Adventures in Salesforcing.

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 ...