Dreamforce 14: It’s All In The Shoes.

My #DF14 ProTips? Well, there are only two that count:

1. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES 
2. DO NOT LUG YOUR LAPTOP DURING THE EVENT.

If you heed these two items, it’s pretty much a given that your Dreamforce experience will be epic. With over 100,000 thousand people converging to talk about the future of how we do just about everything, if you don’t make new connections with both people and ideas, it’s not due to lack of opportunity.

The event campus is bigger than ever (to say the least) and you will absolutely be wowed at each venue. For my nonprofit and Higher Ed folks, you’ve got more session content to choose from this year, and a dedicated zone in the Marriott Marquis to hang with your community. Branching out, though, is still a tremendous way to get food for thought and get your creative juices flowing.

• The Foundation Zone is in the Marriott Marquis (campus map below in resources – AND in the Dreamforce App) – this is where you’ll find tons of Nonprofit-centric content and community, as well as Circles of Success (small moderated group discussions) and the Foundation Theater. Don’t miss our Nonprofit Kickoff  which takes place Monday at 1:15PM – 2:15PM in the Marriott Marquis Golden Gate (Rooms A, B).  Dollars to Donuts (is that still a thing?), this is a great place to find me, the N Nonprofit and Higher Ed community, and a ton of other folks from the Foundation team.

• The Palace Hotel is the home for all things Marketing Cloud, where you will likely geek out for an extended period of time. This is likely the OTHER place I’ll be hanging at #DF14. There is SO. MUCH. NEW. in the Marketing Cloud world this year, don’t miss the opportunity to get in front of ALL the demo screens you can!

Find ME (AND some stellar sessions, to boot) at #DF14

 I’d love to Fist Bump with you at Dreamforce!

Here are the places I KNOW I’ll be, and other than that, check my Foursquare. 

Dreamforce is such an awesome opportunity to meet people in real life. Every year I’m lucky enough to meet people who I know digitally but have never had the chance to see “in the world”. As attendance has exploded over the years, it gets harder and harder to be in the right place at the right time. My Dreamforce goal this year is to connect with as many people as possible – if only to fist bump and move on to the next amazing event!

 

I mean it, let’s connect “In Real Life” @Dreamforce

Monday

Foundation Zone: Nonprofit / Higher Ed Circles of Success – Getting Started with Salesforce: [Nonprofit, Higher Ed] Monday, 10/13 9:00AM – 10:00AM Marriott Marquis, Foundation Zone Session Abstract: Wondering where to look for prescriptive guidance on deploying Salesforce? Struggling to figure out where to start and what questions to ask to ensure you don’t go down the wrong path?  This Circle of Success is your first stop! Foundation Circles of Success sessions run throughout Dreamforce during the Foundation Zone hours and walk-ups will be accommodated wherever possible.  

Foundation Zone: Nonprofit Kickoff [Nonprofit] Monday, 10/13 1:15PM – 2:15PM Marriott Marquis, Golden Gate A,B Session Abstract: Learn how the leading innovators are driving impact, and engaging supporters by connecting with constituents in powerful new ways. By leveraging social, mobile, and cloud strategies, these early adopters are disrupting the status quo and revolutionizing how they connect their donors, staff, volunteers, and programs to accelerate social good. We’ll feature some of the most inspiring and innovative game changers in the sector.

Foundation Zone: Higher Ed Kickoff [Nonprofit] Monday, 10/13 3:00PM – 4:00PM Marriott Marquis, Golden Gate A,B Session Abstract: Learn how the leading innovators are transforming higher education across the student lifecycle by connecting with constituents in powerful new ways. By leveraging social, mobile, and cloud strategies, these early adopters are disrupting the status quo and revolutionizing how they connect their students, faculty, staff, alumni, and corporations, leading to accelerated and scaled change. Multiple success stories will be featured.

Tuesday

Foundation Zone: Share Your Story: [Nonprofit, Higher Ed] Tuesday, 10/14 9:00AM – 11:00AM Marriott Marquis, Foundation Zone Share YOUR organization’s success with all of Dreamforce (and beyond)! This feature is open throughout Dreamforce during the Foundation Zone hours.

 Understand the Power of Social with The American Red Cross: B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, Higher Ed] Tuesday, 10/14 11AM-11:40AM Palace Hotel, Twin Peaks The Red Cross built a Digital Operations Center and a command center dedicated to monitoring and staying in touch with the public using social channels. The innovative center uses the ExactTarget Marketing Cloud to listen to social media conversations—gathering invaluable information during a disaster, or monitoring public preparedness for a serious situation.

