Feb 23, 2021, 2:14 PM ETFireside Chat, Conference Presentation

PRE record Marc Benioff 19 October 2020 V2

Trust as Primary Value: Salesforce has designated "trust" as its single highest value, prioritizing it over growth, profitability, or market share.
Operationalizing Trust: The company measures trust through security metrics, transparency regarding internal operations, and honest communication with stakeholders.
Definition of a "Trailblazer": Defined not merely as a customer retention tool, but as an innovator, visionary, or entrepreneur creating a world with higher values to improve society.
Tesla Example: Benioff cites the necessity of trust for Tesla's Autopilot feature, arguing that consumers will not adopt self-driving technology without absolute confidence in the software and security updates.
Community Investment: To demonstrate trust locally, Salesforce has invested over $120 million in San Francisco and Oakland public schools, acknowledging its 10,000 local employees and the surrounding community as key stakeholders.

Shift from Shareholder Primacy: Benioff advocates for the stakeholder model (managed by the Business Roundtable), contrasting it with the Milton Friedman doctrine that business exists solely to maximize shareholder profits.
Business Roundtable Statement: Salesforce was an early signatory to the Business Roundtable statement redefining the purpose of a corporation to manage for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
Environmental Stewardship: Salesforce is a "net-zero" company with no new net carbon emissions and advocates for the "1t.org" initiative (one trillion trees) to sequester 2 gigatons of carbon.
Addressing Skepticism: Benioff counters legal and academic arguments that managing for stakeholders violates fiduciary duty or is illegal by emphasizing that business is the "greatest platform for change" and essential to solving issues like climate change and public education.
Structural Flexibility: While acknowledging the Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and Danone's "Mission-Driven Enterprise" models, Benioff argues that the specific corporate structure is less critical than the CEO's intention (Ishi) and mindset (Shoshin or "beginner's mind").

The 1-1-1 Model: Salesforce pioneered a philanthropic model donating 1% of equity, 1% of profit, and 1% of product resources to charitable causes.
Shareholder Returns: Despite its social mission, Benioff notes that Salesforce has delivered a 5,000% return to shareholders since its 2004 IPO.
Grant and Volunteer Metrics: The company has given away over $300 million in grants, logged 5 million hours of volunteerism, and supports 50,000 non-profits and NGOs by providing its software for free.
Pledge 1%: Benioff co-founded Pledge 1% to encourage other startups (e.g., Twilio, Atlassian, Okta) to adopt the 1-1-1 model, noting over 5,000 companies have joined.
Test of Corporate Purpose: Benioff co-chaired a study with Oxford Said Business School and Legal & General Investment Management to audit whether CEOs who signed the corporate purpose statement actually operationalize it, finding a discrepancy between rhetoric and action among some peers.

ESG Integration: Benioff urges asset managers to move beyond discussing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and begin pricing these factors into stock valuations, as major accounting firms are now auditing ESG data.
Market Pricing: The future of value creation involves investors aligning capital with companies that actively manage for stakeholders, rather than expecting stock prices to automatically reflect ethical behavior without direct investment alignment.
Pandemic as Catalyst: Benioff views the global pandemic as an opportunity for CEOs to redefine company cultures, return-to-work policies, and leadership roles with a "beginner's mind" to build a sustainable future.
Long-Term Outlook: The conversation emphasizes that "the past does not equal the future," and that the coming era requires businesses to be active actors in solving societal challenges like plastic pollution and carbon emissions.