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July’s Salesforce Woman of the Month is an “obsessed” stand-up paddle boarder whose paddle skills have come in handy when she’s found herself up the proverbial “creek.” Please join me in congratulating Laura Norman, Senior Director of Product Marketing on the Small and Medium Business (SMB) Marketing team.
Laura leads the charge on branding and content development for the SMB team at Salesforce HQ in San Francisco. With the help of her team, Laura keeps busy creating compelling content, building relationships with influencers and experts, and putting on amazing Salesforce events.
Laura is also known as one of those people who definitely walks the walk. Just take a look at what some of the people who nominated her had to say:
“I am continually impressed by how Laura leads with compassion, directness, and a little twist of humor. She is also a relationship-builder and mastermind of cross-collaboration.”
“Not only is she incredibly appreciative of all of her teammates, but she goes above and beyond to recognize her team for their efforts, in addition to providing great guidance on how we can better ourselves and our work.”
Since paddling is such a big part of Laura’s life, we asked her to share a few lessons from the lake that she uses on land as well as in her day-to-day life at Salesforce.
Although paddleboarding can be done solo, no paddleboarder really ever learns alone. Each one has had teachers and coaches help them along the way. And we need those kinds of mentors in all parts of our lives. “I have been so fortunate at Salesforce to work with women like Leyla Seka and Marie Rosecrans who care so much about helping women — and everyone on their teams — learn and grow. I am trying to pay it forward to everyone on my team and that I come into contact with at Salesforce.”
“Paddleboarding slows me down and lets me think. Some of my best ideas come to me while navigating the lake. One idea was for an SMB program called TrailblazeHER. When we have events in local markets, we also plan special dinners for leading influencers and C-suite women from small businesses in the area. Attendees have found mentors, made friendships, and created business opportunities through those dinners. And to think that the idea all came to me during a nice day on a lake!”
Life, like the lake, has bumps and waves, which Laura’s had to navigate. Staying flexible is key to staying on your paddleboard as well as on your career path. When her son was young, he was diagnosed with learning differences. She was able to become a part-time employee at Salesforce to give her son the time and attention he needed. “His growth was inspiring to me as he overcame his own obstacles. I try to live that experience at work each day with our team. With a little flexibility, we can accomplish so much more than we think.”
“If I don’t keep at it, my paddling gets rusty. The same thing happens in other parts of my life. Work and family consume a lot of time. It’s hard to carve out a little personal time for self improvement, but I try to set realistic goals and live up to them. Any time I can make time to take a training, I got for it – and, in the end, I’m glad I did. One of the most impactful experiences that I had in the past year was at the Cultivate Equality training. It has influenced my life far beyond Salesforce.”
Keeping balance off the lake is just as important as on the lake. “Women (and men) need to accept that sometimes things outside of your career –like family or school –will take precedence. Find a balance. You don’t always have to be moving up at work to be successful and to feel satisfied. You can try out different functions and projects to keep learning all the time. Just be sure to lean in to whatever you do – and make it count. Whether it’s a project for work or a VTO that you’re interested in, you’ll get more out of it if you go all in on whatever you do.”
The Salesforce Woman of the Month campaign turns the spotlight on the amazing women who help make Salesforce one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies according to Forbes and one of Fortune Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For. Honorees are nominated by fellow employees and selected by a dedicated committee that works to ensure a variety of roles and regions are honored.
To hear more from Laura, make sure to connect with her on LinkedIn – and stay tuned for our next edition of Salesforce Woman of the Month, coming your way in August.
