The Cloud Consulting Journal

Pei Mun Lim is a UK-based lifelong consultant. Her firm, Zenhao Training helps create great consultants. She is also the author of Salesforce Discovery 101 , and has another book on the way. Pei is a delight to speak with, and I am so glad to have met her. Enjoy!

In this episode, I speak with two colleagues: Brittany Douglas and Jamie Stimson-Douglas of Endiem . If their names are familiar in the Salesforce world, that's because they are the daughter and daughter-in-law of Jeff Douglas - a pioneer in Salesforce technology and the first Salesforce MVP.  Britt and Jamie got into Salesforce consulting through unusual paths. We discuss the ins and outs of...

I once again chatted with Jenevieve Arrigan of Escapist Reality Consulting .  We have a wide-ranging discussion, including: Jenevieve's thoughts and experiences on Dreamforce 2023. What's going on with Salesforce/AI/GPT. Our memories and the legacy of Appirio's Dreamforce marketing efforts, including the Snoop Dog Incident. Praise for the founders of Appirio. What's going on wi...

Watt Hamlett is a Salesforce consulting veteran and founder of Watt Hamlett Consulting. In this podcast, we discuss everything related to the current state of Non-Profits in the Salesforce Ecosystem. We talk about many of the challenges non-profits face when it comes to Salesforce, and how the future for them will change.  We also discuss Watt's initiative to give Non-profits an easier time c...

Charlie Cowan is back for Season 2. In this episode, we discuss his new endeavor: RevOps Charlie   and get into: Why Revenue Operations is becoming such a hot topic now. Why buyer enablement is so important And how if you are buying a car - the last place you'll go is the dealership! Charlie is also the author of " How to Sell Tech " and brings with him deep experience along with a...

Mort Sayyed is the President and Founder of Minlopro Partners , a Milwaukee-based Salesforce Consulting partner focusing on small and medium-sized businesses. In this conversation, we discuss Mort's journey from an immigrant kid to the consulting business and the ins and outs of running a firm. We get into the current state of the partner world and look at the challenges firms face today. Enj...

Tom Hedgecoth has accomplished something that seems almost impossible: he completed all Trailhead badges.  In this conversation, we discuss how and why he did this, and we hear Tom's advice for anyone interested in exploring Trailhead. We also discuss his new endeavor: The Hedgecoth Group  - his consultancy focused on helping boutique consulting firms become as great as possible. Check it out...

Hello! I meet once again with Jenevieve Arrigan of Escapist Reality - a boutique Salesforce consulting firm in Portland, Maine. We discuss the layoffs in the Ohana world, work from home versus working onsite, learning "soft skills" and how virtual work necessitates a different approach,  the future of Salesforce technology,  and how this summer should be the Summer of Love (and getting o...

Alex Sutherland is the Principal, Director, Salesforce Architecture at Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a father, Air Force Reservist, Salesforce MVP, and an all-around great guy.  In this episode, we discuss how he got into Salesforce,  Dreamforce 2022, and Salesforce Genie. We geek out on Heroku. 

Bill Powell is a Salesforce Advanced Administrator at Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity technology company. He is a Sales Rep turned Administrator turned Consultant turned Advanced Administrator. He is also a Salesforce MVP and 4-star Ranger (which means 400 Trailhead Badges and over 200,000 point.) We discuss his journey from Sales rep to Salesforce, and his approach to learning. We also have some rea...

Dan Peter is the Salesforce Practice Lead at Robots & Pencils , an innovative boutique technology services firm. Dan has been into technology since he was a child. In his career, he's worn many hats. In the Salesforce ecosystem, he's been with an ISV, he's been an independent consultant, and now he works with a consulting partner.

It's Dreamforce week, and I meet with fellow FOMO-sufferer Jenevieve Arrigan, founder of Escapist Reality . In this podcast, we discuss our thoughts on Dreamforce, what we like about it, what we dislike about it, and of course, share our tips on surviving the week in one piece.  Enjoy!

