Meet Karen Mangia, a WSJ Best Selling Author and one of the most sought-after thought leaders on the planet, sharing her thoughts on leadership with more than 15000 organizations during her entire career. She is an author of four books and a prolific blogger. She has also been featured in Forbes, and she regularly contributes to Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, and ZDNet.
As the Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, Karen engages current and future customers around the world to discover new ways of creating success and growth together. Giving people a platform and helping to amplify their voices have been Karen’s constants throughout her entire career. She helps shape the strategy for the workplace of the future globally. Before Salesforce, she held a variety of leadership roles at Cisco in sales leadership and customer experience.
Staying Close to Customers
During her college days, Karen’s university professor, Bob Papper, inspired her love of storytelling. Karen was a student in his Telecommunications news classes and worked for him as a research assistant. Karen’s job was to administer the annual survey her professor sent to members of the Radio & Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA). Karen would call non-respondents to administer surveys over the phone. Then she would correlate responses, analyze trends and search for the storyline.
Professor Papper authored six articles each year based on their findings for the RTNDA magazine. Both co-authored an article about trends in television internships. It was Karen’s first professional publication. Beyond storytelling, Karen’s career at North star is staying close to customers. And choosing jobs nd bosses who enable her to live and work well.
When Business is the Platform for Change
Karen says, “At Salesforce, we believe business is the greatest platform for change. We are passionate proponents of stakeholder capitalism, committed to doing well by all our stakeholders – our customers, employees, partners, communities, the planet, and society as a whole.” She adds, “We lead by example, spearheading initiatives in philanthropy, racial equality and justice, climate action and advocacy, and the ethical and human use of technology.”
“There’s no reason for you to play small anymore. The universe has big plans for you, and it’s time to claim them.”
Salesforce’s founders launched the 1-1-1 model, which commits 1% of Salesforce’s equity, technology, and peoples’ time to improving education, equality, and the environment for everyone. Today, more than 15,000 companies worldwide have joined Salesforce in its Pledge 1% movement.
The Pandemic Presented Challenges
Karen believes the pandemic presented challenges for all of us individually and collectively. What Salesforce discovered and shares now, as a result, is how to succeed from anywhere. Salesforce created platforms and programs to make it easier for everyone in their ecosystem to discover how to to release old ways of working and welcome flexibility, connection, and productivity from home, the office, on the road, or anywhere in between. Karen and her colleagues are empowering everyone to be a Trailblazer with their culture of Success from Anywhere. By creating new ways of working, connecting, and delivering customer success in their digital-first world, Salesforce is redefining the future of work — together.
Contributing to a Balanced and Equal Industry
Salesforce offers programs that make it possible for every organization to become an equitable organization. Each program includes a playbook and a community for support, • Pledge 1% invites all entrepreneurs and their companies to commit important resources (product, time, and resources) to support integrating philanthropy into their businesses at any stage. • Salesforce shares its annual review, results and a playbook to enable every organization to ensure pay equity. • As an organization, Salesforce unequivocally stands against racism, violence, and hate. And it will continue working to effect systemic change in communities by driving inclusive business practices, investing resources, empowering minority-led organizations, cultivating partnerships, designing technology with everyone in mind, and advocating for policies for racial equality.
Future Roadmap
When it comes to Salesforce, Karen believes, the company will continue to redefine success. With that said, Karen believes success is service.
Listening with a beginner’s mind is service. Acting with pure intentions in the best interest of its customers, ecosystem, stakeholders, and planet is service. Reconsidering beliefs that may no longer serve us or others is service. And that’s the kind of service that leads to sustained success. In this vein, Karen aspires to continue to be of service to others and, in so doing, make it possible for everyone to succeed. “Together we rise” is one of her mantras.
Karen Mangia is excited about her new show, Success from Anywhere! The premise is: What would happen if we could change the game of life together? The series shares strategies to unlock success from unlikely sources of inspiration. Karen Mangia feels success is not a destination or a location. Success is available to anyone, anywhere at any time if you know where to look. She hopes to help people discover sustainable strategies to live well and work well. And to ultimately realize success moment by moment.
Leadership is All About Listening
Karen Mangia feels leadership is listening. The three most powerful words in leadership, according to her, are, “I hear you.” Be curious. Ask great questions. She always suggests listening intently to the answers and being willing to revisit your perceptions and beliefs based on what you discover. Above all else, Karen Mangia suggests not to sacrifice your life for your work. Work will take what you are willing to give – whether that’s your exercise time, your family time, or your holiday time. Create routines, rituals, and boundaries to start work and stop work in a healthy way that supports a great life.
