Christina Meng’s Post

Last month, Slack sent their employees on a week-long break owing to an internal skills crisis. Something I've personally never heard of any other company doing before. For 1 working week, Slack employees were tasked with achieving "Ranger status" through Salesforce's Trailhead online learning platform—a set of skills that spanned across departments and seniority. I buy into this idea while so many others do not. Though 1 week will not be the silver bullet, it is better to take action than doing nothing about it and hoping something will change. Giving your employees the week to de-prioritize their other deadlines and tasks and focus only on becoming better at their job is great - but it would be even better if Slack wasn't just trying to achieve "Ranger status" and instead this was to allow them to set the foundation of a lifelong learning journey. At Kepler + Co, we aim to only hire and retain staff who are continuously curious and want to learn because that's who they are; they want to be better than what they were the day before. Skills that are relevant for the job and life are part of that. We may need to take a leaf out of Slack's book.

This is my last week at Slack, and I wanted to take an opportunity to do two things here on LinkedIn: First, gratitude: I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Slack team for a little over a year and for Laurie Wetzel, Tia Joseph, Ryne Holmes, and Richard Whitehurst to have me as part of their organization. I also will be leaving amazingly smart, hard working, and innovative colleagues. The Slack culture for employees is unique and extraordinary and I am hopeful it survives and thrives and influences in the coming years as Slack and Salesforce become more combined, but I know for certain that everyone who has been exposed to the culture, if even for a short time, will make it part of their professional DNA and take it wherever they go. That certainly is my hope, as I believe both the Slack culture, and knowledge of the best ways to use Slack, is a superpower. That brings me to the other thing: Slack, the technology, can be a game changer for your organization -- if you use it thoughtfully. I want to use one last opportunity to get on the soapbox and say that Slack is so far and away BETTER than Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat, or Zoom Chat, or whatever Brand X CHAT is out there, but that to understand this, you have to stop thinking about it as a CHAT tool. Too many organizations, through their own fault, lack of training, or lack of knowing, use Slack simply as a chat and DM'ing tool, and are not aware of the workflow and automation magic that makes it a digital Swiss Army knife for bringing function and process from literally any part of your organization together into one place to be able to get stuff done more efficiently and more enjoyably. There is some honest to God game changing magic in Slack in terms of AI and the Slack Platform that no one else can touch. I hope to be able to embrace this and do magic in my future, and I hope that you can experience it too. Slack. Great people. Great technology. Great impact. I am sad to leave Slack, but am excited for what is coming next. Watch this space.

How did Slack go from 0 to 10 million users in just a few years? 🚀 The answer lies in their go-to-market strategy 👇 Believe it or not, Slack was a product of a failed gaming project 🎮 The founder Stewart Butterfield then decided to pivot to work productivity and turned the instant messaging feature of the game into what is now called Slack (yes features can become standalone products!). They launched the beta version in 2013, and within 24 hours they got 8,000 new users, and after a few weeks that number went up to 50,000 users. And the crazy part? They did this without relying on extensive outbound sales or marketing campaigns 🤯 Here are the 6 steps Slack took to go-to-market: 1️⃣ They got their friends to try the product before the official launch, and they also reached out to small companies like Rdio and Medium to be their first beta customers. This approach helped them get early feedback and make crucial product improvements. 👫 2️⃣ Slack boldly positioned itself as the ultimate "email killer." They called out the pain points of collaborating over email and promised a better alternative. This got people's attention and enticed them to give Slack a try. 📧 3️⃣ Word of mouth marketing played a significant role in Slack's launch. They generated excitement by allowing people to request invites for their preview release, and within hours, thousands signed up 📢 4️⃣ To get teams onboard quickly and experience immediate value, Slack made its product free for everyone. This move showcased the seamless and enjoyable collaboration experience they were offering. 🆓 5️⃣ Slack created a viral loop with its product. As users invited their teammates, the product's value grew exponentially. This viral referral system became a powerful growth engine of its own. 🔄 6️⃣ Watch the video for the 6th and most important step 👀 https://lnkd.in/gg8cjcHA #pmm #productmarketing #marketing #slack #career #jobs #interview #future #work #tech #siliconvalley

I have found the recent product updates from Slack challenging, as an SMB IT leader. As I understand the pitch behind Canvases and now Lists; the idea is supposed to be that more context is available right in Slack. Except, in my world, this leads to an INCREASE in fragmentation and confused context. As if there weren't enough SAAS places to stick to-do items, notes, and long-form content, now Slack wants to hold that stuff too, in addition to the conversations and messaging that already lives there. I find this actively unhelpful. Slack was a very focused messaging product but these new features seem be pushing towards fragmentation instead. And we're not being given the ability to control the access to these new features within our orgs. I'm curious what perspective some of you all have about Canvases and Lists? Am I being small-minded here? Or is this a shared challenge? Thanks!

