Adventures in Salesforcing.

The past year has been a rollercoaster, but I'm back with regular content! First up - the number 1 topic at the moment - post Dreamforce takeaways and AI thoughts. As regular readers of "Adventures in Salesforcing" well know, I never focus on the most technical of content, but I feel as though there are a lot of non-technical takeaways that come into play with AI that aren't getting enough love. So without further a do, here are my key takeaways! Like it or not, Generative AI is here to stay While yes, we go through waves of being excited about new features in this digital age, generative AI is not going anywhere. I'm not saying you need to start plugging everything into Chat GPT, in fact, I suggest that you don't do that, but that you start thinking about use cases for you and other members of your team, even if you are not ready to start acting on them.  But what if I don't want to? Even if you're not acutely aware of it, you are likely using some fo...

I'm the first to admit, I am terrible with exams and auditions. My anxiety gets the better of me, and I start going down silly superstitious paths, when really the only thing that can help is how well I know the material. Last week, I passed my Platform App Builder Certification exam! This is something I've been working towards since 2019. I first took the exam in 2019, and failed, and then put it off. But recently I've been studying and felt I was ready... except I failed it again last Tuesday. Not wanting to let my anxiety get the better of me, and knowing I was really close to passing, I decided to try again last Thursday, and I passed! I decided to to modify my behaviour, which I know can be a challenge for anxiety sufferers, and it paid off, so I thought I'd put together a list of what worked for me and how I was able to leverage my exam failure to turn it into a pass. There are many blog posts out there with advice on how best to pass your exam, but I figured I...

 I know it's been a long time between drinks, but I'm back! The past few years have been rough on well, everyone, but for me in particular it's taken a huge toll on my mental health and wellbeing. So all that to say, I'm back! I was lucky enough to attend Dreamforce 2022, my first conference event time visiting the US since Dreamforce 2019!  Now, I struggle with anxiety, and have since I was a kid, and I'm as much an introvert as I am an extrovert, so these events can take their toll on me, but I left feeling invigorated. Here are my highlights: #1 The Family Reunion Dreamforce is always a Family Reunion, but this year felt extra special. It felt like no time had passed since last seeing my fellow Trailblazers, but then it's also hard to remember that it was literally three years ago. I know that we're still not through the pandemic, but it felt really good to have a sense of normalcy and be around wonderful people and learning all the things. In particular,...

It's no secret that I'm a fan of low code solutions. While I love dabbling in some html as much as the next person, and I'm looking forward to the day when I join a RAD Women Code cohert, for now I'm 100% no code. So of course when Salesforce announced their Low Code Love event, it got me thinking about what low code means to me... Chatting with the awesome Gillian Bruce on the subject, the words "Empowering,  Equalising, and Fun" came to mind. But what do I mean by that? My favourite thing about the Salesforce Community are the truly incredible people I've been fortunate to meet as a result. They are always happy to help you figure out a problem, including helping you brainstorm a low code solution. Take Automation Hour as an example - a bi-weekly webinar focused on process automation solutions, presented by members of the community. And it was during a recent catch up call with my good buddy Aleks Milic Radovanovic that a light bulb went off. We ...

Things are changing very quickly. The way we are doing business is changing literally by the day at this stage. I've been thinking about what to write about - a guide to working remotely, a list of favourite songs and tv shows, but as I thought about it more, and about how I've been able to change things at my company in just over a week, it finally came to me. Awesome Admins everywhere, it is our time to shine. Even if you don't work remotely, and even if you don't have job functionality outside being a Salesforce Admin, you have the power to be to help your users and your company as we begin to navigate our "new normal". Last year I was lucky enough to attend London's Calling and saw a presentation from the wonderful Lizz Hellinga about how Admin's are Critical Change Agents , and it really stuck with me. With the current climate, the time has come for us to step up. I checked in with Lizz to hear how she's dealing with things at the m...

So we've finally made it to February, despite the fact that somehow January felt like the longest year of all time. Rather than writing a Happy New Year post in January, even though it was so long, I thought I'd take a different approach and do a February check in post. I, like most people, set some New Years resolutions, ranging from small things like "wash my face twice a day" to vague things like "be tidier" and then bigger things like career goals. I'm always guilty of falling off the wagon pretty quickly after setting my goals, and in some instances I haven't even started them at all, so I've decided to focus on a different approach this year, and it's inspiration came from an unlikely place... Frozen II. Do the next right thing. It's something that Anna mentions early on in the film, and then proceeds to turn into a whole musical number. And it really stuck with me. I'm looking at this from two perspectives, the firs...

So... I continue to have one of the craziest/busiest years of my life, and Dreamforce is no exception! I've kind of spent the year with a "always say yes" type of philosophy, which has taken me literally all over the world.... but that's for a future blog post! For now, I'm going to give an overview of what I'm going to be involved in at Salesforce's most wonderful time of the year,  Dreamforce. I am speaking four times. That's right FOUR times. And you know what? I submitted three sessions, and none of them were selected. I've had a wile ride since last year's Dreamforce as a first time attendee and speaker, and it just goes to show that sometimes the right opportunities have a way of finding you. So with that, here's what I'm up to: AppExchange Street Team The AppExchange Street Team are a group of Salesforce MVPs and AppExchange All Stars who spend the week at Dreamforce having an extra bit of fun helping attendees enter t...

