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Equality and sustainability took centre stage on day three of Dreamforce 2018. It was a day full of inspiring talks and motivating calls-to-action, along with plenty of other insights and inspo. We’ve pulled together eight highlights.
Day three kicked off with Al Gore – former Vice President of the United States, current venture capitalist, but probably better known as a passionate climate activist – calling on Trailblazers to join his climate crusade.
In the opening keynote of the Dreamforce 2018 Climate Summit, he said the sustainability revolution “has the magnitude of the industrial revolution, with the speed of the digital revolution”. It's up to us to invest and innovate.
Al Gore - what a speaker, and a true trailblazer. His scientific evidence was faultless and his argument irrefutable – if we don’t change our ways, our own children will see the scenes we recognise only from apocalypse films. On the upside, he told us, we are changing our ways - many countries are investing more heavily in renewable energy than in fossil fuels, and must continue to do so.
Later, oceanographer Sylvia Earle led a panel of Trailblazers that included adidas Director of Sustainability Alexis Haass, actor and social advocate Adrian Grenier, and President of the Polynesian Voyaging Society Nainoa Thompson. They discussed how the most innovative organisations are using the levers of competition to pull plastic from the oceans.
“Now we have the chance to create the world we want,” said Earle.
Watch ‘The Water Challenge: Protecting Critical Resources’ panel on Salesforce Live.
The Equality Summit was full of wise words from Trailblazing CEOs who’re redefining narratives of authenticity, as well as stories of public figures championing equality. There's never been a time when businesses – and employees – have been poised to make such lasting and meaningful change.
In the Equality Keynote, Tracee Ellis Ross – an actress from the American TV show Black-ish – shared how she’s using her profile to advocate for change. She was joined by Adam Rippon – an Olympic bronze medalist and LGBTQ advocate, who’s been named on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People. Both talked about overcoming obstacles and battling stereotypes to become advocates for equality.
Watch the Equality Keynote on Salesforce Live.
Geisha Williams is the first Latina CEO of a Fortune 500 company and was recently named 24th on Fortune’s list of the Most Powerful Women in America. At the Fortune Executive Summit she told the audience that a huge part of her success is a result of mentorship.
When Williams was 24, her mentor took her aside and asked, “What are your long-term career aspirations?”.
Williams’ answer – to be a supervisor – wasn’t thinking long-term enough, according to her mentor.
“Someone has to be the CEO of this company one day,” he told her. “Why not you?”
“I remember a lightning bolt hitting me – why not me? Well, women weren’t running companies, Latinas weren’t running companies. And yet he inspired me with those three words,” Williams told us.
"A great leader inspires, shares and brings their team along. No one wants to work for a robot. You need to show what you value, what you like, what you did over the weekend – just be you.”
The two tween daughters of Salesforce Commerce Cloud CEO Mike Micucci joined the Commerce Cloud Keynote and wowed the audience with their mobile shopping skills. Mike gave them each an iPhone and asked them to fill their shopping carts with as many beauty products as possible in 20 minutes.
Their shopping sessions were recorded, and the audience was able to watch their journeys in hyperspeed as Einstein product recommendations guided their choices. As well as revelations about shopper journeys, the session served up community good – at the end of their sessions, the girls had filled their carts with more than $3000 worth of cosmetics that were donated to Dress for Success, an organisation that empowers underserved women to interview for jobs like seasoned pros.
Watch the Commerce Cloud Keynote on Salesforce Live.
We live in a time of disagreement and fragmentation, a time where many feel there is less energy available for compassion for our fellow humans. Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, is nevertheless optimistic.
“I’ve seen people with compassion, I’ve seen people step up,” he told us. “Every day good people that want to do good, who have figured out a way to find a ‘we’ solution. Just look at something like the GoFundMe phenomenon – people are willing to donate, and help and contribute! So I remain optimistic that the human spirit is still alive.”
But, for a better world to come about, Tyson has no doubt – business must play a part.
“Every company of size has an obligation – period – to be a part of our communities and to contribute to our communities, not to stand off. Every major company has that opportunity, and that obligation.”
Each year, marketing Trailblazers from all over the world gather at Dreamforce to share success stories, information on current industry trends and plans for adapting to future changes.
At this year’s Marketing Cloud Keynote, leaders from Salesforce, along with customer Trailblazers from Warner Bros. Entertainment, Ticketmaster and BBVA, took to the stage to share fresh insights on intelligent marketing, announce a dynamic new acquisition of Datorama and showcase recent Trailblazer triumphs.
In today's fireside chat with Salesforce Chairman and Co-CEO Marc Benioff, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told a full audience how he's bringing more ‘heart’ to the company.
He spoke of how Uber is putting its partner drivers first and figuring out how to provide temporary workers with much-needed benefits. They've already started in the UK, providing sick leave and benefits for drivers, including maternity and paternity leave.
When asked what advice Khosrowshahi would have given to his predecessor, he replied with something he learnt from Barry Diller, who he worked for at Expedia: "Listen to what you don't want to hear."
Amazing advice!
Watch the full fireside chat on Salesforce Live.
In the Dreamforce Campground, with the sound of birds chirping in the distance, our park rangers were busy guiding Dreamforcers through hands-on tours of Salesforce product demos, while sharing unique customer success stories.
What a crazy whirlwind Dreamforce 2018 has been so far – and we still have one big day to go!
Get in on all of the action, inspiration and innovation via the Salesforce LIVE Dreamforce 2018 broadcast.
You can also sign up to the Salesforce ANZ blog to read all about the top learnings and take-outs from this year’s event.