Joey Poarch is currently the Director of Sales Solution Architecture at Zennify.  In this episode, we dive into the ins and outs of scoping projects. We also reminisce about our transition from client-server to cloud technology and discuss many other experiences in consulting. Enjoy!

Andrés Gluecksmann is currently a Senior Director, Services at Salesforce. He has a long and glorious history in the consulting world, having previously worked at Astadia, Appirio, and Traction on Demand. In this podcast, we discuss his involvement with the advent of the True to The Core Dreamforce sessions, what makes a great consultant, and what the future of consulting may look like in the Sale...

Jiordan Castle is an author and part-time brand strategist at Atrium AI, and Nicole Klemp is an independent writer and brand strategist. At one time, Jiordan, Nicole, and I were the content marketing team at Appirio (and arguably the best content marketing team in the cloud consulting market :-) ). In this episode, we discuss what content marketing is, how firms should think about content, what it...

Aaron McGriff is a Senior Consultant at Slalom , a legend in the Salesforce world, and an incredibly nice guy. You may have seen Aaron in a Salesforce Trailblazer video - and if you haven't, go watch it right now. His journey from security guard to consultant is inspiring to many people. In this episode, we discuss his notoriety, his journey into consulting, and his thoughts on the recent Dre...

Corey Snow is a consulting director at Huron Consulting Group , a former Salesforce MVP,  a great community builder, and an overall thoughtful person. In this discussion, we talk about leadership, "managing up," and how to be a great follower. And of course, we discuss consulting and problems in Higher Education.  Finally, we talk about how introverts (like Corey) can have an impact on t...

We're back! In this episode, I speak with Nick Hamm , the CEO of 10K Advisors. Nick is a long-time consultant, Salesforce MVP Hall of Famer, triathlete, and an all-around great guy.  We discuss many aspects of the consulting business, including choosing between working for a firm and going independent, and trends in how projects are done. We also discuss the situation with the MTX Group and h...

In this episode, I interview David Giller , the founder, and CEO of Brainiate . Brainiate helps organizations use Salesforce better and trains administrators and users on the platform. David also puts out a ton of entertaining content about Salesforce through the Brainiate YouTube Channel and the Brainiate Show. David is a big personality and contributes a lot to the Salesforce community - I know...

Shane Sugino is currently the Director of Higher Education Innovation at Heller Consulting. Shane has had an interesting career path - going from the world of finance to working in higher education, to working in the consulting world.  We focus our discussion don't the problems in Higher Education and how technology can impact it.

Julie Barker is the CEO of her one-woman talent consultancy, Cultivate Talent . Through Cultivate Talent she offers her expertise in helping firms with their talent strategy, including hiring,  employee experience, and leadership coaching. Julie and I discuss how firms find the right people, how we should think about salary, and how we know when to leave a company, among other topics. This is a gr...

Emma Hutchinson is a Solution Architect starting a new job for Salesforce itself. She has an amazing story, starting off in the nonprofit world and moving to technology consulting. She has deep experience in Higher Education and non-profits. We discuss her journey into tech and consulting and what it is like to consult for Higher Education. We also discuss the remarkable story of Ivy Tech . Emma h...

Chris Bruzzi is the Executive Vice President, Product Development at Uncommon Purpose . What is Uncommon Purpose? It is a new cloud product company that spun out of Traction on Demand after they were purchased by Salesforce. We talk about Chris' long history of building products, and we discuss the new mission of Uncommon Purpose. Listen in!

Geraldine Gray is the founder and CEO of Endiem , a small firm in the Salesforce ecosystem. Geraldine is an experienced leader and technologist, and in this episode, she shares her experiences in growing a firm. We talk about the Salesforce ecosystem, the nuts and bolts of running a business, and the differences between the UK and American work cultures.

In this episode, I meet once again with  Jenevieve Arrigan of Escapist Reality , a small consulting firm based in Portland, Maine.  In a wide-ranging discussion, we go over the Salesforce product name changes, the Metaverse,  hiring, the state of the Salesforce Partner ecosystem, and several other topics. Enjoy!