying
Salesforce for us or we have topresent solutions front of we
have to communicate that clearlyand concisely 100% and yeah,
and then if they don't trustthat, you know that you're going
to be able to help them solvetheir problems or they're going
to be interrogated in anuncomfortable way when they
(25:10):
bring you problems.
They're not going to bring youproblems to solve and therefore
you're not going to grow.
The business isn't going togrow.
That Salesforce.
You know they're going to bedisappointed with Salesforce.
It's a whole trickle downeffect right Of just.
You know your relationshipactually isn't just your
relationship, it is.
It is part of the ecosystem ofa company and you know lots
(25:30):
riding on the admin.
That's where you know adminscan make or break.
You know the business use ofSalesforce, not just from the
implementation, but you know theinquiry and behind it.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yep, completely agree With all of that kind of being
said around how you'recommunicating to people and how
you're doing that.
I want to transition a littlebit.
For these up and coming admins,for these new, the next
generation of admin, the adminof tomorrow, what is a piece of
advice you can give them on howto collaborate with developers,
(26:05):
marketers, sales people so thatagain we can grow our work
together and we're not justplaying a game of who's right,
who's wrong?
Let's just tolerate this oneperson Like in your experience,
because you've had an amazingbackground worth of experience.
What would you tell a new adminwho wants to figure out how to
(26:26):
communicate with those differentroles and departments?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yes, that's a great question.
Speak in outcomes.
Always map to the outcome, bothwith, when you're talking to
the business, understanding theoutcome when you're talking to
other departments that you needto integrate with, understanding
and communicating as much asyou understand the outcome to be
, because then it's not a youversus me thing, it is us versus
(26:52):
a problem.
The solution we need toco-design for this ultimate
outcome, the outcome becomes ourNorth Star.
If we have a North Star, thenthat makes every decision.
You just hold that decision up.
Is it in service of this NorthStar, yes or no?
That takes ego out of it.
It's not a me thing, it's not ayou thing.
Then you're also not married toyour own ideas.
(27:14):
You really detach from that ego.
For everyone involved it's like, okay, that's a great idea, but
does it fit this North Star?
There's seven ways to doanything in Salesforce it's.
Which is the most right thingfor this scenario?
Clearly, defining that scenariofirst is number one.
(27:35):
Let's all get in.
What problem are we trying tosolve?
What outcome are we trying toachieve?
Then that is your North Star.
Then again, everything elsejust maps to that.
If you don't know what theNorth Star is, that's a problem.
You need to dive in and do moreresearch on what problem are
you trying to solve?
Because if you just try to gofill requests but don't
understand the underlyingproblem and therefore the
(27:59):
desired outcome, you're going tomiss the mark.
Every time Hashtag been there.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I want to pivot a little bit, though, because we
talked about some likerecommendations and things to
think about as admins whenyou're in the job experience.
I always like to bring theseinterviews back to the community
, because part of the reason whyI started this whole thing was
to find a medium that I feellike I could give back to the
community, and I know we allkind of have that vision as well
(28:27):
.
You mentioned before that inthe DFW area, you lead the Women
in Tech group, which I love, bythe way.
Kind of what drove you to wantto give back to the community?
You're taking this advice andlikely you're giving similar
advice here from this podcast tothat group.
What pushed you to say I wantto be a part of this and also I
want to lead this?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yeah, I'm a co-lead, I have two other leads and I
wanted to give back because thecommunity is how I got here in
the first place.
I remember when I first gotthis Salesforce, I was like I'll
figure it out.
I was like, well, I have tothen go figure it out.
And Trailhead wasn't existingat first.
So I was like I can't be theonly one in this situation.
(29:12):
And so I reached out and Ifound the admin group in the
Dallas area and one of my firstpeople to connect with was
Rebecca Lamers.
She was actually getting herMVP award from Salesforce way
back when and she was one of theco-leads for the Women in Tech
and she was like, hey, comehere's Women in Tech, there's
(29:34):
the admin group.
And I just went to every singlemeeting they had and I sat in
the back and I listened and Iwas like not much of this makes
sense right now, but one day itwill.
And so what I like to liken itto is I just collected little
puzzle pieces every meeting andthen I'd meet people and I'm
like, hey, I just started makingfriends, started seeing the
(29:55):
same people over and over, andone day I realized all these
puzzle pieces I had collectedstarted fitting together and I
was like, oh my God, things arestarting to make sense.
