Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

by Marc Benioff, Monica Langley

When Salesforce chairman and CEO Benioff called for more regulation on the tech industry during the Davos World Economic Forum, and followed it up by saying Facebook should be regulated in 'the same way you regulated the cigarette industry', he found himself at the centre of a storm. This was not what people expected to hear from a hugely successful tech entrepreneur, and some industry leaders began calling him to say how he had betrayed them. 

But Benioff shows how he created a company committed to shared values in everything they do, creating a model for others to follow if they want to thrive in today's business environment, where criticism of corporate greed is bringing new pressures on industry. At Salesforce, the aim was to take decisions that were not only good for business, but also for society as a whole, and this book will show you how to make these positive steps. Benioff believes that, in future, the only businesses that will thrive are those that take an active role in making the world a better place. 

Trailblazer is a guidebook to help leaders, employees and customers to prepare for the next phase of global capitalism: the arrival of business for good. 

Genres: Business, Biography, Nonfiction, Leadership, Technology, Management, Audiobook

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2019

About the author

Marc Benioff is chairman, co-CEO, and founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Benioff was named the Decade’s Top Innovator by Forbes, one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune, and one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. He has won numerous awards for his leadership on equality.

A Fortune 500 company with more than 45,000 employees, Salesforce has been recognized as the Most Innovative Company by Forbes and the Best Place to Work and 15th Most Admired Company in the World by Fortune. Upon founding Salesforce, Benioff created the 1-1-1 model of philanthropy, giving one percent of the company’s equity and product and employees’ time back to communities around the world. Today, more than 8,500 companies have adopted the 1-1-1 model through the Pledge 1% movement.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A very egocentric autobiography about a tech CEO who finds success empty, goes to India, and becomes annoying.

He becomes almost a caricature of what a Bay Area CEO should be, according to Bay Area types. His lack of self awareness is sad and funny at the same time.

[Alok Kejriwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

One paragraph review - If you want to learn Business insights, pains & losses that Marc experienced while building Salesforce, you'll be disappointed. If you want to learn how a massively successful digital entrepreneur views the world & what he does to bring change, you will be delighted.

My highlights:
- Marc's spiritual leaning. He was blessed by Amma (hugging saint) before his success. He is a devout follower of Thich Nhat Hanh the super popular Vietnamese Spiritual leader. Marc makes a deep point about why meditation is a MUST to succeed in Business.
- His relentless pursuit to GIVE back. I've read a lot of Business books but this one seems DEVOTED to helping people.
- The EXTRAORDINARY incident of his meeting with Steve Jobs that resulted in the creation of the App Store.
- The open, transparent, almost childlike narration of the mistakes & learnings he made while building Salesforce.
- The concept of making Community service a paid responsibility as an employee. (something I want to start at my Companies.

I want to meet Marc and hug him.

[Michael Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benioff refers often to this quote from Albert Einstein: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend fifty-five minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”

Think about that.

Read the book.

Drive change.

Change.

PS - Re: Salesforce Tower. Hey Marc, Go Anywhere! It works.
Think about that.

[Susie Turk · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Salesforce employee, I was familiar with a lot of the content in the various chapters because they were very consistent with the culture I've experienced over the last 7 years. I was really interested to learn about Marc's history and how his maternal grandfather( who was a pioneer of BART) and how his father (who was an entrepreneur selling mens' clothing) influenced him. His grandfather was a believer in social justice who would regularly hand homeless people $20. His father was greatly focused on customer success. Both of those are visible in Marc's views and the Salesforce culture. I've witnessed several of the things Marc discusses from the employee's perspective, so it was really interesting to hear his side of things. For example, I was very proud of his stance against the "Religious Freedom" Act in Indiana and then subsequent similarly proposed laws in other states; it was interesting reading about this from his perspective. Likewise, I worked with one of the authors of the petition against selling Salesforce to CBP, so I was interested reading about his experience. I have been very proud to work at Salesforce and have been greatly inspired by Marc. This is a great book for anyone in the business world to read because everyone can be an agent of change.

[kesseljunkie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sure Marc Benioff’s a decent guy all around. Sadly this book comes off as hurriedly written, quickly edited, and so self-aggrandizing as to paint him as a pompous tool of people who provide him the validation that business success hasn’t.

Again, I’m sure he’s a decent guy. He goes to great lengths to make sure the reader is aware of that. From listing all of the perfectly reasoned and wise decisions he’s made to all the important people he knows, I’m sure he’s a great guy who isn’t blinded by his own sense of self importance.

