Salesforce.com Success depends heavily on the approach, leadership and mindset of the team adopting the system. Having helped organizations become successful with Salesforce.com over thousands of hours of up front and personal work, it is obvious that those who succeed have a different mindset from those who get stuck or never get started. It starts with an understanding of the kinds of systems which exist today:
- Convenient Systems: These work as is out of the box. The software vendor prescribes the workflow and features by assimilating the best practices and requirements of the masses. The benefit is that this system is ready to go and can guide you to execute quickly. The downside is that it is hard to change it for your specific workflow.
- Customized Systems: You can pay for custom development to execute your business processes specifically. This was typical of older approaches to support businesses. The benefit is that the system works exactly for your business. The downside is that it is expensive and changes take longer from inherent development cycles applied. It’s important that you can articulate your requirements precisely.
- Continuous Systems: This is what makes Salesforce.com the predominant choice of thousands of businesses. The system can continually be modified and implemented. It is inexpensive to drive change. This is strategic in an economy where the only sure thing is change. Your requirements can be less rigid and more iterative.
In a continuous system, it is important to implement, launch and drive feedback. Success depends on use and iteration. Focusing on system perfection is elusive and unrealistic. Perfect execution, however, is achievable once a framework and rules for engagement are set up.
Your team’s success relies on a commitment to the journey of continual refinement. Ensure there is a process for iterating and that change is not merely piecemeal. It must be systemic in thought and design to avoid overengineering your Salesforce.com system or exasperating your team in their use of the system. Adopt a continuous mindset and the long view. As your business is never done being refined, your mission critical software enabling your business remains art in motion.
