Trailblazer by Marc Benioff, Monica Langley
My Rating of “Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change” by Marc Benioff, Monica Langley: 9 / 10
How often do you hear about a person via many channels and people in your network? I’ve heard read and heard about Benioff via the technology industry (Salesforce and Oracle), self-development, social responsibility, San Francisco advocacy and many others. I’ve come to know and respect Marc Benioff in what he has done as an entrepreneur and as a leader. Furthermore Benioff represents what a true global citizen should look like. He seems to be doing the right thing given the power, money and reputation he has attained over the years.
I knew this book was coming out for a while and was very excited about it. I wanted to learn what makes Benioff tick; especially after all the achievements, failures and learnings he has had. You cannot help but admire someone that puts trust at the top of their values. So much so that he decided that Salesforce executive off-sites are live-streamed to the rest of the organisation! He also advocates making key customer decisions not in the comfort of your own office, but at the customer site. You’ll make a better decision for your customers and ultimately for the organisation.
The DNA of this book is to define what a Trailblazer should be. It’s fair to say the world needs more of them. We can all learn a few things from reading this book and shaping our focus and attention to helping out the world.
Three key takeaways from the book:
- What would your answer be if you asked what is the most important aspect of your organization? Your revenue, profits, shareholders, customers or employees? Benioff says it is values and that trust is the #1 value.
- If you focus the majority of time on the problem (versus on the solution), the solution will become apparent.
- Companies should be doing good versus doing well. A slight play of words, however, important to think above and beyond just shareholder value.