Just sure of it.

[Willem · Rating 2 out of 5]

No book is ever a waste of time, but this one comes close. The ego of Marc is a match to that of Any dictator. There are few people in the world as good as he is. This is not a biography, this is ego tripping.

[Martha Reifenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doing well and doing good

*admirable (environment/transparency/values)
*repetitive
*meditation
*garish wealth
*simple language

[Rishabh Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Marc does impress me with the way he puts values such as equality and trust on a pedestal in a business that seeps deep into the lives of customers, he can come across as slightly egoistic. Nevertheless, this book does shine light on how the approach of C-suite executives to define profit and success has changed over the last decade.

[Sudharsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, CEO of Salesforce, a Fortune 500 company, makes a case for why we people don't have to choose between values and Profit.

Marc falls short on this aspect. The book is full of anecdotes from Salesforce with the obstacles they faced and how they overcame with values.

But, while the argument makes sense for a rosy tech company like Salesforce with high margins, it doesn't provide a framework for harder questions that might arise when profits are lacking.

[Nash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and skip this book. Very little of substance here and a lot of self-congratulation. I also think the book has aged poorly and a lot has changed post-Covid, and a lot of positions taken here don’t hold. If you’re really a deep fan of Salesforce, go for it. For the rest, skip.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff illustrates how businesses, business leaders, and each one of us can be agents of change.

One of his first seminal moments as a CEO was when Governor Mike Pence had decided to sign legislation which would allow Indiana business owners to discriminate against LBGTQ customers if their religious views compelled their actions. Salesforce employees at their Indiana location were urging Benioff to do something bold to fight the legislation. Salesforce employees in Indiana feared living and working in a state that allowed discrimination.

Benioff knew this was a moment to walk the talk regarding Salesforce's values of trust, customer service, innovation and equality. He tweeted that Salesforce would be forced to reduce their investment in Indiana due to the legislation.

This began his journey as an activist CEO.

His book provides in-depth details on when Salesforce has missed the mark on their values (such as customer service) and the steps they take to recover thoroughly and quickly.

He ends the book with a chapter on being an activist CEO where taking a stand is not optional. He illustrates ideas and blueprints for other leaders and each of us to make an impact.

[Sarah Amin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the past 7 years working in the Salesforce ecosystem, the community has had the largest impact. The Salesforce community or 'Ohana' - is the most welcoming and encouraging community I've ever been a part of, making this former Biochemist feel comfortable as an #accidentaladmin turned #awesomeadmin. Marc's book tells the story behind the culture and values of an organization consistently rated as one of the best places to work. It's clear that the culture and values of Salesforce as an organization are what attract an amazing community of Salesforce users that continue to grow and welcome many. Salesforce sets an example that we can (and should) make an impact while leading and innovating.

I enjoyed Marc's weaving of personal stories to connect to business strategy and values. His honesty about his failures and striving for growth and improvement bring a realness to his writing.

This review was based on an advanced copy of the book.

[David Skinner · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Companies do well when they learn to do good”

I hoped this was going to be a biographical outline of Salesforce and how it has started, but it turned into a story about how the founder and CEO believes that companies should be very actively engaged in the social issues of the day. I could not disagree more strongly, because he writes with a religious fervor when he just needs to trust Jesus and then be thoughtful of social implications. He’s very political, and this book makes me actually like him less. I want to learn from people I don’t agree with, and for that reason I think it’s smart and wise to consider how business leaders can shape the world around them. That is a good point.

Would not recommend this to anyone.

[Masha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning more about Salesforce and CEO’s journey. Story of course told from a place of a lot of proved he, but he seems to be trying to call it out and be humble. But book itself is pretty bland.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Partly a business memoir, partly a Salesforce promotion...not badly written and not a bad dude, but I think the main reason to read it is if you're a Salesforce superfan.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Minimal on substance, heavy on self-promotion. Certainly didn’t make me a stronger believer in Benioff.

