Louise Lockie's Letters from London

I've posted my Dreamforce advice in the past - How to Have an Awesome Dreamforce - but now I have collated some new quick tips. Here are a few things I try and remember - Prep for Trailhead In order to get the special Dreamforce Trailhead badge you usually need to complete a module while on the official WiFi. In order to save yourself time, before you leave home prepare a module by completing all except for the final unit, and then once you are at DF and connected, complete the final unit and 'Ta Da', you will get your special badge. The App is Key The Salesforce Events App is essential for DF. If you have watched any of the Road to Dreamforce sessions you will know that nearly every logistical question was answered with "see the app". Where to get lunch, what time and where you can collect your badge, and where to find the gender neutral bathrooms are all there. Most useful, IMO, though, is the at a glance agenda and the reminders it provides. DF is fra...

I'll shortly be starting the long journey from London to San Francisco for my 4th Dreamforce and I'm getting my ducks in a row (and packing a large suitcase). I think it is safe to say that my three past Dreamforces have been quite different. I wrote about year one in my post Solo in San Francisco and Dazed at Dreamforce , I was extremely overwhelmed and found the whole experience too much. Year two as captured in Dreamforce: My Second Attempt , was still a challenge but I knew what to expect and had more contacts to share the experience with. Last year was on a different scale and was all about spending time with people and event after event after event, with quite a few highlights as I wrote about in My DF17 Highlights . Now I ask myself how I can make the most out of my Dreamforce experience this time, what have I learnt from attempts one, two, and three? Here are my recommendations: Get Organised Know where you want to be when. Once each day starts you are going ...

Dreamforce 2017 was, of course, epic.  Highlights? Oh yes, I have a few: Number 1 -  Presenting on the Dreamforce stage For the second year in a row I had both a Theater and a Breakout session to prepare for. Once again I found the experience extremely rewarding and received great engagement and follow up questions from the audience. Standing room only at my Breakout session Number 2 - Michelle Obama Marc Benioff's Q&A with Michelle Obama's was worth every minute we had to wait in order to secure and then keep our reserved seats. No photos were allowed which meant we could focus on being inspired by the sense she was talking about equality. Number 3 - Being Awarded a Golden Hoodie Having received the #AwesomeAdmin award at the London World Tour in 2016, before #LifeWithGoldie existed, I was fully inducted into the club when the team retrospectively awarded us with our sparkly hoodies. Number 4 - Meeting Parker Harris Parker wa...

If you either couldn't make it to Dreamforce 2017, or couldn't clone yourself and get to all the sessions you wanted to, then you are probably patiently waiting for the team to load the videos of all the content you missed. Me too! Luckily the team have been super speedy this year and a ton is already online. So here is my hit list, I will add to it as the content is released: Equality Keynote: Art, Activism, and Impact  (opening) Interviews with special guests at the opening of the Equality Keynote, with Tony Prophet. Equality Keynote: Art, Activism, and Impact A conversation with creative and engaged problem solvers, artists and innovators. Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and President of Emerson Collective, will.i.am, founder & CEO, i.am+ and renowned artist JR discuss how they are using innovative approaches to raise awareness of critical issues and develop solutions to address problems. Equality Summit: Authentic Leadership Hear how powerhouse leaders, Jane...

Last year, at my 2nd Dreamforce, I presented two sessions on the Admin Track, one solo on the Admin Theater, and one two-handed Breakout session. At this point I had already spoken at many different Salesforce user groups and community events, nevertheless Dreamforce was (is) a daunting proposition. The admin track session owners do a great job of looking after all speakers, newbies and veterans alike, but when it comes to the time of your session, the solo presenters amongst us have only ourselves to rely upon. If you are like me then the minutes before you step on stage, but can see the waiting audience, you will wonder why on earth you ever thought this was a good idea. Yet, the moment you walk off the stage you will be wondering how soon you can do it again! Next month's Dreamforce will again see a large number of 1st time speakers who are probably starting to feel the nerves set in right about now. Here is my advice to them all: DO Familiarise yourself with your sur...

We now have just a month until Dreamforce 17 is upon us and agenda builder is set to go live next week so I know that everyone's planning is well underway. As we all work through the sessions bookmarking enough to fill twice as many time slots, here are two more to add to the list - Wednesday 8th November - 1.30pm-1.50pm - Admin Theater  Bring Users With You on the Trail to Lightning Lightning is the future of Salesforce. New features and functionality come to Lightning every release that aren't available in Classic, so it is time to make the switch. We have to form a plan to move our users to Lightning, including long-time Classic users. Join me as l share how to build out a change management strategy with Lightning in mind, including some key takeaways to help you convince your most reluctant users to embrace the change. Wednesday 8th November - 3pm-3.40pm - Breakout AppExchange for Admins: Apps Every Admin Should Know AppExchange is an admin's secret we...

The dust has settled and the jet-lag has finally passed following my second attempt 'at' Dreamforce. Last year I was certain the conference was so overwhelming, exhausting, and impossible to conquer solely because I was a newbie. This year, though still a novice, I thought I knew enough to tame the beast. I did not. The realisation hit me as soon as agenda builder went live, I remembered that I could not be in more than one place at one time. Clashes appeared left, right, and centre. The Admin Keynote and the Women and Equality Keynote were at the same time, hair was pulled, fists were shaken. The HoTs were the first to go, at 2.5 hours long, they wiped out practically half a day at a time and though useful, demanded too many of my precious DF hours. Just like last year I found it impossible to keep to keep to my agenda, there was just way too much going on. So, what diverted me? Here are my top 3 distractions: Number 1 - SPK on my Dreamforce Badge At just my 2nd D...

As we all descend into Dreamforce countdown mode, the realisation is starting to sink in that I will soon be boarding the long flight to my 2nd Dreamforce. Last year was my first visit and a tough but rewarding experience. I wrote a blog entitled Solo in San Francisco and Dazed at Dreamforce upon my return which included the final paragraph: I made a pledge to myself that I  WILL  attend in 2016. I will be more prepared for its scale, I will be more relaxed, yet more focused, I will talk to more people and I will be confident that they will want to talk to me. I probably won't speak as I don't want to add nerves to the mix. Maybe in 2017..... I've kept my pledge and I am lucky enough to be attending again this year but I took the plunge and am also speaking. Both of my sessions are on Thursday, the first at 9.30am and the second at 1pm. Please join me. Gamification - The Trail to Awesome Adoption This session will focus on how to leverage the awesome content ...

Having only worked with Salesforce for approx 18 months I was chuffed and excited to be given the  green light  to attend my first Dreamforce way back in April. I quickly booked my ticket, flight, and hotel, filed my expenses and then the nerves  promptly  set in. Fast forward 5 months during which time I had read every blog post, watched every episode of Road to Dreamforce , and anxiously quizzed my London Admin User Group leaders as to whether there would be any kind of Brits Abroad meet up (there wasn't). I did what would best offset my nerves, I got organised. Agenda Builder went live on August 5th but when on the 5th? As a San Francisco based company and event chances are it would be PST but I refreshed the page regularly throughout London's working day regardless, no doubt while those with the power to activate the tool slept soundly.... Just as I was thinking about giving up and heading home it was live. I pounced and enrolled on 33 sessions incl...