Trailblazer Quotes

“like the culture developed by Coach Steve Kerr for my beloved Golden State Warriors. Even though he helms a team, Steve believes that having good people is more important that just having good basketball players; he understands that players come and go, but the ethos on the court gets passed down from one game and one season to another. The best teams play together like a family who trust one another to have their back.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“As I write this, I know there are countless mysteries about the future of business that we’ve yet to unravel. That’s a process that will never end. When it comes to customer success, however, I have achieved absolute clarity on four points. First, technology will never stop evolving. In the years to come, machine learning and artificial intelligence will probably make or break your business. Success will involve using these tools to understand your customers like never before so that you can deliver more intelligent, personalized experiences. The second point is this: We’ve never had a better set of tools to help meet every possible standard of success, whether it’s finding a better way to match investment opportunities with interested clients, or making customers feel thrilled about the experience of renovating their home. The third point is that customer success depends on every stakeholder. By that I mean employees who feel engaged and responsible and are growing their careers in an environment that allows them to do their best work—and this applies to all employees, from the interns to the CEO. The same goes for partners working to design and implement customer solutions, as well as our communities, which provide the schools, hospitals, parks, and other facilities to support us all. The fourth and most important point is this: The gap between what customers really want from businesses and what’s actually possible is vanishing rapidly. And that’s going to change everything. The future isn’t about learning to be better at doing what we already do, it’s about how far we can stretch the boundaries of our imagination. The ability to produce success stories that weren’t possible a few years ago, to help customers thrive in dramatic new ways—that is going to become a driver of growth for any successful company. I believe we’re entering a new age in which customers will increasingly expect miracles from you. If you don’t value putting the customer at the center of everything you do, then you are going to fall behind. Whether you make cars, solar panels, television programs, or anything else, untold opportunities exist. Every company should invest in helping its customers find new destinations, and in blazing new trails to reach them. To do so, we have to resist the urge to make quick, marginal improvements and spend more time listening deeply to what customers really want, even if they’re not fully aware of it yet. In the end, it’s a matter of accepting that your success is inextricably linked to theirs.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Companies, and the people who lead them, can no longer afford to separate business objectives from the social issues surrounding them. They can no longer view their mission as a set of binary choices: growing vs. giving back, making a profit vs. promoting the public good, or innovating vs. making the world a better place.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“It’s about how to create a culture where doing well is synonymous with doing good in order to thrive in a world where a company is only as strong as the principles it adopts.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Albert Einstein: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend fifty-five minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“we’re at a crossroads, and the actions we take from this moment forward will have a defining impact on what kind of world we leave behind for future generations.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“knowledge isn’t truly powerful until it’s shared.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“In your quest to succeed and make money, don’t forget to do something for others.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Trust has to be your highest value in your company. And if it's not, something bad is going to happen.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Whether you’re starting a business, managing a team, or running an entire company, trusting your instincts can be essential in bringing a vision or idea to life. I now understand that trusting yourself is only half the story. To be effective as a leader, you need a reservoir of trust to draw from. And once you use it all up, it can take years and years to replenish.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Our public schools need people to show up and care more than they need the donations of benefactors. They need people who can contribute professional expertise mentoring students, assisting teachers, or even applying a fresh coat of paint.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“A genuine culture built on fundamentals like trust and aimed at the goal of business for good is more than enough, but only if it genuinely outweighs the traditional business motives of driving revenue, growth, and profit.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Here’s the thing about values: You have to use words to identify them, but they won’t create true value for you unless they turn into consistent behaviors.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“There’s no way to put a dollar value on values. And yes, there will be times when prioritizing values, especially trust, will come at the expense of profits. In the short term, that is. But the money your company makes in any given quarter will never be more valuable than the trust you stand to lose over time.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“But let me be clear: What Indiana ultimately showed me is that no one person is in charge of the moral compass of a business. The phone calls and messages from my employees proved that if the leadership won’t act, they’ll have to face the bayonets poking up from below. Gone are the days when companies can recruit and retain top talent without upholding a commitment to values.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“The great miscalculation of the age is the idea that businesses have to make a choice: to become profitable, or to become platforms for change. This is not the case.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Lots of businesses talk about values, but in turbulent times, when they matter most, executives often forget to operationalize them.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Doing well by doing good is no longer just a competitive advantage. It’s becoming a business imperative.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

“Just as CEOs can’t look away when social issues clash with their values, employees can’t pretend that whatever its leadership decides to do is above their pay grade. If leadership won’t act on a company’s values, employees at every level need to hold them accountable.”
― Marc Benioff, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change