[Kuang Ting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salesforce是一間專門提供與設計CRM(Customer Relation Management)軟體的企業，有些人可能沒聽過，但它是這個領域排行第一名的大公司，剛剛查了一下，目前排名Fortune 500第190名，它是一間快速成長的科技公司，創立於1999年網路蓬勃發展的年代，創立者兼目前的CEO為本書作者Marc Benioff，他跟一位集團內負責公關業務的主管(一位非常成功的前《華爾街日報》記者)一起完成這本書。

這本書紀錄了馬克的人生故事和經營哲學，如果你想認識一間科技公司如何快速崛起，本書提供不少有趣的啟發。讀這本書還有一個好處，能從當事者的角度認識CRM商業模式的形成。我每次遇到新事物總會好奇「是誰發明的?」、「為什麼我要使用它?」…此類疑惑。這跟社會和文化規範類似，一般人沒事應該不會胡思亂想，自然而然的接受既有的框架。但我蠻喜歡追本溯源，想瞭解一下各種事物的源頭，不然心底感覺不踏實…為什麼(or憑什麼)大家都要使用這項產品或服務呢?

我目前就職的企業也採用Salesforce的追蹤Sales相關業務，確實有提升工作的效率，不過也有許多詬病就是了。我自己也有一個帳戶，也算有第一手的user experience(簡稱UX，這個簡寫也是必背的商業詞彙喔!)。我在的這間企業也算歷史悠久了，內部有眾多不同年代的資訊系統混搭一塊，非常凌亂，前輩們也都抱怨連連，大家都霧煞煞，有時候會導致工作效率降低。為了應對這種狀況，領導階級積極推廣數位化轉型計畫，但感覺前輩們都興趣缺缺提不起勁。

剛好自己又有機會參與一項推廣公司內部系統的專案，這種跨國的專案溝通效率的低下實在是不可思議，最終的成果領導階級似乎很滿意，但身為第一線執行的人員，心裡很清楚展示成果的精美報表華而不實，終於體認為什麼會存在”組織行為”的研究，如何讓一間企業成為有機體，真的不容易。心裡其實也在OS，很多人都只是敷衍了事以及盡量別干我的事，過程中有一度受不了，想”加速”溝通的效率，反而產生反效果，這是醍醐灌頂的一刻，因為切身的體會到原來「交差了事」可能獲得更大的肯定，真是寶貴的一課。

自己有了跟IT系統打交道的經驗，再回頭研究它們，就更懂得如何欣賞(或質疑) Salesforce的成功。CRM軟體已經是當代企業不可或缺的一部分，學習一下這方面的知識，也有學以致用的樂趣。知名企業家的著作，通常比較枯燥，但商業見解卻非常真知灼見。我們活在資本主義統治的世界裡，除非發生革命或滅世巨災，個體想要在這種社會裡生存，學學商業領袖的思維還是有助益的。

隨著閱讀量的累積，我也有一種思想上的轉向，前幾年有點鄙視這些商業巨賈，聚焦在他們的缺點，全然的陰謀論者。但漸漸地，這種閉塞的憤世嫉俗只會麻痺自己，毫無意義。依然保持謹慎，總算學會欣賞他人的優點了。有些讀者可能持保留意見，認為這種企業家的作品都在自吹自擂，盡是美化和宣傳。的確，誰會自我貶低呢XD，又不是在演諷刺電影，people disagree，反對是人的天性，沒人會100%認同別人的觀點，但這就是溝通和聆聽的重要性吧，聽一聽、讀一讀別人的觀點，才有機會審視自己內心真正的想法。

在我的感受裡，Salesforce的創辦人馬克是一位非常難得的科技業領袖，以他自己的形容詞來說，他是一位computer nerd。閱讀的過程中，你應該也能感到他的坦率，他是一位重視公開與透明度的領導者。貫穿整本書的主軸就是「企業文化的重要性」。Salesforce的企業文化被稱為Ohana culture，Ohana在夏威夷語中意為「家庭」，一種建立於信任的企業文化。馬克寫這本書的用意，一方面當然是想擴大Salesforce的文化形象，另一方面，他也想向讀者分享如何打造Ohana culture。很顯然這個企業文化有助於企業的成長，不然Salesforce也不會在短短20年擴展至今天的規模了。

書中的內容包含了馬克的成長背景、個人的信念、以及Salesforce遭遇的各種故事。我是把它當作故事書來讀，透過各種有趣的故事，讀者能從創辦人的高度體會經營與領導一間大型企業的酸甜苦辣。幾個特別突出的主題如下~