This is so exciting.
And so that's how I got herewas the admin group, the Women
in Tech group.
I even went to a couple ofdeveloper groups Any meetup I
(30:16):
could to meet people, to seewhat they're doing, to talk to
people how are you figuring thisout?
Listening to the questionspeople were asking, the answers
they were being given, and again, just kind of taking that and I
don't know what I'm going to dowith this yet, this piece of
information, but I'm going tostore it away and then one day
I'd be at work and be like, ohmy gosh, I have this puzzle
piece and it makes somethingmake sense.
(30:36):
So I just have always loved,loved, loved this community.
It is unlike any othercommunity I've ever, any
industry, anything I've everexperienced, and the desire for
everyone to want to know better,do better, be better and help
(30:56):
other people be better isunparalleled.
When I first started, when Iwas a solo admin at the high
tech company, I was explainingwell, I don't know the answer to
that, but I'm going to ask thecommunity.
And one guy on the marketingteam who was not in Salesforce,
was like.
But like, what's the advantageof like?
Why wouldn't someone just giveyou a wrong answer to keep it a
(31:17):
competitive edge?
And I was like bro, like you're, you just don't even know Like,
like, that's just not how it is.
I was like people who would dothat would be found out very
quickly and kind of black baldfrom the community, like kind of
ostracized because that's justnot the vibe, that ain't the
vibe Right.
And so I was like, oh wow, likethere are other industries that
(31:39):
don't have a community likethis, this is very, very special
and something that needs to beperpetuated and taken care of.
And so, you know, I went to thewomen in tech group.
That's where I met, you know,my now friend, slash, future
slash ex boss, and I've made somany connections in this space
that I have a foundation ofwe've had, you know, I used to
(32:03):
have a chat group of texts andlike, hey, guys like I'm running
into this issue, who's seeingthis?
And we were all just textingeach other, you know, in the
moment and jumping where wecould, and it's, you know, the
huge reason why I'm here.
So why wouldn't I want to giveback Right?
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Absolutely For you.
What have you done with theseuser groups to kind of keep it
going and have it not feel likewe're just harping on the
technical nonstop?
It's like what can admins do tokind of grow and foster
relationships again so thatwe're making this ecosystem less
about?
How is Salesforce making thecompany and my paycheck better?
(32:41):
How are they helping me grow?
How am I developing as a humanbeing because I'm in Salesforce?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, that's a great question.
We like to what I call keep itfresh.
We like so in our group we'lldo a technical deep dive, like
actually next week I'mpresenting on Salesforce DX for
admins in our group and but wealso will do like we did a fun.
All our October meeting isalways our Salesforce dance.
(33:11):
Our group user group leader,laura.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
I love that she's a.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Halloweeny and so she loves to like just it's like
we've got a Ouija board of likewhat stuff is coming next.
It's super, super fun.
So we keep it fun, we keep itengaging.
We always buy the first round.
You know it's like, hey, comein, come eat, come drink, just
come sit and listen.
But we also I like to keep itfresh in so far as it's
(33:39):
sometimes we don't do Salesforceeasy topics.
I've done a session before atTexas Streaming on the getting
rid of the word sorry and justand how that changed my career.
So self talk, like I did a talkon self talk and you know so we
do personal development andwe've started out with.
(34:00):
We also start out with like themeetings with who's hiring and
who's looking to try to makematches right, because that's
why we're here to connect andnetwork.
I also do you know what are youproud of recently that you know
you want to pat yourself on theback for that.
You might otherwise feeluncomfortable bragging about
like that's that way you get tolearn about what other cool
things other people are doingand you're like, oh, I have a
(34:23):
similar interest, let's connectand make lots of you know lots
of connections that you can growinto a network and so we try to
keep it.
You know we do Salesforce, we doupcoming stuff, release talks,
but also, you know, being awoman in technology kind of
dealing with that, like how doyou negotiate, we've brought in
(34:45):
non Salesforce people like thisis how you can negotiate.
We really try to, you know,keep bringing topics that are
make everyone who attends morewell rounded in a career space
in general, not just Salesforce.
So Salesforce is what broughtus here, yes, but also we're all
working and we have other nonSalesforce specific questions
(35:05):
without a forum.
