Here we are with one week to go. It will feel like one of the longest weeks of the year, but you can pass the time by packing a little and of course checking in on the Dreamforce Chatter org. (Like you aren’t doing that already… all the time.) So we started this Countdown to Dreamforce by looking at the essential sessions to certify, connect, and be great Button-Click Admins. From there I moved us on to sessions that make us good admins and skill ourselves up by moving from Clicks to Code. Along the way I reinforced the need for good analytics. That brings us to the conclusion of our countdown and the two must- attend items for your calendar. #1- Hands- On: Introduction to Apex for non-developers (8/30 5:00- 6:00) & (9/1 1:15- 2:15) Ready to intensify? If you’ve been a Salesforce administrator for a while and are looking

Two weeks from now many of us will be on a plane to San Francisco and a few us will be taking some training classes. It goes without saying that one of the biggest benefits of Dreamforce is connecting with friends and having valuable discussions in more than 140 characters. But we are also there to become more skilled at Salesforce and let’s face it- we all want to be rockstars at our company (if we are not already). We started this countdown with Community Conference sessions to connect, certification classes to train, what I’m calling ‘Admin essential’ sessions, and last week it was ‘Admin application’ sessions to apply our knowledge. This week, let’s look forward and grow out skills. So be sure to carve out time on your calendar to attend these sessions. #2a- Moving from Clicks to Code (8/30 2:00- 3:00) Ready to join the admins before you who

Content creation is in full swing for me this week. I just confirmed with Salesforce a speaking spot in the Customer Hero theater that will be in the Cloud Expo area. If your free around 4pm on Wednesday Aug 31 stop on by I’ll be giving a 15 minute speech on the 3 apps that supercharged my Salesforce. I’m really excited about this presentation and worked on it over the weekend. Which makes me wonder- what free apps have you installed in the few months that really supercharged Salesforce for you company? Share you comments below. Last week I highlighted sessions that were aimed at making you a better admin. I really hope you can get those sessions on your schedule. This week I want to highlight sessions that will utilize those skills. Dreamforce is all about learning how to improve yourself and learning how to help your users. The

Last year prior to Dreamforce I did a countdown that included the five (or so) sessions that Button-Click Admins should attend. This year I will do the same. Dreamforce can be a bit overwhelming for a newbie (and even returning veterans).  Starting today I will kick off a 5 post countdown to help you get ready for Dreamforce. I’ll be pointing out sessions that should be on your agenda. We will start with a three-fer because two are not really sessions, but something that will aid in returning to Dreamforce if you can pull it off. And just as a side note- all of the descriptions were taken from the Dreamforce website. #5a- Formula Ninjas (8/31 3:30 am- 4:30pm) Ever wonder how you can really exploit the power of formulas? Want to learn some new advanced automation tricks? Look no further! Join us to learn the many ways to use formula