1. 馬克天生就有創業家的基因，他的家族個個都是具有影響力的創業家或成功人士。

2. Salesforce重視CSR(or ESG)，奉行1-1-1原則，承諾貢獻1%的產品、時間、資源回饋社會。

3. 馬克特別重視的議題包含族群和性別的平權、海洋保育、公立學校的教育、居住正義(街友問題)…

4. 他是一位行動派(Activism)執行長，不安於當個默不作聲的執行長，而是大聲呼籲其他企業領導人積極的投入社會改造的運動裡。他認為企業是改變世界最好的平台。

5. 他熱愛冥想和靜坐，崇拜東方的僧侶和精神導師。一個近年來矽谷和華爾街吹起的新熱潮。關於靈修，這又是另一個有趣的主題了，可以延伸到「旅遊文學」的範疇了。例如: Pico Iyer這一位享譽歐美的旅遊作家，以身作則，活出東方主義的真諦了。

6. 矽谷的文化崇尚技術專家治國(Silicon Valley Technocracy)。他們由衷的信任科技的力量可以帶領世界前往更美好的境界。科技可以解決人類社會的眾多議題，馬克是這一信仰的忠實擁護者。他深知科技的顛覆性力量，所以他希望自己的公司協助改造社會，而非阻礙文明的進步。CRM系統就是一個很好的典範，它讓客戶能夠以低額的成本，改善工作效率。

沒時間讀這本書的話，Youtube也有馬克關於本書的訪談。The Economics Club of Washington有上傳David Rubenstein和馬克的對談。這個頻道的來賓都很大咖，華盛頓真的是影響全世界的樞紐啊! 聽聽大人物的想法，往往能獲益匪淺。

這是一本不錯的商業類著作，有機會可以讀一讀!

話說Salesforce這個名字取的也太好了~一直想到星際大戰的經典台詞:May the force be with you! 願原力與你同在!

[AV · Rating 5 out of 5]

In case you're planning to learn about business insights, Marc's successes and failures leading Salesforce as a business, anything about building / shipping great products or even about providing top-notch customer experience, then you're gonna be deeply disappointed.

Befitting to the book's subtitle - "Power of business as the greatest platform for change", it talks about the social standings Marc has taken publicly, using his influence as the CEO of one of the largest companies on the planet and his values around which he tries to run Salesforce and cater to his employees and customers.

In the book, Marc has portrayed himself as a big believer of social causes and has emphasized over and over again why it's important for people in similar positions to be the leading voice against such issues and the larger benefits standing up for these causes can have, both for your business and the employees who work with you.

I'm really not sure how much truth is in Marc's words in here but if there is, then I don't see why or what reasons could other large businesses have for not following suite to Marc's advice and ways of running a business, driven by values and strong beliefs.

I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Only if you're in a position to influence change, be it if you run a company or hold a higher authority position in the government, then you should get your hands on it. While there were a few instances on how small groups of employees of Salesforce led Marc to take some radical decisions, these issues were not something difficult to comprehend to understand their repercussions, case in point being, gender diversity & pay gaps.

[Christopher Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I was interested in reading it as I’ve been learning Salesforce through Trailhead.

The subtitle should’ve alerted me to what it was really about but I did not notice it. While I appreciate Marc’s thoughts on how a business should run, I would respectfully disagree with how involved his business is in certain affairs. A company should not need to be involved in activist matters in order to succeed. In fact, he even gives examples where other CEOs of large companies stand their ground. It concerns me when activists bully people with tons of influence to make a statement about something that they don’t need to, like it’s their job to do so. But as an “activist CEO” Marc doesn’t seem to mind speaking his mind about social/political matters. I am aware, however, that I have never been in a position he has been in as a CEO or leader to a multitude of people, and I can respect his opinion on how he wants to run his business.

I will also say that I appreciate his emphasis on generosity and would like to see more CEOs do so as well. Marc has given away several millions of dollars to help others and while I’ll never know whether or not that is done to make himself look better, I think it’s worth mentioning.

While I really wouldn’t recommend this as a business book per se, I do think the values he highlights are worth noting.

[W. Whalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Storytelling and Business Lessons

From the opening pages, Marc Benioff’s storytelling captured my attention. TRAILBLAZER contains interesting information. Many years ago at a previous company, I used Salesforce so it was fascinating to hear these behind the scenes stories from the founder and CEO of this corporation. For their passionate users, they formed a group called Trailblazers (where they got the title for this book).

The business experience stories which fill this book are fascinating—from the chairman of Toyota to Merrill Lynch to Home Depot. Bernioff talks about the focus on customer success and how that key lesson with the Merrill Lynch account transformed one of the key emphasis of the company. The lessons are applicable to every company—whether a single owner small business or a large corporation.

