Everyone is wrong about the #1 Salesforce skill…
❌ It’s not Flows.
❌ It’s not Apex.
❌ It’s not DevOps.
What is it?
✅ Asking the right questions.
Let me explain…
Flows, Apex, and DevOps are strategies available to us that we can use to get to an outcome — whether that be admin-friendly automation, integrated systems, or clean rollouts.
But we can’t employ the right strategy without understanding the why behind it first.
When someone comes to you saying:
→ “We need a Flow because…”
→ “Write me some Apex that does…”
→ “We need to streamline our DevOps…”
You come right back to them with:
→ “Tell me more about what that Flow would do for you”
→ “What business problem will that Apex solve?”
→ “Help me understand what the impact of better DevOps would be”
Learning how to ask the right questions, and asking “why?” in a thousand different ways, is the #1 skill that all Salesforce professionals must develop to be highly successful.
How to get better at asking questions
I get it. Asking questions seems like some mystical skill that some people just have, and some people don't. I'm here to tell you that's not true and that asking questions is a learnable skill just like anything else. Here are some places where you can start.
"ABC" - Always be curious
Foster a genuine sense of curiosity about all things around you. How do things work, why did the thing get made, who is asking for something, and why are they asking for it?
If you look hard enough, everything is interesting, everything is worth asking questions about, and everything deserves a second look. Be genuinely curious and get to the heart of the matter, then your wheels will automatically start to turn and questions will arise automatically.
Be humble
Never anticipate that someone did something wrong or is asking for the wrong thing. Always assume that they had a valid reason and that your way is not necessarily better, until you understand all of the information needed to make an accurate assessment of a situation.
Phrases like, “I’m sure there is a good reason for X, which I’m trying to understand,” are much more constructive and cooperative than phrases like, “This was done wrong, I can’t believe they did it like this.” Not only will this get you a better result, but you'll also be friendlier to work with and have a better work experience overall with this kind of approach.
Always give the benefit of the doubt and err on the side of assuming the thing being requested is valid. Then, seek to uncover the reason why it's valid, rather than stating that it's invalid from the start. Sometimes in the course of the conversation, this approach will reveal that the ask actually is invalid, but you will have arrived there together.
Comments