Dear David Gelles and NYT editors: I feel you’ve gotten it backwards, for based on reading this article, the secondary headlining should read, “A spiritual practitioner with a business side…”
Of course if so printed there would be even fewer of “us” than, as of writing, the 18 people who commented: No Trump, sex, violence, epidemic disease, the latest shooting, wars and major catastrophes of all kinds” and so it hasn’t made the top ten in the “Trending” list.
Yet the quote, “Are We Not All Connected?” DOES invite our consideration; my response, “Yes, we are, though the great majority of us do not yet know this, feel this,” though the HEART of the article, thank you, David, is:
“I’m trying to listen deeply, and the beginner’s mind is informing me to step back, so that I can create what wants to be, not what was… I know that I have to be here in the moment.” May we all listen, respond….. eric
5
Had I not seen the monstrosity that this company foisted on San Francisco, I may have been better inclined to listen to what Mr Benioff has to say about social responsibility.
6
I would like to know why Mr. Benioff built that sky scraper in San Francisco without any greenery? Throughout the world, major cities are starting to build with provision for greenery that helps clean and cool the air. There are balconies with the capacity to grow trees even. Why such a monument to steel and glass instead of something more ecologically useful and emotionally appealing?
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It’s so refreshing to hear from a servant leader who has his ego in check and believes his company is tied to the community. Mr. Benioff is a large philanthropist and he walks the walk. His Salesforce Tower in San Francisco can be a beacon for doing good while doing well. If only that attitude would spread to other business and political leaders.
13
It is so sad and astounding that the philosophy of Marc Benioff is not embedded in almost every company. We are all stakeholders, indeed. Same planet, same boat. Government can only create a framework. The people themselves have to have a commitment to each other.
This is the most positive and inspiring article I have read in a long time. Certainly the most refreshing piece since November 8, 2016.
I am older and happily retired. People sometimes ask folks of my age "if you could change anything, what would it be?" My answer would be: "I have worked at two great companies when they were at their peak of success driven by inspired philosophies (not unlike Salesforce) but I would have loved to work within a company like this!"
Marc, you probably shouldn't go into politics. It will wreck your life. But we do need you on some grander scale. Your thinking is superb and we are desperate for that.
BTW, thank you.
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Hi Marc. Well done. I haven't seen you in a number of years, but it's nice to see that you went Larry one better -- I'm not implying any competition between you two, just observing.
At any rate, thanks for being a mensch, and showing that it _is_ possible to succeed and still be recognizably human. We need more like you.
If you haven't looked at it in a while, the Tao Te Ching might hold some interest. There are a number of good translations.
Be well. And thanks for speaking up for compassion.
-d-
12
Hugely inspiring. As a fellow meditator working in tech, thank you. I so wish more companies got it.
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I am so happy that the Corner Office column is back.
4
Mr. Benioff you are an inspiration.
7
OK, Mark, I'm going to pitch something to you:
If you want to make serious headway on the homeless problem, build modular houses with light gauge steel instead of wood. The carbon footprint is about 1/4 of lumber,
https://thinkprogress.org/which-emits-the-most-co2-in-home-construction-...
Steel doesn't burn or rot, and we can allow our great western forests to regenerate, restoring wildlife, water quality, and possibly a livable climate. Framing is currently 18% of hard costs, and steel is currently about a 2% construction hard cost premium, cheaper than wood if modular and efficient geometries are included. I built about 600 steel housing units in the late 90's, including 300 in Kobe after the earthquake, until steel prices spiked.
America uses 25% of the whole world's wood products, half of which goes into construction. That is an atrocity, since our homes last an average of 60 years before succumbing to rot or fire.
I'm local, Los Altos and UC Berkeley, love San Francisco, and have been hoping to find someone like you to step up. It would be a win for everyone, including the homeless. You would even make money on it, rewarding your good karma.
[email protected]
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Great to hear a business leader with a plan with the cost to help the community. (Benioff also donates to UCSF.)
