One question I often get asked is, “Why do you do what you do?” and I suspect that many of you have been asked some form of this question as well. Though I have answered this with many different reasons, the most succinct response I’ve come up with is that I am always looking for an opportunity to make a positive impact. My medium of choice to do this is technology.
I love software. I think many of you reading this feel the same way. I love the feeling I get after putting together an elegant solution that makes a positive impact and transforms a business. It makes me feel a bit like an artist. Just as a sculptor has a connection with the clay she or he molds, I too have a connection with the technology I work with. To some that may sound like crazy talk but I believe more than a few passionate technologists out there can relate to this concept.
This Salesforce community has enabled the artist in me to share, connect, and build relationships with people whom I could not imagine my world without. I have had the joy of being on both the giving and receiving end of mentorship, from technical topics to general career advice. These people and this community have had a profoundly positive impact on me, and having experienced the heart of the Salesforce community, it’s hard to fathom working in a job where that type of mentor/mentee connection was not a core element.
Time is one of the most precious commodities and it’s something I try to give back to the Salesforce community. If a solution I create can make work more enjoyable for even one employee, I know I’ve made a positive impact. That employee will have higher job satisfaction, a better work-life balance, and an increased productivity level. What’s not to love? I believe that software can make a true difference in this world, and not only in corporate dollars saved (which certainly has an important role) but also in making people’s lives better and happier.
Let’s Make an Impact with Bots and Artificial Intelligence
The pace of innovation has increased exponentially and will only continue to increase with every new step. Take the very prevalent, hot topic of Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots for example. These technologies open up a new layer of analytics, interactions, and transformations to explore. Being a technologist who is part of an emerging trend is like looking at a blank canvas and having the opportunity to pause, reset and reinvent what you do and how you do it – a truly joyful experience. I am psyched to be talking about these emerging technologies at Forcelandia this year and highlighting how Workato is enabling business transformation by integrating cognitive capabilities, Salesforce, business process automation and Slack. It certainly paints a pretty picture when all of these forces work together!
Forcelandia is an amazing gathering of technologists and I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as I can in this brief trip to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.