Some thoughts on how I manage a team

Earlier this month I inherited a team of stellar humans. Most of these folks have only known me as a peer and for only ~3 months.

As part of the transition, I sent this Slack in the team channel:
******
Some thoughts on how I manage:
- GCal - My calendar is always up to date. You’re welcome to any blank space. Please don’t be shy, but please DO include a brief agenda.
- Slack - I’ll do my best to respond promptly in Slack but I’m not perfect. Please ping me again if I haven’t replied as quickly as you need.
- Bad news early. If you think something *might* go sideways, let me know ASAP.
- I will do everything in my power to have your back. Sadly, I am not all-powerful.
- Sometimes I have to say “no”, but when I do I’ll do my best to articulate why I’m saying “no”.
- Everybody needs something different from a manager. To the extent you know what you need, let me know! If not, we’ll figure it out together!
- I will do my best to over-communicate. Especially changes to the team or company.
- Call me out if you need more/different from me. My job is to support y’all!
******

In times of great change, communication is key!

Crossposted from LinkedIn

8 Totally Normal Things Salesforce Admins Do All The Time

  1. Ask for and get help from others. You are not expected to know everything about every corner of the platform. Ask for help! This community will step up!!

  2. “Borrow” logic from others’ work. Be it via blogs, Answers, or Tweets, we all have to start somewhere and recreating the wheel isn’t ever necessary!

  3. Have solutions come to you in dreams or while brushing your teeth. Some of my best thinking happens when I’m not really thinking! 😀

  4. Compare jobs with others in the community. You never know where your next gig could lie! Be plugged in to what’s out there.

  5. Iterate on formula logic over and over and over again. If you get a complex formula correct the first time, go buy a lottery ticket because that’s SUPER rare!

  6. Break stuff. It happens. It sucks. You learn and you move on.

  7. Question whether or not you’re cut out for this. Imposter syndrome is real and it sucks. You are cut out for this.

  8. Learn new things that make you regret past actions. I still cringe when I think about some of the dumb things I did in my early days. Past Amber did her best. She just didn’t know!

Fourteen miles a day: Walking While I Work

If you’ve been on a video call with me recently, it’s highly likely that I was on my treadmill. My work-from-home setup is a treadmill desk and it’s glorious! It lets me walk while I work. All day. Every day. And I love it! It’s keeping me sane (ish) in the Covid era.

Here are some FAQs.

  • Do you really walk ALL DAY!

    • Yep, all day. I stop for bio breaks and food, but yep, all day!

  • How fast do you walk?

    • Usually at 2mph. If I’m presenting or thinking really hard, I slow down. Rarely am I going less than 1.5mph.

  • How do you type while walking?

    • It took some practice, but I’m pretty good at it now. I’m not any slower or more error prone when walking then when not walking.

  • Have you even fallen?

    • Yep, but only once and wine might have been involved. Only my pride was injured.

  • Where did you get your treadmill?

    • Amazon. But I don’t like it as much as my original RebelDesk. Sadly, neither is available any longer. Whomp whomp.

    • If/When I need a new one, I’ll probably get this one.

  • Tell me about your desk. Is it special?

    • Very! I have an UpDesk. It’s super sturdy and the mechanism is still as smooth as the day I put it together back in 2015.

  • I want proof!

    • Well, alright!

 
Fitbit Stats.jpeg
 

Multi-factor Authentication and You

Ok, I know there’s very little that’s sexy about security. It’s not “fun” or “exciting” until something bad happens. Then, it’s the VERY BAD kind of exciting!

To keep baddies out of your Salesforce org, you should turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA).

What is MFA you ask? Well! It’s like your ATM PIN code. Yes, you have your ATM card, but you also have to supply a PIN before the magic machine spits out those Benjamins.

That’s MFA! Two factors!

  1. Something you have (your ATM card)

  2. Something you know (your PIN)

It’s that simple!

Here are some resources:

Blinkist: Enabling my non-fiction problem

I have a book buying problem. In 2019 I spent ~$300 on non-fiction books most of which remain unread.

/me hangs head in shame

In looking for a way to make that situation less stupid, I did some research and found Blinkist. I love Blinkist! LOVE IT!

So, what the heck is Blinkist? It’s like Cliff’s Notes, but with audio as well! There’s a website and a mobile app! Heaven can wait!

Here’s my invite link: http://blinki.st/79a16351eaed

Highly recommend!!!

SABWA when you can't WA

First, what the heck is SABWA? It’s Salesforce Administration By Walking Around. Meaning you go from desk to desk and understand what your users’ do day to day.