13
Sounds exciting. Corporations are powerful entities by way of providing goods and services, and forming a labor force that may contribute to their community by being solidarian and seeking inclusion, however diverse it's human component. Does it have the humility to recognize the need to share the economic pie, and work towards a more egalitarian society?
4
Smart phones make people stupider and lazier and, therefore, easier to manipulate. Social media undermine the shared values of humanity and replace them with tribal warfare. Tech companies like Apple and Facebook have us out to China and Russia. A "spiritual" side? Laughable. As Edward Abbey described our economy system, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer" and of EVERY capitalist entrepreneur. This article should appear under the heading of "Comedy."
4
And yet you comment on this social media component of the online NY Times.
I agree with your points, but technology and social media are not all bad. And capitalism is not all bad.
But yes, to my mind, capitalism and the stock market are absolutely based on growth and what does that get us? More money for those invested and more ruination and pillaging of earth and human resources.
If it was not LAW that the CEO has to do everything they can to build wealth for shareholders, maybe CEOs and boards could extend their view of their companies for more than a couple of years...it is horrifying what is done in the name of stock upticks.
Maybe someone like Benioff can help forge a new way.
8
Salesforce is not a a smartphone company nor is it a social media company. Not sure how this critique fits the narrative.
5
I first saw Benioff in person at one of the largest events for thousands of entrepreneurs at Fort Mason about 3 years ago where he was a keynote interview. I was advising a couple startups and wanted the founders to get a sense of the zeitgeist and people they would encounter.
The hard-charging amoral leader of the conference wanted Benioff to talk about angel investors, cap tables, recruiting cofounders, market opportunities, etc. Other guests had made it big at Twitter and Facebook, so they were a tech generation younger than Benioff.
Benioff literally took over the discussion to talk about social responsibility. I was so impressed I recorded the discussion because I realized he literally walked-the-talk. He was a throwback to the ethos of Bill and Dave - Hewlett and Packard- who acknowledged the responsibility to 5 stakeholder groups of which investors were not in the top 4.
I've learned from several former Salesforce employees and suppliers that the executives at Salesforce are sincere, they aren't faking it. That's one of the best changes to today's amoral culture from the days when I was among the hacker ethic generation in the pioneer days of the personal computer.
I'm not a Salesforce customer or supplier.
46
Great article, thank you. I have met Marc several times and used to work for him. One of my top 5 most inspirational people of all time. I wish you had asked him about his thought on the current political climate and Trumpism - his spiritual and meditative plane would probably advice against anger and frustration, in favor of direct action helping others.
27
Interesting interview, it is interesting that he believes companies are part of the public world and that they owe something towards it. Stakeholder management is nothing new, it is still talked about in management textbooks, but the reality is that everything has been "stockholder management" for the last 40 years, and I only wish it was changing. The problem is that multinationals are not rooted anywhere, and they have this idea that because of that they are 'stateless', so they owe nothing to the places and people they are in. What is worse is we have now evolved into where Ayn Rand is now the person worshipped by executives and the like, where instead of those running companies owing something to the public, they are the ones owed something.
In some ways Mr. Benioff is more aligned with some 19th century capitalists like Carnegie than he is with peers. Carnegie and others believed wealth came from the community, and should be put back into it, the modern day robber barrons believe they created the wealth and only they have a right to it..hence slashing taxes, corporate giveaways, you name it.
37
It's a structural failing. Corporations are a legal invention - a very effective one. When the concept was invented no one foresaw the eventual outcome or that these notional entities would become more powerful than governments. The law of incorporation needs to be changed to require the rights of shareholders to be balanced against the public interest. It is certainly in the public interest to generate profits for shareholders and thus encourage further investment, but it is not in the public interest to operate in a manner that disadvantages or harms the general public. It's a complex assessment but we've created a very complex structure that now works against both governments and the general public. And we can no longer look to governments to keep corporations in line, nor can we rely on corporations themselves - they have may have powerful shareholders from a different country entirely - or they may just be addicted to greed and willing to engage in whatever deceit is required to bolster profits - think of seemingly reputable car companies and their falsification of emission tests.
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