So we try to be a pretty openforum for whatever topic you
know people are dealing with.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
That is fantastic.
I hope that people listen tothis and take this for their own
user groups and for otherthings.
Just because I've, it's so muchfun being in that situation.
We can focus on the technicalall day long.
But you said it a little bitearlier Most of the answers that
we need are a Google searchaway.
(35:33):
These are meant to be a placewhere we can build each other up
, celebrate our wins and talkabout each other.
The technical sure, wedefinitely want to have moments
of talking about the technical,going into a little bit more of
a practical use case, deep dive,which is fantastic.
What you do when you talk aboutSalesforce DX.
I just also love that.
(35:55):
We are finding new ways to talkabout.
How do you grow?
How does Salesforce iswonderful, but they are a
company that helps pay ourpaychecks.
We should celebrate us in theecosystem and have that be
something to build us up.
One of the last questions.
I have two more questions.
One of the last questions Ihave for you is knowing things
(36:19):
in the ecosystem from atechnical side have evolved
dramatically Since 2021 with thebuildup of Einstein and now we
have Genie slash, data, cloudand AI and everything.
It seems so very dauntingbecause it seems like a lot and
we don't all fully understand it.
What is your advice for admins?
(36:41):
To stay ahead of the curve, tokeep on the new topics but also
make sure that they can at leastspeak about them well enough so
that their leadership doesn'tfeel like they're losing speed.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
That's a good one, because there's so much.
I always say no one person canknow the entirety of Salesforce.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
I even joke Mark Bini off probably doesn't even know
the entirety of Salesforce in adeep way, I mean maybe he does,
but it's so big that I will markBenny off to find us on Twitter
and make the comments like yes,I do.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Come at me, mark, come at me, mark, prove it,
prove it, let's go.
So I mean, that's something.
That's the eternal struggle,right Is like how do you both
know about it, know what toimplement, then implement it and
like get it rolled out, likethat is the struggle.
So you have to really know yourknowing your business will help
(37:40):
you more than you think it will, because then you can kind of
free screen, like, oh, is thereanything in here that might be
we can leverage because I knowthe business, like that might be
something we're interested, ormaybe that's not something we're
interested because you knowyour business.
So, starting there, knowingyour business and how the
business works, what you'retrying to achieve, all of the
(38:01):
things we talked about knowingthat is is going to be key.
Then, if you're a solo admin,you have to put blinders on to a
to a degree, because if you'reby yourself, you are by yourself
.
So stop trying to be everything, because if you are by yourself
and you have a big word, youshouldn't be.
So the company may have to feelthat.
You may have to let them feelthat because you I'm telling you
(38:25):
right now you need help If youhave more than 50 users and you
are by yourself.
You need help.
And so being able to because Iwas going to say delegate that
like I have a team now and Ihave an admin that I can be like
OK, here's a story in ourbacklog to go research the
release notes, go really search,research this product and
prioritize time to do that.
(38:47):
So you know, having been a soloadmin, like it is so hard to do
all of the things.
So validate that in yourselfthat you're trying to do three
people's jobs, so you have to bevery careful with what you
choose to spend your time on.
And putting out fires andgetting users trained is going
to be more important immediatelythan finding out what the next
(39:10):
cool thing toy might be to playwith.
So it's look looking at yourreality and figuring out how can
you bring it in.
And either that or just lovereading release notes on the
weekends, which I used to likedoing.
There was a time where I was aman Now.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I have a kid.
I'm like I can't.
No, I get that.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
So that is, if you can delegate or ask for time.
If you don't have time, then goto whoever your supervisor is
it becomes a matter priority andsay I've got this work, but I
think this is valuable to bringin.
Are you OK if I prioritize thisover what?
Should I prioritize it?
Prioritization is the key togetting everything done, because
(39:58):
you cannot do everything in aday, you cannot do everything in
a week or even in a month, butover time, with prioritization,
that was something I learned.
I should I wish I had learned along time ago.
It's like I've got so much todo, I'm trying to do everything.
It's like stop set expectationson when things will be
delivered, because settingexpectations is 90% of it.
(40:19):
It's like people deal withwhatever you tell them, as long
as that's accurate and they'rekept up to date.
It's like, oh, I know you needthis, but I, with everything
I've got going on, I can't getthis to you until next quarter.
