There were many themes that came up multiple times during Dreamforce 2015. Three that I found particularly prevalent and relevant to a broad audience were the critical importance of customer service in the digital world; the challenges and responsibility of being a mindful leader; and the future of technology as we dance into the connected world.
I had the pleasure of hearing a multitude of different smart and thoughtful people speak on these subjects throughout my Dreamforce experience. It opened my mind to hear what they had to say and spurred ideas for my own life, both inside and outside of the business world.
Whether or not you were able to attend Dreamforce in person, I hope that in reading the words of these wonderful speakers, you, too, will be inspired.
On customer service in a digital world
Advice from Josh Jandrain, VP of Innovation, Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection; Chaaru G Khera, Salesforce Lead, Allstate Insurance Company; Hamish Blank, Product Director, GE; and Greg Jacobi, Senior Vice President, Distribution – Customer Experience, Webster Bank.
- Business digitalization is happening right now; embrace it
- Your biggest advantage is customer experience
- On average, customers use 3-4 different channels to connect with a business
- Offer personalized assistance on the channels your customers prefer
- Customers expect transparent, personalized, intelligent experiences
- Intelligently reach out to customers based on data from multiple sources
- Deliver a measurable outcome and a more immediate response to customers’ issues
- Customers may not take the same paths online as they do in person; businesses need to take this into account
- Customers can’t always figure everything out on their own; sometimes they need personalized, humanized service
- Customers want ease and speed – that’s what makes the digital experience so critical
- Gather feedback on the customer journey and use that information to continually improve your online customer service
Read: How to Get the Fastest ROI From Your Customer Service Technology Investment (Infographic)
On succeeding as an entrepreneur and a strong leader
Advice from Katrina Lake, CEO and Founder, Stitch Fix; Leah Busque, CEO and Founder, TaskRabbit; and Julia Hartz, Co-founder and President, Eventbrite.
- Being required to be financially diligent makes a company strong
- Don’t be afraid to take the plunge – embrace the unknown
- To succeed as an entrepreneur, find good mentors and surround yourself with strong talent
- You don’t have to know the end of your journey but you do have to have a plan for progress
- Have a mission for both company and employees; both should enable you to deliver on your customer promises
- To make corporate values come to life, don’t just write them down – build practices around them
- Set smaller milestones to help you achieve bigger goals
- A good leader is passionate about his or her business
- Culture matters and companies that remember that, win
- Influence action rather than manipulating people to act
- CEOs create and amplify company culture – be mindful of your goals and inspire thoughtful behavior
- Over-share knowledge – keep corporate communication lines open
- Make it easy for people to connect individual contributions to company goals
- Keep career conversations open and honest to encourage growth across your organization
- A team that works with strong conviction will produce powerful results
Read: Women in Technology: Leaderships at Dreamforce – #DF15
On the state of technology today – and in the future
Advice from science fiction authors David Brin and Ramez Naam.
- There’s a deep, built-in desire for humans to communicate with one another
- Technology’s ability to put communication into hyperdrive is transformative
- Technologies that boost communication increase empathy
- All human beings are geniuses at wanting – it’s the one thing AI will never have
- When everything is connected, everything is vulnerable
- On social media, recognize that sooner or later, everything you do will become public
- It should be reasonable to have privacy for the masses and transparency for those in power
- You can anticipate change, but in unexpected situations, it’s resilience that will get you through
- Technology is allowing us to catch and prove things we never could before; it’s the great equalizer
I hope you enjoyed these quotes from Dreamforce 2015. I can only imagine what inspiring things we will learn next year at Dreamforce 2016!
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