There are valuable business insights throughout this book and I enjoyed the audiobook and heard it cover to cover. I recommend TRAILBLAZER.

W. Terry Whalin is an editor and the author of more than 60 books including his latest 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed

[Aymeric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the most the second part of the book (the first part is a description of the 4 values lived by Salesforce) where Marc Benioff shares his approach to life and leadership. Chapter 9 “beginner’s mind” is my favorite. This is the first time I read about a CEO (of this caliber) to be so open and vocal about meditation and mindfulness as a force for good and better in the workplace. He brings a powerful and easy to implement framework: 1- vision: what do you want ? 2- values: what’s important to you? 3- Methods: how do you get it? 4- obstacles: what is preventing you from being successful? 5- Measures: how do you know you have it?

All in all, the main message I take from trailblazer is that it is no longer an option to do well without doing good. Businesses can be the greatest platform for change.
What is the vision for what we/you want to achieve? Define it and live by it!

[Juanes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unconventional founder-CEO book. It doesn’t tell a chronological story of the start of Salesforce and it’s struggles. Rather, it goes deep into the values of Marc Benioff, and therefore Salesforce’s values. As someone who is interested in working at Salesforce, this book was a great insight of the culture and priorities that this company has. After reading this book, It is easy to see why Salesforce holds #1 place to work, for many consecutive years.

[Elina Belova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good 3.5 stars. I read it to see behind the scenes of Salesforce and I'm glad I did. But I wouldn't recommend it if you are not interested in Salesforce. It works well as a corporate brochure. Nevertheless, one idea stuck with me: 'We don't have to choose between doing well and doing good. They're not mutually exclusive.'

[Malek Dabbous · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 to be exact.
Listened to it on Audible and it was an enjoyable experience.
The book is too focused on CSR which is good but not wat I was looking for.
Gives lots of insight and nice examples about Sales Force, their products and their clients.

[Andrew Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, I'm a fan of Salesforce now.

[Brad Revell · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is here: https://www.bradrevell.com/?p=1429

Three key takeaways from the book:
1. What would your answer be if you asked what is the most important aspect of your organization? Your revenue, profits, shareholders, customers or employees? Benioff says it is values and that trust is the #1 value.
2. If you focus the majority of time on the problem (versus on the solution), the solution will become apparent.
3. Companies should be doing good versus doing well. A slight play of words, however, important to think above and beyond just shareholder value.

[John Wimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We recieved "Trailblazer" from a Good reads giveaway, and it's packed full of modern business wisdom. The author, Mark Benioff is a sucessful software developer. We read how he developed the love for computers at an early age, and went on to found Salesforce. Salesforce is a multiplayer billion dollar software corporation, located in San Francisco California. He explores the nature of Salesforce, and creates a viable future for business leaders. Always hopeful for a sucessful future, Mark Benioff asks us all to join him on his journey. Well recommended for all.

[Kendrick Vinar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book a couple weeks ago and have been aggressively procrastinating writing this review. After the slog that was finishing this book, I'll keep the review short and to the point.

Marc Benioff is a wildly successful CEO and entrepreneur. This book has some helpful takeaways based on his experience at the helm of Salesforce. The way he puts people first, gives back to the community, and values his customers is unique and also happens to be great for business. Beyond these takeaways (none of which I could recall without reopening the book), Trailblazer is a navel-gazing, self-aggrandizing retelling of the Salesforce story in the name of inspiring others. I am inspired but perhaps not in the way Benioff intended.

1.7/5.0

[Marco Turco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per chi non conoscesse Mark Benioff, lo schietto CEO di Salesforce, questo libro può rappresentare un'occasione d'oro. In realtà, è ancora più importante venire a conoscere (anche solo parzialmente) le sue idee e il suo percorso, che mutatis mutandis può essere il percorso di ognuno di noi che abbia la volontà di cambiare il mondo. L'idea di CEO attivista è stimolante ed è ben esplicitata in questo libro in cui l'obiettivo è aiutare tutti a pensare se stessi come apripista e artefici del cambio, anche e soprattutto partendo da una prospettiva corporate. Risulta veramente tonificante leggere le parole di un magnate che ci ricorda che "i valori creano valore".

[Neeraj Sadarjoshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and inspiring read!! So many wonderful anecdotes shared. I learnt a lot about Salesforce's philosophy and Marc's leadership style and thought process.