CASE STUDY
Building Momentum Around Strategy
Design craft matters, but it is not enough. If people do not understand the value of a design direction, they are unlikely to invest in it. The same is true for business strategy. It has to reach people as humans, not only as operators. Strategy needs enough story and form to make the audience lean in and get excited. I use design to do that.
A good example of one of my strategic narratives:
Invisible CRM Vision: created when Sales Cloud needed a north star for where its product portfolio could go next.
The Challenge
- Product teams were optimized for near-term delivery.
- The CRM roadmap remained centered on desktop workflows and reporting.
- Teams lacked a compelling shared direction for how Salesforce could better support sellers.
The Design Opportunity
Building on research already completed, my design team took on a vision for the product group: a product shaped around the rituals sellers run through their day, and around helping them get better at the work itself.
It was a direction that could take years to reach, meant to change how we thought about the roadmap rather than ship as the next point feature.
Making the Future Tangible
The Vision
- Move from a desktop-bound CRM to timely support throughout the seller’s day.
- Shift from reporting on work to helping sellers complete critical tasks.
- Use concepts and narrative to make the future visible and emotionally engaging.
Excerpts from Narrative
Start the Day with Morning Brief
Contextual awareness of what happened since you last signed on and what you need now to complete the most immediate tasks.
Meeting Prep
The CRM pulls from all available sources to create an up-to-date, insightful dossier before a meeting.
Post Meeting
After automatically capturing the conversation, the CRM will highlight insights and recommend to-dos.
The Role of Narrative
That mattered because this vision was not a release plan. The story gave leaders a way to see the same future at once: morning planning, meeting prep, and post-meeting follow-up as one seller rhythm. It moved the discussion from isolated CRM features to a roadmap direction, and two moments from the narrative, Assisted Day Planning and Automated Meeting Prep, were funded for development.
My Role
- Led the vision process, workshops, and concept development.
- Crafted the story connecting customer insight, concepts, and business strategy.
- Influenced leadership’s long-term product direction and roadmap priorities.
Outcome
- Realigned teams around seller rituals, not legacy CRM functions.
- Secured development funding for two new capabilities, Assisted Day Planning and Automated Meeting Prep.
- Automated Meeting Prep never shipped under that name. When COVID-19 pushed selling online, it was folded into a larger Salesforce Meetings effort before work began and shipped as Meeting Digest.
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