Beyond Sessions and Swags - Reflections on a Salesforce Conference
Texas Dreamin' 2023, Austin, TX
When was the last time you attended a professional conference that actually proved useful? Typically, you go to various sessions, meet a few people, and collect free goodies. But once you return home, the memory fades and you are back to business as usual (except for the free swags that now clutter your house).
That's what I used to believe but Texas Dreamin’ event has slightly changed my mind. Instead of making a checklist of sessions I wanted to attend, I approached this conference with two clear intentions: 1. Connect with individuals who know what they are talking about 2. Engage in some volunteer work.
As I reflect on my experience at the conference in Austin, I am pleasantly surprised by how eventful it was.
Here are some insights I gained from it:
➡ Behavioral
🔑 It is such a great feeling to spend time with like-minded individuals without any purpose – just hanging out, drinking beer and sharing experiences. We can’t help but get inspired and spark creative ideas.
🔑 Connecting with professionals and learning about their businesses or projects can open up new possibilities that you may have never considered before.
🔑 No one has ‘figured it all out’. Everyone is on a journey of trying to figure things out, whether it's achieving customer success, advancing in their career, or growing their own business.
🔑 When you volunteer for an event, you just feel comfortable in the crowd as now you feel you are part of the organizing team. Also, when you hold a sign, people just come talk to you.
➡ Technical
🔑 GPT solution will largely become a human assistant machine. Not that machines don’t already exist to assist humans with tasks but GPT can assist human with intelligence.
🔑 When measuring the time taken to execute an operation accurately, it's better to use CPU time instead of relying on debug logs, as debug logs may not have precise time stamps.
🔑 Salesforce DevOps center is just a managed package in Salesforce that introduces couple new objects and classes in SF. It can be further extended with additional custom code or connecting with other packages to build a sophisticated DevOps tool.
These are not my ideas but something I learned from the speakers and from my own observation.