In the COVID era, with everything happening from home, how do you “walk around”?!?! What tools can you use to start or continue to engage with your users?

Your best option is to do virtual coffee with one or two users at least every week. Nothing Salesforce related specifically, more to understand what they do and where they’re struggling. This will also serve to build the relationship with them for when we can get back to being in person.

Blinkist: because you'll never read all the books on your bookshelf!

Does this sound like you?

  1. Someone recommends a non-fiction book.

  2. You buy it.

  3. You have every intention of reading the book. Maybe you even start reading it.

  4. It goes on the shelf to collect dust.

Guilty as charged! So I signed up for Blinkist. It’s a paid app that distills non-ficiton books into ~15min reads. Is it perfect? Nope, but it’s damn good! It has helped me consume lots more non-fiction than I would have otherwise! Also, it means Amazon & Jeff Bezos get less of my money!

TIL: Activity History Icons are fickle beasts

Task.Type and Task.TaskSubType are two different fields.
Task.Type is human editable and is the one your users know and love.
Task.TaskSubType is what determines the icon that shows in the Activity History

There is no OOTB functionality to keep them in sync.

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Studying for Salesforce Certifications

Earlier this week I was asked how I tackle studying for Salesforce certification exams so I thought I’d blog about it!

Regardless of the exam, my approach is the same. I start with the Exam Guide. I make a list of all the concepts from the Exam Outline and prioritize my studying based on the weight each has on the exam.

As an example here’s what part of the Administrator list might look like:

Image of table containing items from the Administrator Exam Guide.

For each item, I spend time writing up my notes. If the item says “describe…” I make my notes such that a rubber duck would understand. I write it up in my own words. That way I know I understand the concept and how to explain it.

Once I have all the sections expanded and all my notes in one place, then I review them starting with the highest weighted items first. I didn’t use FocusOnForce.com for my Admin test (because it didn’t exist yet!), but I have used and recommended it for other exams!

With all of this said, you know your own learning style best. Just because I use this method doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Tweak what I have here. Read this post and throw out all my ideas! You do you!

Best of luck on your exam!

Run/Walk the Year - 2020 miles in 2020

I’m going to run/walk 2020 miles in 2020. Looking at that goal now, it’s kinda insane, but I’m excited about it!

Doing the math…

2020 miles / 366 days (yay leap year!) = 5.52 miles/day

5.52miles is approximately 11,500 steps. If i can keep my daily average above 11,500, I’m got this!

Here’s my progress so far:

Screen Shot 2020-01-11 at 11.30.48 AM.png

Being liked versus being valued

Every morning I open Feedly and read the posts that came in overnight. (I’m a HUGE fan of RSS!). This morning I was greeted with the latest post from the F*CKING HOMEPAGE. In it is the following quote:

There is a difference between being liked and being valued. A lot of people like you, not many value you.

Dang it if that didn’t hit me right in the feels!

Spend time and energy with those that value you, not just those that like you.

My favorite Salesforce-y podcasts

I love a good podcast! They let me learn while working out or commuting. Even better is when the podcast is Salesforce-y! Those make my heart happy!

I’m sure there are others I don’t know about, but these are my favorite (in no particular order):

  • OOTTPod: http://oottpod.libsyn.com

  • TwoWIT: http://twowit.libsyn.com/podcast

  • The WizardCast: https://thewizardnews.com/wizardcast_home/

  • System.Debug: http://www.systemdotdebug.com/

  • CloudFocusWeekly: http://www.arkusinc.com/cloudfocus-weekly

  • Salesforce Admins Podcast: https://admin.salesforce.com/salesforce-admin-podcast

  • Good Day Sir: https://www.gooddaysirpodcast.com/

  • Code Coverage: https://www.codecoverage.org

  • Braniate: http://brainiate.blogspot.com/search/label/Podcast

  • Campfire Stories: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/campfire-stories/id1337155743?mt=2

  • YappExchange: http://www.yappexchange.com/

  • Cloud Force Collective: http://cloudforcecollective.com/

  • The Salesforce Cowboys: https://salesforcecowboys.podbean.com/

Notion: My external brain

I found an external brain! Notion.so holds birthdays (both dates and gift ideas), study notes, vacation plans, and, well, everything!

It’s a wiki, simple database, and, there’s a robust free version! Go check out their site and give it a whirl for free. If you decide to sign-up please use my affiliate link. If you sign-up there, you get at $10 credit and I get a $5 credit! It’s a win-win!

Write, plan, collaborate and get organized with @NotionHQ. Sign up with this link and get $10 in credit: https://www.notion.so/?r=96c6f28d56a1485b924ff009ab0925cf