Je Ne Comprend Pas

I kicked off the morning by sitting in on a phone call with European employees discussing their quarter results. I understood little of what I heard in part because of the thick french accents and in part because of the detail-oriented, highly technical vocabulary; but what I did understand was interesting. It was nice to gain an international perspective of Salesforce; the needs overseas are completely different but just as complex, critical, and influential to the business as they are here in the US. After lunch at a trendy sushi restaurant with two Salesforce USC alumni (fight on!), I grabbed coffee with Jessica Faulkner, Senior Manager of revenue management, who is currently visiting San Francisco from the Seattle office. With her stories from working around the world in places like London and Switzerland, her friendly demeanor, and intelligent sentiments, it was clear she was an incredibly talented businesswoman. I finished the day with an interview of John Cummings, Vice President of investor relations. I appreciated his unique political science background (even though it came from UCLA) as most of the people I meet are strictly finance, equipped with finance degrees, work experience in the Big Four, and expertise focused mostly on accounting. One of my favorite quotes from the interview was: "Come to the table with a good attitude and a willingness to get along with other people." I will definitely remember that snippet as I move forward in my Senior Project.