Data gathered in the Digital Operations Center can also help determine where to position workers on the ground. ARC started with a centralized, national social listening program. They are now working to “decentralize” the program, in order to empower regions across the country to harness the listening power and standards of practice they have developed. Their goal is not  only to strengthen the work already happening at headquarters, but to also enable the regions to become more effective leaders in the digital space.  Join us to learn how you can do the same in your organization. Join Kristiana Almeida of the Red Cross to hear their journey and accelerate yours!

The Concert For Kids: Presented by Salesforce.com Foundation (and after party!): Tuesday, 10/14 8PM-1AM City Hall & Civic Center Plaza A benefit in conjunction with the Dreamforce Gala [All Attendees] Bruno Mars, Cake, and all of us. In a word, PHENOMENAL. In another couple of words: BENEFITING KIDS.

Wednesday

Leveraging Next-Gen Marketing Automation Tools in Higher Ed: [Higher Ed] Wednesday, 10/15 1:00PM-1:40PM Palace Hotel, Twin Peaks By providing meaningful and relevant messages, you can create rich life-long relationships with your students, alumni, and donors. Join us to learn how you can unlock Salesforce CRM data to engage your customers with the right message, through the right channels, at the right time by leveraging the ExactTarget Marketing Cloud.

Smith College will share how they are using Salesforce CRM with the ExactTarget Marketing Cloud to improve communications, increase marketing efficiency, and track results. You’ll leave this session inspired to create stronger, more meaningful connections with your constituents!

Engaging Your Supporters on Social: [B2B, B2C, Nonprofit, Higher Ed] Wednesday, 4:00PM – 4:40PM Marriott Marquis, Club Room There are over 4.5 Billion aggregate social users and that number grows every day. Join us as one of the leading game changers in the nonprofit sector show you how they’re driving engagement on social channels for their organization.

Stephanie Startz, Associate Director, Digital Strategy at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, will present on the benefits of using social media to reach the Parkinson’s community. She’ll  provide an overview of the MJFF strategy and tools they use to power their mission, including a dive into the tactics that have proven successful on their social channels.

This is very exciting [real edition]

This week marks a milestone for me. One year ago, I officially moved from being an “internal resource” and became “A Consultant”. Those that know me well know that I agonized over this decision before taking the plunge.

My previous gig was awesome. I had cool puzzles to solve, an expectation to be creative and the trust of leadership to do my things my way. Mostly, that’s a rare and beautiful thing, especially when you get all the best tools to play with. Add to that the fact that I was lucky enough to have some really passionate and dedicated folks on my team and, well, you’re in a post that is (if you’re like me) hard to abandon.

Esteban Kolsky was right

But I went for it anyway. And here I stand one year later absolutely certain that it was the best career move I’ve ever made. I love consulting. I love my clients. I love the insane deadlines and my new-found ability to rock a presentation that didn’t exist like 15 minutes ago. I love having (even more) of an inside scoop on what’s going on in the industry. I adore working with the analysts, bloggers, and product developers who are – literally – shaping tomorrow for the rest of us.

While at a Social CRM conference in Silicon Valley last year, I asked Esteban Kolsky how I’d know if “Going Consultant” was the right move for me. I was feeling very fragile as this was in the first weeks of having made the move. I probably looked like a human version of a newly hatched bird experimenting with its wings for the first time. Sad. Uncertain. Needy. Gross.

Anyhoo, Mr. Kolsky looked into my eyes and said (essentially): Give it a year. You’ll never look back.

On Going For It

I’ve given it a year and I’m not looking back. I love the velocity of the SCRM industry. I an thrilled to know and to meet and to work alongside the incredible people who are making magic happen every single day. I love that this community is so connected that in almost any city in almost any country I can reach out to folks I’ve connected with through our shared passion and have lunch, dinner, or coffee with a friend.

I’d wager Mr. Kolsky doesn’t remember this exchange. However, I won’t forget it. His (probably polite) encouragement coupled with my desire to strike out into new frontiers and the support of a truly amazing mentor all helped me to quiet the monsters of doubt. These monsters were the voices in my head who derided me for walking away from the Corporate America sure thing on the fast path to VP-dom. They’re silent now.

Have I been too busy this year? You bet! Have I (still) been a workaholic struggling with work-life balance? Absolutely. But I’m working on it. I really am. And in the meantime, I just love this stuff and I  can’t wait to see what the next 365 days holds.

Next Stop: The Hat Store

To those who are on this ride with me: thank you. For your support and encouragement and patience. You know who you are (and if you don’t, I’m taking the next week or so to let all of you know!). Without you, I’m nothing. Really.

So, what do the next 365 days hold? Who knows! I can wager, and I know what I’m excited to work on…but the industry is accelerating and life just isn’t guaranteed. My goal: hang on to my hat and swing for the bleachers.