So this post this post has been a long time coming... I discovered the Salesforce Admins podcast very early in my Admin journey, and it has been a staple ever since. I love all the advice and insight from people all over the world, and have even made some great friends as a result.  After quite the summer, I'm finally getting a chance to write about it -  just in time for International Podcast Day. From my first listen, I knew I wanted to be a guest, and officially added this to my Salesforce goals list after meeting Mike Gerholdt at Toronto Salesforce World Tour last year. Wondering when the last time we had someone from Canada 🇨🇦 on the @SalesforceAdmns pod @gilliankbruce ? 🤔 Asking for a friend 😁 ( @zazamataz 🤫) — 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙩 (@MikeGerholdt) May 3, 2018 And so it's finally happened! Today on the podcast, we have @HeadInTheClowdz as the host of our Lightning Champions Spotlight Mini-Series, and #AwesomeAdmin @zazamataz , our first of ...

There's been a lot of talk of the "Summer of Less" lately... and unfortunately it seems I was only able to achieve the summer of less blogging... Here's what I've been up to - the good and the bad. I went to TrailheaDX and had a great time - learnt a lot, spent time with some amazing people, failed some exams, and unfortunately managed to catch a really nasty bug. I came home, passed my Advanced Admin exam on my third try, and then got really sick. I work remotely, so will usually work through the usual stuff that keeps most people from the office... but I couldn't get out of bed for two days... and it was several weeks before I really felt like myself again - whatever I caught seriously kicked my ass. So while trying to get over whatever it was I caught, it was also time for the final countdown to True North Dreamin. The last few weeks were definitely the most hectic of the whole planning experience, but I enjoyed every second of it. Before I kn...

I honestly wasn't sure if I should write this post, but a wise friend told me that sharing my thoughts, however briefly would definitely be worthwhile... so here goes... On May 15 I found myself in Indianapolis with some of my of my friends from the Salesforce ecosystem for the Inaugural Trailblazer Day. When I received the invite for the event there wasn't a whole lot of information, but it sounded like an opportunity too good to pass up, so off I went to the crossroads of America. Pit side with the Salesforce 48 crew! The day started at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway  for the Indy 500 practise sessions with JR Hildebrand who shared his love of data science with us, and then on to a sneak peak of the upcoming TrailheaDX keynote session... but I know what you're all really interested in. I don't like to talk about politics, but I'm sure you, dear reader, have a pretty good idea of where I fall in terms of my views, so I'll leave it at that. To ...

TrailheaDX is only a few weeks away, and I can barely contain my excitement! I shared some "official" thoughts on Why Admins should attend TrailheaDX on the Salesforce Admins blog, but I figured I could share some fun "unofficial" thoughts as well as some tips and tricks here. Travel Get yourself a Clipper Card - it's the transit card for the Bay Area. You can get one at the airport (not to mention many other places), and depending on where you're staying, get the BART to right near Moscone . I definitely recommend r iding the Heritage Street Car up Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf  if you have the time too. Getting from the airport -  If you're not staying near a BART station, and as an alternate to taking a Ride Share (Ride share surge rates can get a little crazy depending o when you arrive) or Taxi, Super Shuttle is a great option. It's less than $20US one way, and will drop you right at your door. Extra Curricular Events Keep ...

Get ready everyone - it's #AwesomeAdmin challenge time again! It's another " Be an Innovator " challenge, this time harnessing the power of Flow Builder. I love that the Admin team have been rolling out these challenges, as it pushes us to step out of my comfort zone and try something new - something as Admins we need to do all the time, but might not have the means to. For those of you like me that are still total Flow noobs, I couldn't be more excited to give this a try, and the best part is I feel like I'm hanging out with Admin Evangelists Marc Baizman and LeeAnn Rimel in my home office (couldn't help but include the photo of us below!) Got the treasured selfie with @leeanndroid and #AwesomeAdmin and new #lifewithgoldie golden hoodie winner @zazamataz at #SalesforceTour Toronto! pic.twitter.com/2UCWuJXVsQ — Marc Baizman (@mbaizman) April 11, 2019 Modelled after the success of last year's Be a Builder and Be an Innovator (with Einst...

Let's rewind to the end of March 2018, San Francisco, TrailheaDX. I knew nothing and no one, and was greeted by the community with open arms. I had a great time learning at bootcamp, and was excited for the conference. I was all set up with the Events app and was learning about the swag situation (I'd heard that Salesforce events had pretty good swag!), but all I was really hoping for was a Trailblazer Hoodie. Anything else I could possibly obtain would be a bonus. I had seen people wearing them around all through bootcamp, and all over the posters, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I wanted people to know that I was a Trailblazer, no matter how brand new I was - I had just had the best few days of my professional career after all. I arrived bright and early for TDX the next day, and pretty much ran to Camp Quick Start. If you earned three Three badges there, you'd get your Trailblazer Hoodie - while supplies lasted. I don't think I've ever been so an...

One of the main reasons I chose Toronto over Vancouver was because I would be much closer to Europe, and could visit all the time if I wanted... yet seven years have passed, and I was still yet to make the journey... In fact, my favourite uncle lives in London - he's literally my closest geographical relative, so when I first found out about London's Calling, I decided that I was going to attend! Having never been to London, I obviously wanted to pack as much sight seeing in as possible, and managed to even nab tickets to see Hamilton! It's funny that I've been able to see Hamilton on two separate occasions, both on trips to Salesforce Community events. Appy and I even went to Buckingham Palace and managed to be in the right place at the right time and saw the Queen leaving! I actually saw her face and her snappy bright orange hat and jacket. This amused me even further when I was chatting with Londoners who said they've never seen her in person! So desp...