Last night we made our way to the Salesforce Cafe for an evening with Justin Maguire, SVP of Product Design and User Experience at Salesforce. Justin, among other things, is known for his love of humans and tigger-like energy and we quickly discovered that his mission is to ensure that culture is empathetic, trustworthy and in touch with its audience. Donning a holiday sweater made specifically for his team—a team of 150—he jumped right into it, giving credence to his aforementioned nickname. While there was a lot to take away from the evening, we narrowed it down to these three takeaways:
Hiring is everything. Go for those innately curious about humans - what they love and what makes them happy. Hire people from all different cultures and pasts. The worst thing you can do is hire 20 or 100 versions of yourself.
Make the argument through the artifact. Adoption of the product is what matters. Don’t TELL people about your idea. Show them!
Commit to your craft. It’s a massive red flag when your resume only shows a year at a company—although, in the Bay Area where startups come and go, it can’t always be avoided. Accept that the journey to the top isn’t always linear and that 6 months on the job doesn’t make you a company expert.
Final word of advice from Justin, “nothing is yours, your job is to shepherd awesome.”
See all the photos here. Photo Credit thanks to Andre Pennycooke!