Salesforce-owned Slack is taking a week off starting October 7, 2023. This is a unique move for a #tech company, and it has generated a lot of buzz. Some people are praising Slack for putting its #employees first and giving them a chance to recharge and #learn new #skills. Others are concerned that the #weekoff will disrupt #businesses and #customers. Here is my #review of Slack's #decision: ✅Pros: 👉Giving employees a week off to focus on #training and #learnings is a great way to invest in their #professional development and well-being. 👉The week off could also help to improve employee morale and productivity in the long run. 👉Slack is sending a message to other tech companies that it values its employees and is committed to their well-being. ❎Cons: 👉The week off could disrupt businesses and customers that rely on Slack for communication and collaboration. 👉It is unclear how Slack will handle urgent customer issues during the week off. 👉Some people may criticize Slack for taking a week off while its #competitors are still open for business. Overall, I think Slack's decision to take a week off is a #positive one. It is a bold move that shows that Slack is #committed to its employees and their well-being. However, it is important to note that there are some potential downsides to the decision, such as disruption to businesses and customers. I am #curious to see how Slack handles the week off and how it #impacts the company and its customers in the long run. #salesforce

Companies like Slack provide more than just business value. They provide personal value for employees. For example: When I started at my company, almost two years ago, a few colleagues and I created a group chat on slack that we talked in everyday. And we still do ON TO THIS DAY! If I ever worked for another company that doesnt have Slack, best believe Im buying my own license. NOW THATS VALUE

🚀 [#Welcome] to the Sales&Success Community - Driven by Wrike and Wrikers! 🚀 Hello, Sales and Customer Success enthusiasts! We've created an exciting new platform aimed at providing a vibrant and informative multilingual space for all of us. Are you working in Customer Experience? Are you starting your career in Sales and Customer Success? Consider Sales&Success Community your new go-to source for collective wisdom, diverse experiences, and enriching conversations. Our goal? 👇 To inspire and inform by sharing success and fail stories, engaging in illuminating discussions, extending help and support, and, of course, enjoying insightful chats! 🌟 Why Join Us? 🌟 → Connect and interact offline with like-minded professionals → Learn from the best: The community features Wrike leaders who bring unique perspectives and valuable insights. → Participate in exclusive events: we host dynamic meetups at Wrike Prague – you don't want to miss these! And there are a lot of options for spontaneous meetups, be active! ✍️ Our Focus? ✍️ We're here to delve into Customer Success and Sales stories, tackle challenges head-on, and answer all your burning questions. 👀 How to Join? 👀 We're already up and running, so don't delay! Use our invite link to step into our engaging community: https://lnkd.in/eha3GMjK In Sales&Success Community, we're more than just colleagues – we're a team. We don't compete; we elevate each other. So, come join us on this journey towards Sales and Customer Success mastery. See you inside! 🎉 #sales #customerexperience #customerservice #customersuccess #salescareers #salesexperience

I love Slack communities. In fact, it was a Slack community that brought me to Mutiny in the first place (shout out to #measureslack, the nerdiest place on Earth and where the universe brought me and Molly Bruckman together). Since joining Mutiny, it's been so fun to be a part of building a Slack community for Modern Marketers (M2 for short) to meet, share tips, tricks, rambles and everything in between. I'm thrilled to share that I'm now a Community Ambassador and would love to invite you to join! What is M2? It's the best way to: 🧠  Learn from modern marketers at the fastest-growing companies in the world. See what’s working for them, how they’re using AI in their workflows, and how you can accelerate your company’s growth. 👩👧  Meet other practitioners and build deep relationships with those on the same path as you. Make your next best hire, or find your next gig. 🌵 Unlock growth and career opportunities to get to where you want to go faster. M2 is by application only, but as a friend of mine you'll get priority by using the code jessb2023 in your application. Apply today: https://lnkd.in/ez8SJA2h See you there!

🎉 Happy 10th Slack 🎉 Our mission is to make work life simpler, pleasant and productive and our approach has been to make consumer grade enterprise software . We do make an effort to make it pleasant, to make it fun, to reflect the culture and identity of teams and companies, so that they not only get work done, but build their culture with it. Nice read from The Verge. "A decade later, it’s clear that Slack changed work culture, even at companies that don’t use it" https://lnkd.in/gy4ZyQny

🚀 Slack's Incredible Journey: From Idea to Tech Giant! Imagine starting a project to chat with your team and changing how the world communicates at work. That's the story of Slack, a simple idea that turned into a tech sensation: Slack wasn't meant to be a product. ➟ It started as an internal tool for a gaming company, Tiny Speck. ➟ For the game Glitch, to help their team work better together. ➟ The game didn't work out, but the team didn't give up. ➟ They turned their communication tool into Slack. ➟ Launched in 2013 for everyone to use. ➟ Its success is built on being easy and fun to use. ➟ It made talking with team members as simple as sending a text. ➟ Companies started using it to cut down on their emails and meetings. ➟ In a game-changing move, Salesforce bought Slack in 2021 for $27.7 billion. 🚀 Any small project that became a BIG Success?