Ok, now, they're not going toexpect it this quarter.
They're not going to keepfollowing up with you and so you
know, if you, if you're notsetting the priority, going and
(40:40):
asking, you know bringing thisin and bringing that.
I think this could be valuablebecause I think there's some
features in here that can reallyhelp a streamline these other
things.
But I really need some time togo dive deep into it, like, is
that OK if I prioritize time?
Or if you are the prioritizer,then set that time and figure
out where it fits.
You know over what it should beslated in and keep a backlog,
(41:03):
like that's how you develop.
Software in general is througha backlog.
You'd like we've got a thousandthings to do but we have to put
things in order of priority andknock them out and iterate our
way there.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
And to kind of, before I get to the last
question I actually want to, youmade me think of this kind of
in the fly on the moment Wouldyou say that once you kind of
have that organization, projectmanagement, place that and can
start prioritizing anddelegating, if you have that in
place, would you argue that youare more productive and can be
more innovative as an admin?
(41:36):
That an opposed to just, oh, Iknow it, I can work a thousand
miles an hour and just moveforward with it.
I kind of I've seen both sidesof it.
I'm curious here to take onbeing organized, project wise
versus just getting stuff done.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yes, and what to answer that question?
And piggyback off of where Iwas going before is when you
list out everything that needsto be done and you're a solo
admin.
There goes there.
That becomes your justificationfor to bring someone else on
another set of hands.
If you've got this long listand you're like I've got all
(42:11):
these things to do and you can'teven see my hands because it's
so long, then it's like I won'tbe able to get to this for 18
months.
We should probably bringsomeone else on.
That becomes your business caseto get help.
And then that's how you get gofaster.
And then you've already gotyour work organized and it's
like, when someone comes on, Ican take these things, they can
(42:32):
take these things, and then, ifwe bring a third person on,
that's how you grow your team,that's how you become a manager,
that's how you grow your owncareer.
So, absolutely, the individualtiny features may take a little
bit of a hit from beingdelivered this week versus in
two weeks.
However, that two weeks again,that lead time that you're
working on this will set you upand save you a ton of time on
(42:55):
the back end, which is what youreally want.
You're not just looking for thismonth's fix.
You're looking for long termscalability.
And if you don't have your workironed out, if you don't have
your project managed and youdon't know the work to be done,
then how can you?
Where's your business?
And you're like I need help.
And they're like well, you seemto be managing.
If you don't have your work, belike well, how do I manage all
(43:17):
of this?
And then in a request that comesin, you're like okay, where's
it fit?
Well, you want it at the top,Okay, well, that's going to push
everything down because I onlyhave two hands and 40 ish hours
in a week.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
Yeah, it's hard to argue.
It's hard to argue with that.
No, it's so very I mean, it's sodifficult to try to do
everything by yourself.
So, with all of that being said, we've talked a lot about, kind
of again the soft skills, butthey're very important skills
around, yes, some of this workaround learning how to
communicate properly, gettingeverything organized.
(43:49):
It's tedious, it's timeconsuming, but it helps you out
so much in the long run.
The one question I kind ofrotate the final question every
week for you I want to see kindof you've gone through so much
in your career and it's someenvious and like so interested
to learn even more about it all.
What would be the one regretthat you have of saying, man, I
(44:13):
wish when I was first gettingstarted I did this.
If there's an admin goingthrough similar struggles, this
is what they maybe they need tohear to kind of get them to take
that next step.
What would be your one regretfrom your journey?
Speaker 2 (44:27):
One regrets, interesting Probably what we
just talked about not organizingmy work and putting the,
because I spent so long as asolo admin.
Remember, I did lightning, Ineeded a team and the whole time
(44:48):
I'm like I need a team, I needa team, I need a team.
And I was not heard because Icouldn't quantify, I couldn't
make the business case, I didn'tknow how, like I'd never been
taught right.
So like it's not necessarily aregret, because I did the best I
could in any moment but it issomething I wish.
I had been told sooner is.
Take that time, stop whatyou're doing.
(45:11):
What you think are fires yes,everything's a fire, and if
everything's a fire, nothing's afire, right?
So everything's always going tobe a fire.
You need to look out for yourown mental health and if you
want to stay in there,self-worsaken, just burn out and
go get a 7-11 clerk job.
