15. Cancer Diaries - My special Dreamforce experience

At the beginning of this year I took a punt and booked flights and a hotel for Dreamforce. I had missed the event. I had always considered it my version of a Yoga retreat, somewhere where I can recharge, catch up with the lovely people of the community and learn. At the time I didn't realise how true this would feel for me. 

Having being diagnosed with breast cancer in April I put together a life spreadsheet of important dates and activities that I didn't want to miss. Dreamforce was one of them and I worked with my medical team to  work my Chemo treatments around the event. Fast forward to September and with 15/16 Chemo treatments completed I was off to Dreamforce, with the promise to complete my cycle upon my return.

It was so good to be back in San Francisco again, and experiencing the buzz that Dreamforce brings. It was a much smaller audience this year; the team played the numbers cautiously due to Covid still circling around the population. But saying that, it still managed to capture the vibe that is Dreamforce. 

My Dreamforce started on Monday evening when the Developers hosted their party night, Day 0 - for all Dev-Kind! The theatre of Dreamforce began with drinks presented in disco ball containers and entertainment including getting your picture done with friends via a 360 camera or via a green screen with props.

The official Dreamforce kick off started on Tuesday morning with the main keynote hosted by co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor. Three main points of interest came from this, firstly the new release feature - Genie, a data platform with integrations and AI to bring together legacy and new data to create next best actions and insights. With it came a new Mascot, a rabbit and this was celebrated with bunny ears. I admit, it was a first to see two CEOs wear bunny ears during a keynote and try to deliver serious content. 

The next was to celebrate a new #LifeWithGoldie recipient and this year the winner was a RefugeeForce member and also fellow Capgemini employee Simi Simara. Congratulations to her. 

The last point was at the beginning of the keynote when Leah McGowen-Hare gave thanks to Gemma Blezard for her contributions to the Architect track through her work via the Ladies Be Architects. This was again mentioned by Parker Harris during the Architect keynote later in the week when they also released their Build the Future, Well Architected, supporting materials. 

Speaking of keynotes, the Admin keynote is always a go-to event as they get deep into new functionality via live demos, while keeping the atmosphere lively and entertaining. Go Admins!

Dreamforce was only 3 full days this year and the time felt squished. Between the 3 keynotes I attended and a Centre of Excellence session, I also spent time working the Capgemini booth and delivering 3 speaking sessions. 

The first was with my fellow London Admin Leaders (Matt Morris and Claire Jones) on the Admin Theatre stage on Tuesday as we spoke about "Become a Skilled Admin Specialist". We had a packed audience with standing room only at the back. I did witness someone peaking through the trees that separated the exhibits to take photos of our slides as he couldn't get into the main theatre seating space. It was like we were getting papped!

My second presentation was for the Circles of Success where I was the Super Speaker in the room, driving the slides and guiding the audience to have conversations with their tables on the subject of Data Quality Blues. 

The last presentation was again with fellow Admins Leader, and Capgemini colleague, Matt Morris, as we spoke at a Campfire about how to "Supercharge your Career with Community Groups".

It was my first year as a Salesforce MVP at Dreamforce. I had been awarded MVP status during the Pandemic so had not had the full experience or membership privileges. This Dreamforce was extra special for me as I was able to meet fellow MVPs in person, to celebrate with them and be recognised in the main keynote. 

Being a Community Group Leader, in addition to a Salesforce MVP meant that I had two trips to Salesforce Tower this year. The first was for the Community Group Leaders breakfast where we were able to meet other leaders across all the main product communities: Salesforce, Mulesoft, Tableau and Slack. 

The other meeting was an Executive listening session which was attended by Co-CEO - Bret Taylor, Founder - Parker Harris and CMO -Sarah Franklin with SVP - Leah McGowen-Hare as chief cat herder. What I love to witness from this senior leadership team is the very genuine, friendly but professional and committed attitude they have with each other and towards their customers and community. It really is quite unlike any leadership team I have ever seen. I admire it. 

Dreamforce isn't all work and no play. They do very well to sprinkle plenty of networking parties, with the main entertainment of Dreamfest on Wednesday night. This year we were treated to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers who did not disappoint. 

My 5th Dreamforce done; time to go home with my brain buzzing from the new feature releases, my heart full from Community goodness and my feet aching from all the walking. It was great to be back!

Upon my return home I duly returned to hospital and completed my final Chemo session. I decided to combine it with a dose of jet lag. A major milestone completed and it was possible, thanks to these type of  important events, like Dreamforce, that have kept me sane and positive throughout the treatment.