Behind the Cloud (Salesforce)

This post lists 5 points or thoughts from reading the book Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company-and Revolutionized an Industry.

1. Build network – every person is important

One of the first contracts of Salesforce.com, Canon, was won due to a person who was a close co-worker decades ago in Oracle. After conquering Canon, the Post Office of the Japanese Government was conquered. Since then, other organizations or companies were conquered like a house of cards.

2. How much you are willing to give up, how large your success will be

Employees were asked to move to Singapore. Few were willing to do so but those that did focused on their work totally and had a great career. (破釜沉舟)

3. Recommendations from authorities

Be humble and down-to-earth, then seek attention and recommendations from authorities.

4. Take promises seriously

If a cloud business promises and targets the global market, only travelling overseas once a week is undesirable – if you don't expand locally in the other regions, investers there will care about you less and less. Get as close as possible to the general public there, e.g.
  • Moving offices to famous countryside
  • Translate slogans better locally (e.g. KFC's finger-licking good in China is x掉你的手指頭)
  • Sponser Special Olympics in Singapore
  • The "No Software" protest
These things got a lot of local media coverage.

5. Being open as a vision

Facebook opened their API because they wanted their product to be everywhere. They had a vision.

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