Like, stop right, put everythingon paper, even if it's high
(45:34):
level.
You can be like more detailedto follow, but just brain dump
of everything.
Then look at it, get your oldExcel spreadsheet out and then
put things in order of like Ithink, take a stab at priority
before you go to whoever canhelp you with priority, because
also you want to show initiativeof not just like tell me what
to do, here's what I need to do,here's what I think the
(45:55):
priority is.
Tell me where I'm off.
Then you're like then that'show you think like a manager and
that's how you get yourmanagers to see oh, you could
grow a team, you are thinkinglike a manager.
So you have to think like amanager before you become a
manager, and even some managersdon't think like a manager.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Yeah, and you've ever been there.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
But that's how you think, okay, how am I going to
get all this done?
This is everything I have to do.
This is what I think thepriority is.
Help me solve that.
And then then your boss isgoing to be like oh wow, I had
no idea there was so much to doand with just you doing it, it
is going to take a lot of time.
And then again, every newrequest you hold up to that list
(46:35):
, you're like where does it goin the priority?
Because then it's not on you todo everything.
You know, 80 hours worth ofwork in 40.
Like that becomes.
And then you're like look likethe more stuff keeps getting
pushed in, this stuff gettingpushed down.
Yeah, and it's not just me,because it's not just me saying
it is the data, it is evidence,it is your business case.
Speaker 1 (46:56):
Yeah, that's the.
I love this.
I love this because it's thebest advice.
The best aha moments are theones that make you go Dang.
That's so obvious.
I wish I thought of that,because we're not reinventing
the wheel.
I say this all the time we, asadmins, we are not reinventing
the wheel, but you have to thinksmarter, not harder, and you
(47:19):
just have to think outside thebox and take things to that next
level.
You can't just take what youhave and say, well, shucks, I
got to get it done.
Like, be innovative, thinkthrough the whole.
I love your point of this ishow you grow a team.
This is how you become amanager.
You have to take that nextthought process.
So I absolutely adore that.
(47:40):
I'm with you.
It's not a regret, but you sureas heck wish you had that.
10 years ago when your firstgang started, but I love that
Well.
Abby, thank you so much forjoining today.
Thank you so much for providingall this insight.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
I really hope we can keepconnected and keep growing
together in this ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
Yeah, thank you for having me and yeah, I'd love to
like outside of the podcast evenjust.
I've got hours and hours ofcontent.
I just get in the surface solike I'd love to stay in contact
, grow and absolutely.
Yeah, it's great to have you inmy network now.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
Oh, it's amazing.
Well, thank you so much again,and we will be chatting more
soon.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
All right, have a great one.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
And with that, our first episode of 2024 is in the
books.
A special thanks for our guestAbby, for sharing their
expertise and journey throughoutthe ecosystem.
It was fantastic to hear aboutthe soft skills needed by admins
to help drive innovation.
We've set up before on thepodcast and we'll keep saying it
over and over again we loveexpertise on the technical, but
(48:49):
being able to prioritize yourworkload and effectively
communicate to your admins, toyour team, are equally up there
for overall admin success.
So if you're interested inlearning more, please feel free
to connect with Abby on LinkedIn.
We're excited to dive into thenew year with more amazing
content from the next generationof admins.
So thank you again for takingthe time to listen and support
(49:12):
our podcast.
Again, if you have anyquestions, feedback or topic
suggestions, we'd love to hearfrom you.
So don't hesitate to connectwith us on LinkedIn or Twitter
or email us at info atadminsoftomorrowcom.
Also, if you or someone youknow would like to be on the
podcast, please go to ourwebsite, adminsoftomorrowcom.
Forward slash, share yourthoughts and fill out our form.
(49:34):
Lastly, we'd like to starthearing more from you and shine
a light on the admins oftomorrow.
On our same share your thoughtsform.
We've added an option to give ashout out, so if you believe
anyone in your network should behighlighted as an admin of
tomorrow, please feel free tofill out our form and we'll call
them out on the next episode.
If you've enjoyed this episode,don't forget to subscribe,
(49:56):
leave a review and share it withyour fellow trailblazers.
Once again, I'm Jacob Catalano,your host, signing off.
We really appreciate you forlistening to admins of tomorrow,
trailblazing the nextgeneration.
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